What a great multifaceted book. There isn't an aspect he doesn't cover: the politics, the personalities, the racism, the diseases, the engineering, the daily life of the workers... McCullough is quite amazing at delving so thoroughly into every part of the story.

Fascinating book that really captures the spirit of the late 1800s. Ferdinand de Lesseps is an absolutely fascinating character I had never heard of before. It was also very interesting to read about all of the different leadership styles and the technological advancements in the period.

I wasn't sure whether to award 4 or 5 stars to this book until I realized that my withholding a star had more to do with me than the book. In his typically lucid prose, McCullough wrote a complete history of the building of the Canal. The research was impeccable; the book deserves all the accolades it received. From the disastrous French attempt at building it to the American struggles and finally success, the reader is given the full story. The egos involved always meant that there would be conflict and the breadth of the project meant that the engineers designing it would need to be exceptional and what they did. Those in charge had to be able to manage large numbers of people, and with the exception of Wallace, they pretty much did.

What I found a bit difficult to get through was all the information on the methods that were used but I realize that this is an important part of the story. McCullough also focused on the blacks who did most of the work, were paid the least and received almost no credit for what they did. As the media covered the story as it unfolded, the public was kept apprised of the methods that were employed to make the rate of disease drop dramatically. What wasn't mentioned or cared about was that while the rate of disease dropped exponentially among whites, it remained high among blacks and very little notice taken of that. McCullough referred to the system that was put in place under the Americans as a caste system.
All in all, the book was very educational and worthwhile. Building the canal was a monumental feat and McCullough gives it its due.

Audible credit 28 hours 46 min. Narrated by Nelson Runger (B)

Just Wow! This is another great history by David McCullough, and again, he leaves no stone unturned. Fascinating tisten. So many surprises behind the building of the Panama Canal. Three notes on the American building project that I don't believe will ever be repeated: first, it was completed earlier than expected; second, it cost less than projected; third, there has never been any hint of graft or corruption associated with the building project or managers.
Most of McCullough's long books are narrated by Nelson Runger, and I've learn to increase the speed to be able to enjoy his narration.

This book tells the complete story of the building of the Panama Canal, beginning with the French efforts from 1870 to about 1889, and then continuing with the U.S. completion from 1902 to 1914. I found the parts describing the actual building of the canal (by both the French and the U.S.) to be the most interesting parts of the book. I was much less interested in the political machinations dealing with the U.S. - Columbia negotiations and the U.S. assistance in the creation of the Republic of Panama.

The devastation of men by Yellow Fever and Malaria, particularly during the entire French efforts, was absolutely incredible and heart-breaking as well. Early U.S. failure to obliterate these diseases using treatments by Dr. Gorgus that were nearly guaranteed to work (and eventually did) was frustrating.

For me the most interesting part of the book was the description of the construction methods used in the completion of the canal locks. A close second to this was McCullough's explanations of the role of General Electric in the electro-hydraulic system used to operate the locks and the movement of boats through the canal. Reinforced concrete, a relatively new construction material and one for which no design codes existed, was used simply because it was the right material for the job. The lack of design standards and guidelines did not hamper the engineers designing the myriad of concrete structures needed for the locks. I wonder if this same thing (i.e., the widespread use of an unproven material) could happen today? Also, by 1910, electric power was still a new technology. Nevertheless, the electrical engineers did not hesitate to design the system appropriately and successfully.

I think engineers will enjoy this book more than non-engineers, but it is still a fascinating story for almost everyone.

I'm listening to this on Audible and I can't go on. Just leave me here on the shores of the Chagras River to be swallowed up by the next rainy season. Maybe I'll rally like the Americans and finish the job, but I'm gonna need to take a break and dry out first.

When David McCullough died a few weeks ago, I found myself longing to take up and read one of his books. The Path between the Seas was one of a small handful of McCullough books I hadn't read, so it seemed the natural choice.

What a pleasure! On the surface, the book is the account of a big construction project (much like his account of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge). But McCullough's genius was to make something so seemingly mundane intensely interesting and even gripping at times. How? I'm not entirely sure, but a big part of the reason was the people on whom he focused, some ordinary, some larger than life, but all described in wonderful detail that brought them to life. I think it's fair to say that every McCullough book has left me with memories of fascinating people.

I have only a couple of more books in McCullough's corpus that I haven't read, and I don't think it will be long before I tackle them. Each one I have read has been a delight, and I'm thankful for them, even as I mourn that there will be no more new ones.

Very thorough and well written book. Well researched and cited. It takes you from the beginning - when the idea for a canal was born (before it was the Panama Canal as we know it today) - all the way through completion and beyond. Non-fiction.

I found "The Path Between the Seas" to be very interesting, well researched and well written. It reads much like a novel and as it progressed I thought it got better.

McCullough organized the book in an easy to understand fashion and it progressed logically. There were some changes in the tone it was written as later chapters used more first person accounts reminiscent of Walter Lord.

Although the book was written in 1977, McCollough gives a fair and even-handed accounting of the non-American, non-white workers. He illustrates the differences in the health, diet and living conditions while indicating the canal was really made a reality by mainly West Indian labor. A fact that is very much glossed over in most contemporary accounts.

The backstory of the French attempt and the resulting political backlash was very interesting also.

I am also finding overlapping references to individuals in this book with other histories, Gorgas for example, who was featured in "The Great Influenza" by John Barry is fleshed out more as his work in Panama fighting Yellow Fever and Malaria were the seminal works of his career

This is an excellent history of a monumental project, the likes of which no longer happen.

Wow! I did not realize what an amazing feat the Panama Canal is!! McCullough is a great story teller. Edward Hermann an excellent narrator. I learned things I never knew about the Panama Canal, like it was almost built by the French some 30 years earlier. I loved listening to this book and loved sharing tidbits with my husband.

NOTE: I listened to the abridged audio book. (Personally, I think it should have its own Goodreads listing, but it's lumped in with the complete, unabridged book and audio book.) The abridged book was detailed enough for me. There was a lot of information to take in, and during some of it I zoned out. I would have gotten bogged down with the abridged version. It was a little over 8 hours, down from 32. I highly recommend the abridged version.

I listened to this book in preparation for a Panama Canal Cruise. Now I feel prepared to witness and experience such marvels in engineering. The Canal has to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. And McCullough's details and story-telling are fitting such an amazing place.

Something very strange happens about 30% through "Path Between the Seas." For the first 1/3 of the book, the reader must trudge through pedantic descriptions of very trivial matters and a hodgepodge of boring discussions on all things nautical. Then, all of a sudden McCullough does something amazing: he reminds you that people- everyday ordinary people -really cared about the Panama Canal, what it could do and what it would mean. And when it nearly failed, even though we are talking about people who have been dead upwards of 70 years, you feel bad for them.

Its that empathy that is a true gift in this book.

APBtS is the story of three nations: a nation on the decline (France) a nation on the rise (the United States, and the land (Columbia/Panama) they had in common where there paths intersected so geometrically.

The story begins in the 1860s as France celebrates the completion of the Suez canal. It then is destroyed- almost literally -in a war with Germany. After its crushing, psyche-changing defeat, France decides to continue the war not on the field of battle (where it would have been destroyed again) but in the great works of the world- the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Suez Canal and finally the Panama Canal.

The French engage in a long struggle to bridge the gap between the oceans, and this stirs up a great sense of national pride that the lost war rendered silent before. Suddenly, men and women invest heavily in major corporations to get the canal built, for progress, and for France!

But as the book illustrates, France is not what it once was; they misjudge almost everything about the project- the time, the cost, the distance, even the route and how the canal will look. In time, France is entangled in one of the most celebrated failures in history.

But as the book points out, this is unfair. Yes, the French only built about 1/3 of the canal, but when the Americans did take over in 1903, the materials, buildings and work they had left was extremely well done. In fact, the author almost goes so far as to saty that had the French not done such a good job on the first 1/3, its possible the canal would never have been built.

Its here that the books truest strength lies: when describing how all the average investors in France took the news of the loss- there was basically crying in the streets and the market tanked because of France's despondency over its failure. It really was like Sedan all over again. You feel for these people- the struggled mightily and almost did the impossible. Yet at the same time, it clearly illustrated the illusory strength and resolve of France at this time. France was a nation on the decline and its inability to rationalize the Panama Canal, execute the plans, and face its challenges were all signs of a faltering people.

Enter the United States. Fresh off its one-sided thumping of Spain in the Spanish American War, the US was as energetic and bombastic as its "bully" President, Theodore Roosevelt. A nation on the rise, the US has men, supplies and an economy ready to tackle any problem, including building a canal for its own purposes.

The US not only decides to take over the canal project, but almost as an after-thought, helps stir up a rebellion in Columbia so that the nation known as Panama rebels and forms its own government. Thus, the US has a friendly ally to welcome their intervention and build the canal.

The book does a solid job describing the people, both the named principals and the relatively faceless masses of men who dug the canal. The book describes how the diseases of Yellow Fever and Malaria were tamed in Panama, and how these diseases were so feared.

The book culminates with the US sitting astride the two Oceans and doing a job many said could not be done. The first boat crossed the full length of the canal on August 3, 1914. On that same day, the United States was informed that Germany had declared War on France, thus starting World War I, and the ultimate "beginning of the end" for the old European powers.

The book has enormous slow points, including the monotonous descriptions of some mechanical processes that will bore i even the most ardent minutia fan. The book also spends too much time describing some of the more mundane travels and tribulations of some of the major players, which is not time well spent.

Still, PBtS makes you care about all these people and the true engineering marvel they created, how vast the area was, how immovable the obstacles were, and how great their accomplishment was.

In 1963, when I was only 17, I visited Central America as part of an air cadet exchange program. This was my first major trip outside of the United States. Although most of my time was spent in El Salvador, I did spend time in both Costa Rica and Panama and had the opportunity to tour the Panama canal. Of course at that age the months I spent in Central America including Panama made a major impression. What an experience for a 17 year old from Boise, Idaho! After all these years, this was the first time I have read about the building of the canal and I found it fascinating. Although the book is at times tedious, particularly when dealing with the early French attempts to build the canal, I do not regret spending the time and effort to complete the book. Without question, the last third was the most compelling. I do wish that more time had been spent on the actual design and construction of the canal. While reading, I took a brief look at the current Panama Canal and it obvious that there have been some major changes since my brief visit 55 years ago.

As an interesting aside, approximately half a century (49 years) passed between the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 and my visit in 1963. It has now been more than half a century (55 years) since I visited the Canal Zone and this year 2018. About all that confirms is that time passes quickly and we all eventually get old. But interesting to reflect on anyway.