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Liked It “A well-documented and detailed book about the acuquistion and building of the Panama Canal. With so many details, facts and numbers, reading this book is not for the faint of heart! David McCullough does an excellent job of bringing the people alive with his research into historical records. I...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“A well-documented and detailed book about the acuquistion and building of the Panama Canal. With so many details, facts and numbers, reading this book is not for the faint of heart! David McCullough does an excellent job of bringing the people alive with his research into historical records. I thought I knew about the Panama Canal; but I learned so many things they don't teach you in history class! And I have a whole different perspective of President T. Roosevelt.”
Karin C wrote this review Friday, September 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The difficulty of building the Panama Canal was staggering. This book tells the story thrillingly.”
John M wrote this review Saturday, September 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I wanted to read this book because Theodore Roosevelt is one of my favorite persons. However, I was pleasantly surprised that very little is said of him. I am so glad I read this book- now I know the full story and more of what the building of the canal was like- from the French, to the Revolution, to Malaria & Yellow Fever, and finally the completion.
leslie K wrote this review Wednesday, July 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Of course, I would not expect David McCullough to let me down! His talent is just unsurpassed by anyone! It is a good read and quite informative.
Part of me wishes he would add another chapter to include recent events- i.e. Jimmy Carter's involvement and returning the canal to the Panamanians.”
“Absolutely phenomenal on every level - literary, historical, political, mathematical, and scientific.
Peter Galamaga wrote this review Wednesday, July 30 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The one flaw is that the book get a bit too detailed in the final chapters and moves away from the "story."”
“The story of building the canal is astonishing. I found it gripping and a revelation about the challenges of something we take for granted. I've since seen PBS's series on Theodore Roosevelt, who eventually made the canal happen, so it was interesting to see the canal from a different perspective.”
Lesley B wrote this review Friday, July 4 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book describes the completion of the Panama canal after America bought it from France around the turn of 20th century. Most people know the canal to be an engineering marvel, and McCullough describes in entrancing detail exactly how it got built. But it is also the story of a medical marvel: the taming of the mosquitoes that carried malaria and caused so many deaths during the Canal's building. A very fast read for such complex history.”
stanmeihaus wrote this review Saturday, May 31 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I had the great good fortune to read this book while my wife and I were on a cruise that was going to go to the Panama Canal. When we actually got to the Canal, I was able to appreciate so very much more about what I was seeing than would have been the case otherwise.
Neal R wrote this review Sunday, May 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
McCullough is a terrific writer, I have never read anything of his that I did not enjoy very much. This history goes all the way back to the efforts of the French people who built the Suez Canal, and thought that they could also complete a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in Central America. They failed miserably, and the book tells why.
Then Teddy Roosevelt decided that he could really make a big splash on the world scene, by completing a canal in that area. First, he fomented a rebellion in the area, because the present country of Panama was then a province of Colombia, and Colombia would not give Roosevelt the kind of deal he wanted. When the rebellion was successful, with behind-the-scene help from the U.S., then the new government of Panama gave Roosevelt exactly the deal he wanted.
One of the main reasons that the French effort to build the canal failed is that they could not deal with all of the tropical diseases in the area. People died like flies, and the French had no clue how to handle it.
That problem also held the U.S. effort back in the beginning, but with some amazing medical work, that problem was defeated. The other reason for the success of the U.S. effort was that they attacked the problems of building the canal in the same way that the Industrial Revolution changed the face of the U.S. in the second half of the nineteenth century. An entire train system was built to move men, equipment, dirt, everything that had to be moved. The earthmovers the U.S. had were huge compared to what the French brought in.
After reading this book, my experience in seeing the Panama Canal, and being on the cruise ship while it went through the locks on the Atlantic side was mind-boggling! I told my wife at the time that every engineer in the world should go see the Panama Canal, to see how a team can create such a major accomplishment. During the tour of the canal, we heard a lot about how much of the world's commerce passes through the canal. I don't remember the numbers, but the numbers are astounding!
s”“This may be David McCullough's best book. It's a fascinating story of an engineering marvel. And the story is so well told that it's like reading the proverbial novel.”
Ken S wrote this review Monday, May 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Another great work by David McCullough. Not just the building of the canal - which in itself was a great feat, but the politics, social environment, financial difficulties and challenges, personalities and disease that made this undertaking next to unbearable. It's amazing that it was ever completed. Worth reading.”
Wolfflet wrote this review Sunday, January 27 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
