Amazon.com
On December 31, 1999, after nearly a century of rule, the United States officially ceded ownership of the Panama Canal to the nation of Panama. That nation did not exist when, in the mid-19th century, Europeans first began to explore the possibilities of creating a link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow but mountainous isthmus; Panama was then a remote and overlooked part of Colombia.
All that changed, writes David McCullough in his magisterial history of the Canal, in 1848, when prospectors struck gold in California. A wave of fortune seekers descended on Panama from Europe and the eastern United States, seeking quick passage on California-bound ships in the Pacific, and the Panama Railroad, built to serve that traffic, was soon the highest-priced stock listed on the New York Exchange. To build a 51-mile-long ship canal to replace that railroad seemed an easy matter to some investors. But, as McCullough notes, the construction project came to involve the efforts of thousands of workers from many nations over four decades; eventually those workers, laboring in oppressive heat in a vast malarial swamp, removed enough soil and rock to build a pyramid a mile high. In the early years, they toiled under the direction of French entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps, who went bankrupt while pursuing his dream of extending France's empire in the Americas. The United States then entered the picture, with President Theodore Roosevelt orchestrating the purchase of the canal--but not before helping foment a revolution that removed Panama from Colombian rule and placed it squarely in the American camp.
The story of the Panama Canal is complex, full of heroes, villains, and victims. McCullough's long, richly detailed, and eminently literate book pays homage to an immense undertaking. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Truman, here is the national bestselling epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal. In The Path Between the Seas, acclaimed historian David McCullough delivers a first-rate drama of the sweeping human undertaking that led to the creation of this grand enterprise.
The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. Applying his remarkable gift for writing lucid, lively exposition, McCullough weaves the many strands of the momentous event into a comprehensive and captivating tale.
Winner of the National Book Award for history, the Francis Parkman Prize, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the Cornelius Ryan Award (for the best book of the year on international affairs), The Path Between the Seas is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama.
Download Description
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Truman, here is the national bestselling epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal. In The Path Between the Seas, acclaimed historian David McCullough delivers a first-rate drama of the sweeping human undertaking that led to the creation of this grand enterprise. The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. Applying his remarkable gift for writing lucid, lively exposition, McCullough weaves the many strands of the momentous event into a comprehensive and captivating tale. Winner of the National Book Award for history, the Francis Parkman Prize, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the Cornelius Ryan Award (for the best book of the year on international affairs), The Path Between the Seas is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama.
Customer Reviews:
Great book about an amazing story.......2007-10-19
I really enjoyed the history of the canal especially the way it is presented
in this book.
Another Excellent Historical Piece by Mccullough.......2007-10-03
Very well researched. Good narrative and excellent voice on the audio version. Not a boring moment combined with excellent history. Perfect audiobook, especially for long trips.
The Path Between the SeasVery interesting .......2007-10-01
Very interesting and detailed history. Since I plan on visiting the Panama Canal soon, this book has greatly enlightened me as to all the engineering, building and political problems that went into and preceeded it's construction. I expect it will increase my enjoyment of the canal.
Panama Visitor.......2007-09-07
I am getting ready for my second Panama Canal Cruise. I wanted to read this this book before my first Panama Cruise but didn't get to it. This is a hard read, as there are so many people to keep track of, especially during the French attempt to dig a canal. This is a very interesting part of U S and World History as told in vivid detail by David McCollugh.
The building of the Panama Canal.......2007-07-19
David McCullough's book of the history of the Panama Canal is a well written and researched document on all aspects of the building of the canal, beginning with the French and completed by the United States. One gets a detailed understanding of the political, economic, and social conditions of France and the United States during these years and the people responsible for this engineering feat. McCullough vividly describes the jungles of Panama and the diseases and hardships endured by the workers. He gives great detail on the design and methods used to build the canal. This book offers history at its best.
Amazon.com
Begun in 1817 and completed in 1825, the Erie Canal stretches 363 miles across upstate New York from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson River. A stunning achievement, the canal was hacked through a densely forested pass in the Appalachian Mountains using only axes, shovels, low-grade explosive power, beasts of burden, and some ingenious devices. The engineers and workers created locks, bypassed rapids and waterfalls, and adjusted to countless changes in elevation. When the canal was completed it became one of the wonders of the world. But the canal was much more than a spectacular construction project; it also served to bind a young United States to itself and the rest of the world in one bold stroke. In this thoroughly absorbing book, Peter Bernstein describes in vivid detail how the Erie Canal helped to shape the United States into a great nation by connecting the eastern seaboard and western expanses of America, as well as propel the Industrial Revolution and stimulate global trade, economics, and immigration. It was so important to the development of the U.S., argues Bernstein, that without the canal the detached western territories "would in all likelihood have broken away" and created another, if not several, separate countries. Manifest Destiny would have been denied.
In telling this gripping tale, the author offers a brief history of canals through the ages, explains the foresight exhibited by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson regarding the need for a waterway to the west, and outlines the political wars, financing challenges, and seemingly endless delays and false starts to the project. He also reveals much about the political landscape of early America through his profiles of the personalities and visionaries who devoted their lives to the project, along with the engineers and surveyors, most of whom had little experience designing or constructing a canal of any kind, much less such a massive undertaking. Wedding of the Waters succeeds brilliantly in bringing this rich story to life. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
"One corner of the great American panorama enlarged to highlight starry-eyed visionaries, political machinations, indefatigable ingenuity, and cockeyed optimism."—Kirkus Reviews
A sweeping work of history by Peter L. Bernstein, Wedding of the Waters recounts the revolutionary conception, construction, and completion of the Erie Canal, one of the greatest engineering projects ever undertaken and the crucial link between the Atlantic states and the bounties of the western lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This stupendous project was a daunting challenge at every turn, for the financiers and politicians as well as the would-be engineers. With its emphasis on technological ingenuity, global economics, financial skills, and America's changing role in the world, Wedding of the Waters is a story for our own times. 20 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
More political history than canal building.......2007-06-27
I really looked forward to reading this book. As I would drive along the New York Thruway, I always thought the Erie Canal was beautiful, and often dreamed of taking a boat trip along it. I am an engineer and a sailor, and looked forward to a detailed explanation of how the canal was built.
When I got to the end of the book, I was quite disappointed. Although it is a worthwhile read, to me this book is more of a political history of New York State from 1810 to 1830 than a book on the building of the Erie Canal. I now know a lot about De Witt Clinton, Martin Van Buren, and Tammany Hall politics, but I really don't know all that much about the building of the canal itself.
I also felt that the author explained the basic economic impact of the canal a few dozen too many times. By page 100, I had it memorized that cutting transportation costs by a factor of 10 would revolutionize how farm commodities and manufactured goods were bought and sold. By page 200, I had the feeling that I was reading a high school essay that was being stretched from 1 page to meet the 5 page requirement.
Overall, I am still glad I bought the book and invested the time to read it. I'm just still looking for a book that explains how the canal was built.
Great read--but focuses on politics and economics.......2007-02-08
As other reviewers have pointed out, Bernstein gives short shrift to the technical aspects of the canal. However, this in no way detracts from the intent of the book which is to detail the particularly nasty politics involved in the construction of the canal as well as the economic ramifications. I am not an economist, nor particularly interested in economics, but this book is fascinating and generally well written. Bernstein's prose flows and most of his digressions are relevant. As a born, raised, and resident Westerner I had no idea of the importance of the Erie Canal to the development of the U.S.
I have two major quarrels with the book. First, my pet peeve about books of history and historical fiction (take note publishers, especially those of Patrick O'Brian): inadequate maps. There is one map in the book--it's in the front matter and not listed in the TOC. It doesn't include most of the pre- and post-canal place names described in the book. The Mohawk River, which features prominently in the story, isn't even shown! For those of us who have only changed planes in New York, this requires dragging around an atlas to read the book. It seems particularly inexcusable when the single map was generated relatively cheaply by GIS--you can see the pixelation of the DEM on the shaded relief of the map. Second, Bernstein uses "[sic]" a lot for nonstandard spelling, and inconsistently. Though historians and writers are divided on this stylistic point, at times it seems a bit churlish, especially when one considers that Webster's "Speller" wasn't published until 1783. It is annoying to read quotations by Washington, Jefferson, and their notable contemporaries with "[sic]" constantly appearing.
Regardless, a fine read on a subject I knew little about.
The biggest economic development before the civil war.......2006-12-29
The Erie Canal was a major factor in shaping the economic development of this country. It would open up the west and allow the untapped resources of America to be utilized. This book covers the political history and development of the canal showing how it was built and what happened to those who fought for it. It is very well written but could have been made clearer at times. There are so many interesting people associated with the canal that it can be easy to get lost in the story. Nonetheless this is an important part of American history and something that should be told. Highly recommend for those who want to understand how America became the power it is today.
The Erie Canal and the Making...but where is the map?.......2006-11-08
I found this book to be very interesting and well written. Having spent the past 50 years living within a few miles of the Erie Canal (the modern version), I had a particular interest in the book. The tortuous struggle to get support for the canal was well known to me but I had no idea that a canal following the general route of the Erie Canal had been proposed before the turn of the 17th century. But, there is no map of Upstate New York showing the route of the canal and some of the alternative routes that were considered. This did not matter much to me, as a long-time resident of upstate NY since I knew exactly where the various landmarks mentioned by the author are located but it would be a real problem for a reader who is not a local resident. I recommend that anyone buying this book also buy or otherwise acquire a map of New York State.
A Fine History of the Erie Canal.......2006-11-04
Peter Bernstein's Wedding of the Waters is an excellent history of the Erie Canal, a great technological development in the early 1800s. This canal led to the development of some of New York's most robust cities, such as Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo. Each had been small and undistinguished before the opening of the canal; each flourished afterward. The canal stretched over 360 miles from Albany to Buffalo, with another 150 miles from Albany to the ports of New York City.
The book discusses the pioneers who spoke of the great potential of a canal from Albany to Lake Erie (and other permutations as well)--and of those who made it real, with the patronage of Governor DeWitt Clinton being critical to the success of the venture. Clinton was steadfast in his support, even though political conflicts on occasion appeared to threaten the viability of the project. George Washington, earlier, had hoped to create economic development by making the Potomac River navigable throughout much of its length, to open the "West." This effort failed, making many nervous about such ventures.
The canal was a triumph of the creative spirit. One example is the series of locks to elevate the canal over the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport, New York. Another is the technology used to move the canal boats at a steady pace, along the towpaths paralleling the canal itself.
The canal was an economic success. As noted earlier, it spawned economic development along its path, helping to fuel the growth of cities. The revenues from the canal swiftly paid off the original cost of construction and produced revenues for the state.
As Henry Tudor said in 1831, "It certainly strikes the beholder with astonishment, to perceive what vast difficulties can be overcome by the pigmy arms of little mortal man, aided by science and directed by superior skill."
Book Description
Water-loving people of modest means have lived aboard houseboats for centuries, and why not? Unlike expensive, cramped, and hard-to-build liveaboard cruising boats, spacious, homey houseboats are easily and economically constructed from commmon lumberyard materials. And unlike those high-priced waterfront cottages, there's no lawn to mow and often no property taxes. And if you don't like the new neighbors, just up anchor and be off.
This book tells those who would live afloat how to design and build their own place on the water. There are detailed plans and building instructions for sample houseboats; help with designing a personalized houseboat from scratch; resource-stingy contrivances for easing life aboard, including a solar oven, a windmill-powered washing machine, and innovative power-, water-, and waste-management systems; and more.
Customer Reviews:
Real-world House Boats for the Rest of Us........2006-12-05
First off, its important not to get the kind of boats this author is writing about mixed up with the strange beasts seen on Lake Powell - Conder is describing homes that float rather than those that move around at (relatively) high speed.
This is the best book I've come across if you are planning on building a houseboat. Some of the reviewers below criticize it for being dated. True: the prices of materials are off. But most of the information is right on and fairly timeless (Barron's comments [below] are simply not accurate - the book was first released in 1992 - not '53 as he states - he must be writing about another book).
The book is inspirational in that it serves to remind the reader that there's more to life than a house on a quarter acre with a mortgage.
The bottom line is that this book offers all the information needed to plan, build, launch and live in a floating home.
Handmade Houseboats.......2006-11-05
This book was unhelpful and dated. I sold it to a used bookstore shortly after
I looked at it. If you are looking for information on bulding a contemporary houseboat, do
NOT purchase this book.
Good book........2005-08-16
I read this book, and in August 2005 built a floating 10x12' shed housing a 12kw generator on a 12'x20' barge floating on 34 plastic 55 gallon drums using the methods described in this book. I bought those drums for $11 a piece, and found out later they can be had for $8 or maybe even for free. Yeah, the information may be old, but it's still good. It's a way to get yourself out on the water for pennies on the dollar of what you'd have to pay to buy a used commercially built houseboat, and it'll be new and things inside it will work, and not need constant fixing. I had the barge itself built in 3 days, helped mostly by an unruley 12 year old. It could have easily been 36 x 12' and had a nice little house on it. One caveat: You won't be able to insure a craft built using this method. Even if you don't build using the barrel raft method, there's lots of other good information in the book about houseboats, and I like the Jimmy Buffetesque attitude that the author seems to have.
Historic Information.......2005-01-05
The author seems to be a true original and obviously has a wealth of experience with houseboats.
Trouble is, most of the content of the book is over 40 years old. Since the book was originally copyrighted in 1953 materials and techniques have advanced by light years.
This book might be helpful if you're building your own boat on a really tight budget and and you think you can benefit from early 50's technology, or, you like reading about older boatbuilding techniques.
re - garys latest review - please delete !.......2004-01-18
Webmaster
Would you be so kind as to please delete my last review sent today. I do not want the website mentioned to be published as the boats are no longer there.
Thankyou.
Amazon.com
The United States was a new republic in 1817. The generation of its original revolutionaries was fast dying; a second war with Great Britain had recently been settled; and expansionism was the mood of the day. The "children of the founders," as Carol Sheriff calls this first 19th-century American generation, sought to make its mark with engineering projects that would further national growth and prove to Europe that the new nation "played a leading role in God's plan to improve the earthly world." It did so in grand style with the Erie Canal, a huge waterway that linked Atlantic seaports with the Great Lakes. Sheriff's vigorous account of the canal's conception and building makes for an epic story and fascinating reading.
Book Description
Winner of Best Manuscript Award from the New York State Historical Association
Artificial River reveals the human dimension of the story of the Erie Canal. Carol Sheriff's extensive, innovative archival research shows the varied responses of ordinary people-farmers, businessmen, government officials, tourists, workers-to this major environmental, social, and cultural transformation in the early life of the Republic.
Customer Reviews:
Impressive book about an impressive public work.......2006-03-07
For too many people, the Erie Canal was simply an artificial waterway that opened the American west (back then) to the Atlantic, and, in the process made New York City a business entrepot. Carol Sheriff, in her book, "The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862" digs a lot deeper to reveal the complexities of "Clinton's Big Ditch". There were the engineering problems to be surmounted. There were financial considerations. There were the legal knots that plagued the Canal Commission. The relationship--even the definitions--of nature, art and technology became blurred to so many people.
But what I came away with the most was the utter chaos and disturbance the building and maintenance of the canal created. This was not a harmonious public work, dug by noble laborers, which enriched the lives and purses of the enitre populace. Instead, as Professor Sheriff demonstrates, there was a great deal of strife between the canal builders and the local residents. The wealth went to the few, and the builders got nothing--not even praise or thanks. This, in turn, created a new class of anonymous laborers which was counterpoint to the ideals of Republicanism. And, as Sheriff points out, DeWitt Clinton would have shook his head in disbelief, had he known this would have happened.
As a whole, however, "The Artificial River" reminds us of the tremendous efforts that went into the making of the Erie Canal. And equally impressive, is the tremendous effort Professor Sheriff put into this well-researched and quickly paced book.
The Artificial River.......2005-01-07
The book is written as a gossip column. She spends too much space expressing her views on society status and her views are redundant. Very little about the book is of use or interest.
Informative, graceful writing.......2003-09-21
The Artificial River is one of those history books that is not only illuminating, but fun to read. Sheriff writes with an easy grace that takes you along her narrative path, intelligently putting together the pieces that tell the compelling history of the individuals who built, used, and lived near the Erie Canal. But the book raises larger issues to contemplate: the effect of technology on social interaction, and the contradiction that when distances between points are foreshortened, the alienation of individuals locally can increase. In light of the Internet, this is still a pertinent history lesson.
Repetition personified.......2003-07-04
Sheriff spends too much time repeating interesting
facts. She seems obsessed with explaining "God and nature"
Fortunately the book is a fast read,so I did'nt waste too much time.
Fascinating Read.......2003-02-21
This book describes the complicated and fascinating social history of the canal that shrunk time and distance and transformed western New York, brought great wealth to many and opened up the west. But this progress came at a price and the book explores some of the paradoxes of progress.
The progress and transformation that the Erie Canal brought also brought a new set of challenges for residents and legislators. The canal split many farms causing great problems to many farmers who wanted bridges to get to their farms, the low bridges were a hazard to canal passengers and traffic. Water diverted for the canal and locks created water shortages though the region. Leaks in the canal caused flooding on some farms and created mosquito infested ponds, which were fertile grounds for malaria epidemics.
Cultural issues came to the forefront. Ditch diggers who lived in shantytowns, who drank and cusses, who tore down fences caused consternation among the inhabitants who feared that the county was creating a permanent underclass. When the digging was done and the diggers gone they were replaces with another underclass, the boat drivers, who drank, cussed, robbed and hored making the areas adjoining the canal crime-ridden.
This book takes you to the time when the canal was being built and is a joy to read.
Book Description
“Commit yourself to the Virgin Mary, for in her hands is the way into the Darién—and in God’s is the way out.”
The Darkest Jungle tells the harrowing story of America’s first ship canal exploration across a narrow piece of land in Central America called the Darién, a place that loomed large in the minds of the world’s most courageous adventurers in the nineteenth century. With rival warships and explorers from England and France days behind, the 27-member U.S. Darién Exploring Expedition landed on the Atlantic shore at Caledonia Bay in eastern Panama to begin their mad dash up the coast-hugging mountains of the Darién wilderness. The whole world watched as this party attempted to be the first to traverse the 40-mile isthmus, the narrowest spot between the Atlantic and Pacific in all the Americas.
Later, government investigators would say they were doomed before they started. Amid the speculative fever for an Atlantic and Pacific ship canal, the terrain to be crossed had been grossly misrepresented and fictitiously mapped. By January 27, 1854, the Americans had served out their last provisions and were severely footsore but believed the river they had arrived at was an artery to the Pacific, their destination. Leading them was the charismatic commander Isaac Strain, an adventuring 33-year-old U.S. Navy lieutenant. The party could have turned back except, said Strain, they were to a man “revolted at the idea” of failing at a task they seemed destined to accomplish. Like the first men to try to scale Everest or reach the North Pole, they felt the eyes of their countrymen upon them.
Yet Strain’s party would wander lost in the jungle for another sixty nightmarish days, following a tortuously contorted and uncharted tropical river. Their guns rusted in the damp heat, expected settlements never materialized, and the lush terrain provided little to no sustenance. As the unending march dragged on, the party was beset by flesh-embedding parasites and a range of infectious tropical diseases they had no antidote for (or understanding of). In the desperate final days, in the throes of starvation, the survivors flirted with cannibalism and the sickest men had to be left behind so, as the journal keeper painfully recorded, the rest might have a chance to live.
The U.S. Darién Exploring Expedition’s 97-day ordeal of starvation, exhaustion, and madness—a tragedy turned “triumph of the soul” due to the courage and self-sacrifice of their leader and the seamen who devotedly followed him—is one of the great untold tales of human survival and exploration. Based on the vividly detailed log entries of Strain and his junior officers, other period sources, and Balf’s own treks in the Darién Gap, this is a rich and utterly compelling historical narrative that will thrill readers who enjoyed
In the Heart of the Sea,
Isaac’s Storm, and other sagas of adventure at the limits of human endurance.
Customer Reviews:
Gringo Arrogance.......2007-04-09
Great book, great story. Would have been an even better book if Balf had included more maps, illustrations, and even photos. The arrogance of Strain in taking on the Darien jungle reminds me of our going into Baghdad in 2003 completely oblivious of the local reality and survival strategies. In Baghdad the deadly challenge was the Sunni/Shiia historical rivalry and the Darien it was the jungle. In the Darien the Spanish had been there for 300 years and the indigenous populations for mileniums more. Yet, Strain went ahead without getting local support, an action that was key to Balboa's success. I've spent quite a bit of time in Panama hiking the colonial Camino de Cruces and can attest to tremendous challenge the jungle represents. The humidity is debilitating and the chiggers ubiquitous. I could barely endure hours and yet Strain endured weeks. I understand the Panama Historical Society has plans to locate Strain's grave and move his remains to the U.S. Military cemetary in Corazal. I hope they go through with this idea.
good reading by accident.......2006-11-25
I found this book while randomly browsing the stacks in my local library. Got caught up in the excellent adventure and great writing as soon as I opened it. The only thing lacking is a good map or two on which to trace Issac Strain's travels.
EXCELLENT...I live in Panamá and should know!!!.......2006-06-01
...I am an expat American/Panamanian, and this book is factual to a tee. Before it shut down in the 80's, I even got to ride on the Trans-Isthmian railroad trains back and forth from Colón(Aspinwall)to Panamá, and vice-versa. My father, a Korean War vet and decorated hero, was once stationed at the Army's JOTC(Jungle Operations Training Center)in Fort Sherman, Atlantic and would tell me and my sisters grueling stories of the hardships of the bush, and the many ways there are to "buy the farm, tropical style" when in "Green Hell". (We especially loved his tales of the fauna, like the J.C. lizards!!) He told us nothing in Korea surpassed the dangers he knew and faced when in the field with his men playing war games!
Asides from that, the indian tribes in the Darién are called the Chocoe indians, they arent Kuna perse, but closely related. The Chocoe go about virtually naked and the women still are mainly topless and in grass kirts, whilst true Kuna women wear a lot of clothes, headscarves, all richly embroidered in their distinctive patterns called the mola, and bracelets and earrings, noserings, etc. Kuna tribes inhabit the archipelago de San Blas, and the mainland Darién is mainly Chocoe territory. The Chocoe aborigines were once head-hunters, and used poisen darts to great effect. There are also the Guaymí indians, who mainly live on the peninsula of Azuero area of Panamá. They too have colourful long dresses with embroidered hems and sleeves.
Panamá has a very rich history, sadly unknown to the world. The Mayan civilization, for example, used Panamá as a crossroads and meeting place, and so did the other great empires, The Aztec and Incan, to rendevouz and trade, conduct commerce, and discuss foreign relations, long before Europeans ever dreamed up a scheme to unify the oceans for the very same purpose! The Pacific owes its name to Balboa, who "discovered" it from a peak in Darién, Panamá! Also, Old Panamá City(Panamá La Vieja)was the richest port of al in Colonial Spanish times, the main reason pirate Captain Henry Morgan sacked it in the 1600's. Nowadays, this country is growing richer and richer by the year, with plans for a bigger canal in the works and a major Cruise port, a Trump tower investment, and the tallest residential building in the world, 102-104 floors, called the Ice Tower! The economy is very good, the dollar is the currency, and there is a banking system that is unmatched worldwide, besides the canal and the Duty Free Zone in Colón.
All in all, Darién however remains a fierce virgin forest, guarding her secrets. This book taught even me, living here now for more than 20 years, how very much this portion of the world remains unexplored, and under-appreciated. An a-plus effort all around. Recommended, by one who lives in PANAMA and knows!
DEATH AND DREAMS.......2006-01-22
I have read much on Panama over the years most of which were tales of the French and then US efforts to construct the great canal. Before the canal could be built however, the question was where. One of the first attempts to answer this was an effort by the American Government to explore the feasability of a route at Darien in what is now Panama (then New Granada). The book documents the unfortunate effort which was doomed from the start because of false information provided by a charlatan named Dr. Edward Cullen whose claims were re-enforced by a reputable engineer of the day, Lionel Gisborne.
The trials of Lt. Isaac Strain and his party in their crossing of the Isthmus of Darien under the most brutal conditions imagineable is one of the most interesting tales of determination and survival against all odds that I have ever read. The book also provides a great deal of information about the Panama of the day as well as the politics behind the survey. Many insights into colorful characters of the Isthmus, including Texas Ranger Ran Runnels, add much to this truly amazing story. Much information about the Kuna Indians of the area is also of interest. If you enjoy history and exploration this book is a fine read and a must for your library.
Truly the Darkest Jungle .......2005-12-12
The deceivingly thin Panamanian isthmus, where the giant eco-systems of the Atlantic / Carriben and of the Pacific converge in a sort of tropical perfect storm, has the highest bio-diversity concentration of any place on the planet. At a special slice of this isthmus, Darien, the distance from the Atlantic side to the Pacific is a mere 40 miles. This 40 mile stretch however is a knurled tangle of ravines and bottomless jungle that has swallowed more than a few men's dreams of bridging the gap between the oceans. This is a story of the ill fated U.S. 1854 expedition, during a period of canal fever, that quenched the sum of a nation's ambition despite it's best efforts -fortunately only temporarily. What results is an amazing tale of dedication, sruvival, and the power of patriotism and the belief in a cause that compels the survivors to push on till eventual rescue.
The book takes you along with an expedition led by an adventuresome U.S. Navy Lieutenant named Isaac Strain. Strain's past is as fascinating as the man and the expedition. Born in a relatively sleepy farming community on the decline since it was far off the new railroad lines, you get a sense of the wanderlust that infects so many people, and the rapid changes of America from the land of Jeffersonian farmer statesmen to industrialized leader of the modern world. The mid 19th century world Strain explored in the Navy included such places as travelling straight across Patagonia in South America, to Borneo in South East Asia.
The Darien would prove to be unconquerable, not just to Strain and his men but to the British and French as well. The U.S. expedition really gets started in Cartagena Colombia on the Atlantic side. It put in there to gather supplies and experts before making landfall in Darien, a still untamed land of Indians who were at best cautious of foreigners at that time. Despite what appears to be early progress the expedition quickly becomes lost in the maze of rivers and ravines, running out of food, catching tropical disease, and eventually suffering death after death.
Faced with a stark reality Strain and a select few men break off from the exhausted main body of the group -which painstakingly circles as it tries to find its way out of the darkest jungle - to seek help. The outcome and the trials both groups must endure are simply amazing.
One of a long string of survival adventure books set in exotic lands and times, that has the added advantage of being absolutely true. Others inlcude: Skeletons on the Zahara, In the Heart of the Sea, and The Last Run.
Book Description
Extensive text and 164 historic photographs tell the compelling story of the Canal's construction: dredging, housing, internal government, engineering feats, failures, and final success.
Customer Reviews:
Bridging Panama Canal.......2004-01-29
This book entails a lot of historical photos and librarial facts. However, there are missing text/diaries and photos of many fine Black-Latino Panamanians who were mostly hired to assist in the building of the Panama Canal. I gave it a four star because of this reason. Perhaps the author did not wish to elaborate more on the natives who helped in the succession. Perhaps a followup to this book would complete the real historical element of The Building of the Panama Canal.
All in all it's a great tool.
Magnificient Recapturing of History.......2003-06-20
I lived in Panama for 17 years and have written 3 books on Panama. How how I wish I had this beautifully spectacular book years ago. What an inspiraton it would have been during those dreary hours of writer's block. Each of these magnificient pictures are indeed worth a thousand words -- and there are so many pictures in this book! The United States "helped" Panama separate from Colombia in 1903, the following year the great task, which had defeated the French, of building an interoceanic canal began. It would take a full and painful 10 years. The rare photographs in this book document those years. How wonderful that they have been saved and are now offered to another generation!
The building of the Panama Canal in historic photograph.......2001-04-15
Wealth of information! This book eloquently navigates through Panama's Canal history; merging dynamic cultural and socio-political elements that contributed to this technological marvel. As a lifetime resident of the Canal Zone I taught I knew the definitive version of the Canals creation, however these photographs of the mundane to the sublime still concedes a wealth of information.
This got me hooked on McCollough.......2000-04-05
After reading this I searched out and read the three other books by the same author.
This was a really exciting narrative. David really knows how to tell a story, just enough detail to keep you in the real world, not so much as to slow down the story. In particular, I liked the history behind malaria and its cure, this could have been a book by itself. Did you know they used to place hospital bedposts in buckets of water to keep bugs off the patients? The buckets of clean water proved to be a perfect breeding place for mosquitoes. My next most favorite book by McCollough was on the Brooklyn Bridge. Try it also.
These two books are on my most recommended list, great examples of how serious history can be fun and interesting.
Average customer rating:
- A Great Disapontment
- Easily the best book on this topic, and a good read
- Story of a neglected chapter of World War Two history told.
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Alae Supra Canalem : Wings over the Canal: The Sixth Air Force and the Antilles Air Command
Dan Hagedorn
Manufacturer: Turner Publishing Company (KY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Military
| History
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| World War II
| Military
| History
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ASIN: 1563111535 |
Customer Reviews:
A Great Disapontment.......2006-10-26
I purchased this book with great expectations. It is richly illustrated with rare photographs of obsolete aircraft soldiering on in an important area of operations. The writing and research was excellent, which I have come to expect from Mr. Hagedorn. However, one of these rare photographs depicted a nude strip-club dancer. Others depicted aircraft with explicit 'nose art'. When I read a military history book, it is my expectation that I (or my son) will not be subjected to objectionable photos. I returned the book for a refund. Sorry Dan.
Easily the best book on this topic, and a good read.......1998-04-13
It seems odd that the major campaigns of World War II which were fought in the Americas should be neglected by historians, but this is certainly the case. Laudably, in recent years somewhat more attention has been paid to the war in Alaska and the Aleutians, but both the defense of the Panama Canal and the intense antisubmarine campaign in the Caribbean are still little-known. Mr. Hagedorn's book goes a long way toward filling this vacuum. Particularly striking is the case he makes for the "useless" Douglas B-18, "the bomber the Air Corps bought when it should have bought the B-17," to paraphrase popular sentiment. In fact the B-18 met the Air Corps specification for which it was designed, and gave yeoman service in a role for which it wasn't: antisubmarine warfare. Its crews dealt with such physical hazards as the fickle Caribbean and Central American weather (without weather radar) and a tropical climate (without air conditioning), and the keenly felt frustration of a low priority for personnel, equipment and supplies. Mr. Hagedorn's account of how they overcame these obstacles and prevailed makes for an absorbing read. I recommend this book highly.
Story of a neglected chapter of World War Two history told........1997-11-27
Historian Dan Hagedorn has spent a great deal of time combing through the multitude of files in various archives. That work shines in "Alae Supra Canalem". It is a well researched and organized book. After giving a detailed overview of the development of American air power in central america from the birth of aviation, Hagedorn recounts the near-panic rush to protect the strategic Panama Canal from attack and sabotage in the 1940's. He outlines the strength, weaponry and stations of every unit. Fears of an invasion fleet coming over the horizon at the war's beginning are related in directness that gives respect to the missions of those who were there. The crucial impact of this force's fight against German submarines in the Caribbean is recounted in detail that is totally missing in other histories. This book brings a unique angle to the Second World War. And it will be sure to bring back many memories for the men and women who served their country in that theatre of war. It certainly did for my grandfather; he was delighted that his contribution to the war effort had finally been chronicled. Numerous photos of airmen, their planes and where they lived and worked were gleaned from both government files and veterans, which gives an inside look at the subject.
Average customer rating:
- Impressive Architectural Photos
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Erie Canal Legacy: Architectural Treasures of the Empire State
Manufacturer: Landmark Society of Western New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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| Americas
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ASIN: 0964170663 |
Book Description
This major, large-format book of photography is a memorable tour of the historic architecture in the cities, towns, villages and hamlets that mushroomed along the Erie Canal. Lavishly illustrated with 270-full color photographs, the book also offers brief anecdotal histories of sites on the 363-mile waterway.
Customer Reviews:
Impressive Architectural Photos.......2006-01-06
The author and the photographer have worked well together in producing a summary of historical facts on beautiful structures along the Erie Canal from west to east. The pictures are magnificent and the text is comprehensible. It is a great reference for Erie Canal's aficionados and architecture enthusiasts. Also included are brief details on the places located alongside the canal.
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