★★★½
GENRE: History
SUBJECT: engineering, yellow fever, railroad advancements
Setting: Panama, France, USA
CHARACTERS: Ferdinand deLesseps, Gustave Eiffel, Sen Mark Hanna, Theodore Roosevelt, John Stephens, James J Hill
DATE READ: October 7 - October 31
NO. OF PAGES: 698, 32 discs
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?: yes, audio stockpile
PLOT:....................................................................3.50
CHARACTERIZATION:.......................................3.00
TOPICS: ...............................................................4.00
STYLE:..................................................................3.50
ORIGINALITY:.......................................................3.50
ADDICTIVENESS:..............................................3.00
OWNERSHIP:......................................................3.50
Threshold Quality.................................................4.00
Average..............................................................................................3.50
This epic story of the construction of the Panama Canal, "the greatest engineering feat of all time", begins with the struggles of the French plans with its shortcomings and ends with the success of the United Sates endeavors to cut a corridor from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
The details are tremendous telling how the French first decided to start the project after their success with the Suez Canal. The French were granted a concession by the Colombian government (then owners of Panama) to start the construction.
Lacking engineering expertise on the team and coupled with the difficulties with the terrain and malaria/yellow fever, the French were doomed to failure.
However, the US had its own issues with a preliminary project due to the political atmosphere. The US, with military recommendations pointing toward another site in Nicaragua, not Panama.
When Colombia rejected United States plans to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, the U.S. supported a revolution that led to the independence of Panama in 1903 who ceded control of the Panama Canal Zone to the US, which took over the Panama sites in 1904.
The efforts made in the next 10 years included the building of 4 dams and creation 2 man-made lakes. Research and studies have shown that even with today's technical advances, the construction couldn't have been any faster.
What a fascinating project and thoroughly enlightening story told by a master storyteller.
On a personal note, having taken a cruise through the canal with my sisters and parents, this book brought back lovely memories to this reader.
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