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Title: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
ISBN: 0671244094
Author:
David McCullough
Publicate Date: 1978-10-15
Publish: 1978-10-15
List Price: $18.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $7.25
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.12
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.24
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Lighting a path thru history
This Pulitzer-prize winning book tells of the creation of the Panama Canal, and in doing so, gives a great introduction to the American century. The book is written in third person, and follows the who, what, when, where and how of this great undertaking. The who includes engineers, politicians, business leaders, and common laborers who manned the machines that dug the canal. The what includes detailed descriptions of the work that went into making the canal, with a good recall of the businesses involved in this great undertaking, such as General Electric. The when is 1870 - August 1914, a period that straddles the turn of the century and the transition from Europe to America as the economic powerhouse of the world, a nation that could perform the greatest feat of construction and engineering then known to man. The where is not just Panama, but also the US and France, where political decisions were made that determined the location of the canal, and the type of canal it would become. The how is where this book excels. The author does a great job in examining the political processes in Congress and Roosevelt's administration that led to America taking over the construction. Names like Robert Woods (of Sears fame), John Knox, Gustav Eiffel (Eiffel Tower), and other celebrities of that time were linked in some way or another to the canal are all mentioned in this tome.
The book also comes with two sets of photographs. These include photos of the key individuals along with shots of the canal in various stages of completion. All in all, a great book for a great story.
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2: A great story
David McCullough provides a fascinating description of the trials and tribulations that led to the creation of the Panama Canal, covering the diverse characters, geography, science and politics in great story telling form.
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3: McCullough's storytelling brings the Panama Canal Project to life
Most people know the Panama Canal, but not as many know what went into it. McCullough take his vibrant story telling skills and uses them the chronicle the Panama Canal project from it's earliest French origins, through the disasterous failure of that first project, through the American version of the canal and it's completion.
With a rich detailing of the historical personages associated with the canal as well as the engineering and technical challenges involved, it is a masterful telling of the origins of one of the modern wonders of the world.
Highly recommended.
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4: a master writer of history...
David McCullough takes the incredible story behind the creation of the Panama Canal and weaves a fascinating look at what is essentially the biggest ditch digging story of all time. Not trying to belittle this amazing engineering accomplishment in the least bit just trying to reflect on a writer who can make such a story so fascinating. Granted, this is not an easy read, logging in at over 600 pages with every detail and political intrigue along the way but it sweeps the reader up in the telling of this story. McCullough captures the essence of the 'can-do' spirit of the times and the amazing talents of these people who created the path between the seas.
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5: The Path Between the Seas
For a non-student of history, this is a very good read. It's a real shocker that the Panama Canal was ever built after the financial & physical tradgedies that occured.
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