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Summary: a great book that everyone should read
Review: This was a great book. It covered the French involvement in great detail. The coruption invovled was frightening. It also detailed very well early attempts of the U.S. in Panama and how the U.S. didn't use the most honest methods in obtaining what they wanted. The weakenss was that it covered the years from 1909 to the opening poorly. I also felt it could have gone into more detail about the lives of the people and less detail on the technical aspects of removing dirt. On the whole, however, this should not keep people from reading the book. There is a great deal of information of which most people are unaware.
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Summary: One of the finest histories written in the 20th Century
Review: The scope and the sweep of Path Between the Seas is immense. Yet this is no pedantic list of train cars needed and tons and tons of slipping, sliding earth. McCullough has captured the immensity of the engineering and the health problems that far too many of us take for granted today as we transit the canal in cruise ships or talk about its future. I just saw him on Book CSpan at Claremont College and we are indeed fortunate to have such a gifted historian in our midsts. Get the book and admire the accomplishments of the historian and those whose story he tells..
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Summary: The Captivation of a History Buff
Review: I have 3 French Grandsons. They asked me questions about the Suez Canal and that led us to the Panama Canal. A friend of mine lent me his book. I love the sectioning-- French, American and then the Builders. It was easy to track. Concise in explanation for a project so large, and I am not an engineer. I loved the way the author related the "WHY" of the canal decisions. I marvel at the handling of the mosquito problem. I better appreciate Teddy R. even more today. Yes he had a heavy hand, but he was the midwife of Panama and it was clear that we needed a path for the U.S. defense. The project took 40 years to finish. The author developed the main characters so well that I can recall what each contributed to colossal effort. Now I plan to visit Panama with the same grandsons. First I have to replace my friends book, as I made notes all through his copy.
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Summary: Epic!
Review: Perhaps I am biased, having grown up in the Panama Canal Zone. All prejudices apart, though, this is the single best "history" book I have ever read. With a cast of characters worthy of a Tolstoy novel, McCullough gives the reader a thorough understanding of the magnitude and impact the little Isthmus of Panama has had on the history of the world. This is much more than history. Indeed, the common claim that it reads like a novel is not an exaggeration. The 600+ pages overflow with unrelenting drama, vividly painted larger-than-life characters, exotic vistas, bustling courtrooms, etc. This is more a story about the people who struggled to realize a dream than it is about the little canal which captured their imaginations for centuries. This book moved me to tears.
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Summary: Fascinating Slice of History, Politics, Medicine and Adventu
Review: Although I read this work sometime ago, it has remained in my memory as one of my favorite works of history, up there with Morris' Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. It is an incredible saga of international and domestic political intrigue, of medical history, of engineering and of human courage. An exciting and rich work.
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Summary: The best book ever written about the Panama Canal
Review: I enjoyed this book so much. I was born and raised in the Republic of Panama and remeber gazing at the wonder of the Panama Canal. This book vividly depicts the people and the efforts in building this waterway to connect two mighty oceans. I recommend this book for anybody who would like to explore the greatest achievement of the 20th century.
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Summary: Exciting, Informative and one heck of a read
Review: For someone who generaly does not read much, I found this book fantastic. It may have been the fact that I was in Panama at the time of starting to read it, but carried on throughout the flight back to England. I will be reading it again soon it was that good.
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Summary: Beautifully written, would be good fiction but it's true!
Review: We both read it and loved it. We're cruising the canal in February and having read this book will make our enjoyment SO MUCH MORE.
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Summary: First-rate!
Review: Who would expect a book about a feat of civil engineering to be fascinating? Not me, for sure, until someone recommended Path Between the Seas. David McCullough weaves together anecdote and personality, finance and failure, statistics and statecraft to produce a book that makes us marvel at something we've taken for granted: the Panama Canal.
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Summary: A very well written and well researched history.
Review: Every thinking American should read this book, then go see the Canal in operation if possible. Having lived in Panama and visited there many times, I can attest the Panama Canal is much more than just "a ditch", as this book so ably points out. It was, and is, THE engineering feat of the century (it has lasted, in continuous operation, for almost a hundred years. Can a Saturn V rocket make such a boast?)!
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