Customer Reviews

The Building of the Panama Canal in Historic Photographs

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

The Building of the Panama Canal in Historic Photographs by Ulrich Keller is a most fascinating compilation of photographs recording man's greatest engineering achievement in construction during the 20th Century. The photographs are even more special to me because it shows scenes that my Barbadian grandfather and uncle would have seen during their laboring to construct the Panama Canal. That uncle died of malaria at the Canal and is buried, alongside the many others who sacrificed their lives, in the cemetery shown in one of the photographs. This book ranks in the top 3 that I have ever read during my over 70 years of reading.
Herbert A. Hutchinson

We bought this book to inform ourselves for an upcoming trip through the Panama Canal. It was of immense help once we were sailing through the Canal, listening to the Ship's Commentator.
We could now understand why and because so many hurdles were to overcome with the building of this beautiful passage between 2 seas.

This book gave a comprehensive narrative and pictorial overview of the building of the Panama Canal. I learned many interesting facts about this project that I had somehow missed in school.

This book a must for anyone visiting the Panama Canal. Buy it before your visit to acquaint yourself with the history of this amazing project. Then take it along on your trip. Everyone around you will be itching to have a look at this book as you view the canal.

With a transit cruise coming in December of 2011, I wanted to read on the history and building of the Panama Canal. This book provides over 150 great black and white photos showing the building of the Canal and the human support efforts required for this massive task. I think this book is a great historical reference.

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.

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.