3.5 stars rounded down.

I found this book at the intersection of two interests; Pulitzer-prize winning authors (McCullough won two for biographies of Truman and John Adams) and audiobooks narrated by Grover Gardner. Turns out Nelson Runger was the narrator and he was very good, although I had to listen at 1.3x speed as anything slower seemed ridiculously slow.

This was a fascinating and informative book and if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, you probably would enjoy it! For me personally some aspects were a book-reader mismatch which is why I rounded down to 3 stars:

1. No common human narrative - the history of the Panama Canal spans several decades and many countries (primarily France and the USA). The result is that there is no consistent "cast of characters" McCullough can return to, which makes it a harder to stay connected with the material.

2. Not as much of an engineering focus as I'd hoped. The first 5/6ths of the book had some construction and design details, but much of it was politics and medicine (lots of great information about fighting malaria and yellow fever). But I'm an engineer and I wanted some technical details, and these were blasted through in the last few chapters.

Two (of many) highlights:

1. The medical stuff, which I did not expect at all. The first major construction problem to solve was yellow fever as it kept killing workers. This book had a ridiculous amount of detail of the biology of mosquitoes and yellow fever, and how the disease was virtually eliminated from Panama, and how this was seen (by some; others had to be convinced) as a pre-requisite to construction.

2. The canal was built by railroaders: after the French project failed and the USA picked it up, a career railroader (forget his name) was put in charge, and staffed the project with more railroaders. These folks know logistics, throughput and infrastructure, and had the canal completed ahead of schedule. Example: excavation efficiency was measured by time when shovels were still (not digging or swinging), and they were only still when there was no rail car to dump the muck into. The railroad was essentially used as a conveyor belt system for people and materials, and removing waste was seen as the primary bottleneck to finishing the project.

Overall a good book!

Epic. Herculean. Grand. Ambitious. Formidable. Staggering. Prodigious. These are some of the words that come to mind while reading this hefty book, and yet none seems quite adequate. David McCullough has a rare talent for telling history like few can. The Panama Canal didn't seem like an interesting topic when I began, but by the end I was astounded at the history behind this enormous undertaking.

There were many who suggested a canal through Central America but there was disagreement as to the location - as many as 5 different routes were proposed. The French were the first to try with Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal. Unfortunately, he thought he could make it happen simply by sheer force of his larger-than-life personality, and ignored many of the differences between Suez and Panama. The result was an enormous scandal which resulted in accusations of investors being swindled and de Lesseps' son going to prison.

Teddy Roosevelt and America took over some years later, and the behind-the-scenes deal-making that resulted in the Panama site being chosen left me thoroughly disgusted. But the men who took over the actual work at the canal were an inspiration and the real heroes. John Stevens, the engineer who got the work organized; William Gorgas, the doctor who eliminated yellow fever and malaria as the main obstacles; and Col. George Goethals who completed the work - an enormous task. Without these men there would have been no canal.

But he doesn't leave out the working men who did the actual work. He discusses the different levels of society that developed, from the white workers and their families to the Caribbean blacks who did most of the hard labor. He discusses the Panamanians and how they were viewed by the outsiders, as well as the politics of the isthmus (and the story of how the US helped a revolution to break Panama away from Columbia was pretty shameful). He goes into the details of the French scandal, the outrage in Europe, and the cover-up in Paris. He profiles the influential Philippe Bunau-Varilla and the politicking that got America into Panama. He covers the geography and geology and the different proposed routes, as well as the sea-level plans vs locks that were proposed, the construction of the locks and Gatun lake, the railroad that served for so long... and it really is a fascinating read.

History of the building of the Panama Canal, including the debate about its location, construction of the railroad, initial failed attempt by France, the US involvement, engineering challenges, depiction of the many diseases, hardships endured by the workers, and much more. It is structured chronologically in three segments. The first includes the scouting of the site and describes the failed privately financed French project, the second covers the interest of the Americans and Panama’s independence, and the third includes the start and completion of the canal. I enjoy the way David McCullough takes a comprehensive approach. He includes the personalities of the main players, the politics behind decisions, financial considerations, vast improvements in medical treatments over the course of the project, and the technological advancements that facilitated overcoming several former obstacles. It encompasses the entire time frame (1870-1914). It immerses the reader in a past time period and highlights the many cultural differences. It shatters a few myths. It felt a little too detailed at times, but I am not sure what I would have left out. Overall, I found it fascinating.

4.5

A bit dense with detail about the early initiatives to select a canal route through Nicaragua vs Panama and then through the years of French construction with funding mismanagement and gross underestimates of work required for the 9 mile Culebra cut. When Teddy R became US President after McKinley was assasinated in 1901, he drove construction forward via a probably illegal backing of the secession of the Republic of Panama from Columbian ownership. US machinery and engineering ingenuity, much improved since the days of French construction in the 1880s, resulted in completion of the canal in 1914. The book details engineering and construction of the route, the railroad, the equipment, the geology, the multitude of deaths from yellow fever and malaria (resolved by Gorgas' discovery of mosquito sources), the disparate living conditions of white vs black laborers, the lock structures and the great Gatun Dam in addition to the many human leaders and politicians. A fine read.

Author David McCullough is one of the very best current history authors, and proves it again with "The Path Between the Seas". The book has to be one of the definitive and most complete accounts of the construction of the Panama Canal. He takes us from the initial french interest, through their valiant, but unsuccessful venture, all the way through the Teddy Roosevelt-inspired successful American juggernaut. The information contained in this book is incredible. One of the most enjoyable aspects is the detailed appraisal of the key figures involved in the entire venture, from frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps (leader of their effort and builder of the Suez Canal) to Col. George Goethals, the last chief engineer and first governor of the Canal Zone. McCullough's clear-eyed and even-handed account presents both the positives and negatives of the people and events throughout the forty-four years of the endeavor. The hefty length of the book initially put me off, but it is a necessary length given the magnitude of the event. It also turned out to be a most enjoyable read. The book is also divided into several major parts, which, if necessary, would allow the reader to break the reading up. I highly recommend "The Path Between the Seas" for anyone interested in recent history or the canal specifically.

As always McCullough books are interesting and for lack of a better term non offensive. Even he couldnt really justify the creation of the country of Panama but he did his best. That being said it was interesting informative and very well done. I learned a lot and that is all you can ask for in a popular history book.

Boy, what an amazing civil engineering book, outlining in exquisite detail the challenges of building… no, creating the Panama Canal. Not only were complex engineering problems solved, but also a wild political, economic, and social web of confusion, deceit, gall, pride, overconfidence, and eventual diligence all mixed into a maelstrom, a hurricane of chance, of luck, culminating in amazing ending.

The coincident politics of the US of A “helping” Panama become an independent country, breaking away from Columbia both can and cannot be deemed a side story. The personalities of the key players are so well defined by David McCullough, our nation’s premier storyteller, our premier historian. Despite its girth, this book was such a smooth and compelling read, not getting bogged down in boring details, but adding those luscious anecdotes that make you feel like you know his characters more than your kind aunt Bess and drunken uncle Bob.

It was intriguing to see the sibling relationship to the elder Suez Canal, so different in personality, but also imbued with such strong DNA from their father, Ferdinand de Lessups. It was enlightening to witness the psychology of stocks and lottery bonds to connive away hard-earned money from the innocent,but perhaps greedy masses, fooled like the conned geniuses who similarly fell for Katherine Holmes’ Theranos, but even on a grander scale, if you can fathom that! Oh, the power of personality… what snake oil always to be sold. Dazzling faith both maniacal and pathetic, but only in hindsight… sound familiar?

It was curious, seeing the many odd happenstances that led to the bloodless coup, the birth of the country of Panama from coin flips of luck, guile, courage, and of course, American gunboats. So many key players in the story. Most prominent though, is that of the charismatic roughrider President who was bull-headed enough to ignore his congress to go with his heart, to go with the engineers (Hooah!) It’s no wonder you can see his face on the Black Hills of Mt Rushmore.
But was Teddy Roosevelt behind it all? Naw, too much plausible deniability from his good speechwriters, too much French capitalism, and even more contrary evidence from the actual stories on those final days of intrigue. There was really no need for the President to sue Joseph Pulitzer (yup, that one) for libel

In December 1998, while stationed in Panama with the Air Force, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to "open" the locks at Miraflores on the Panama Canal. I was a young E-3 at the time but I worked on the administrative staff of the base commander. Due to the upcoming closure of the military bases and transfer of the canal to the Panamanian government in 1999, visits from US Senators were somewhat frequent. It was during once such senatorial visit that my commander invited me along (he usually invited one member of his staff). While it was a very exciting adventure for me at the time, it was many years before I grasped the amazing, historical experience that I was given. Since then, almost 20 years ago, I have wanted to read "The Path Between the Seas." True to Mr. McCullough's style, it is complete with detail - exhaustive but not exhausting. Perhaps it was due to my small brush of history with the canal but the narrative of it's creation kept my rapt attention.

Have spent the past couple weeks learning about the *insane* history of the #Panama Canal. David McCullough’s authoritative 617 page brick covers the 44+ year ordeal that involved many countries, a failed private French attempt that ended in scandal, arrests, and toppling of several politicians, the American effort to take control, huge advancements in understanding and preventing yellow fever and malaria, and technological innovations that were beyond reality except for those visionaries, like de Lesseps, Brunau-Varilla, and Teddy Roosevelt who were relentless in their pursuits. Also, reminder that the US backed a “revolution” to steal control of the Isthmus from Colombia, which led to the creation of Panamá as an “independent” nation. Lots of shady politics and $$ at play, and tremendous loss of life (esp. among the Black Caribbean workers).

Seeing the canal and a ship going through the Miraflores locks was mind-blowing (on the anniversary of the signing of the Carter-Torrijos Treaty, which relinquished American control of the canal no less). Experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of the land that was subjected to this gargantuan effort was quite remarkable as I was learning the history. Highly recommend reading this book and making the trip to Panama. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 5 ⭐️

#bookstagram #history #bookstagrammers #travel #book #panamacanal #librariansofinstagram #bookreview

Whew. This book was slow going for the first 200 pages. Then it got good. If I was really unbiased, I would rank it three stars, but I am not--McCullough is one of my heroes, so nothing below four stars for him! That said, I pretty much can't believe this canal ever got built. The builders pulled off an engineering miracle. And, now I want to see it, of course!!!

I read this book in Sept. 2012, prior to taking a cruise thru the Panama canal. It is an excellent book giving the history of the first proposed canal, during the California 1849 gold rush to the French start and failure and then to the US completion of the Canal.

4.5 Stars for The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 (audiobook) by David McCullough read by Edward Herrmann.

This was really interesting. I thought I knew a lot about the project, but there was many things that I learned. Like, it came really close to being built in another Central American country. I had no idea that there was a plan B for where it could be built.

The author does a great job of explaining everything that went into the planning and construction by the French and the Americans. He really tried to put it into perspective. This was an enormous undertaking that kind of got over shadowed by World War I.