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The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 Paperback – October 15, 1978

by David McCullough (Author)

1,924 customer reviews

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The National Book Award–winning epic chronicle of the creation of the Panama Canal, a first-rate drama of the bold and brilliant engineering feat that was filled with both tragedy and triumph, told by master historian David McCullough.

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.

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Editorial Reviews

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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

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The Washington Star David McCullough's history of this extraordinary construction job between the Atlantic and Pacific is everything history ought to be. It is dramatic, accurate...and altogether gripping.

The Washington Post Book World Solid, entertainingly written and fair-minded...McCullough unravels the complicated and sometimes deliberately obscured story that lies behind the Panama Canal.

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt The New York Times A chunk of history full of giant-sized characters and rich in political skullduggery.

The New York Daily News In the hands of McCullough, the digging of the great ditch becomes a kind of peacetime epic...The book will absorb you...You won't want to put it down once you've started reading it.

Newsweek McCullough is a storyteller with the capacity to steer readers through political, financial, and engineering intricacies without fatigue or muddle. This is grand-scale, expert work.

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Product details

Paperback: 698 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 15, 1978)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0671244094
ISBN-13: 978-0671244095
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.6 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 1,924 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Panama
- #10 in Books > Science & Math > Technology > History of Technology
- #117 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering

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Capricorn One

A Masterwork of research and storytelling about one of the engineering marvels of the modern world

June 22, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Having seen the canal in person in 1978, and leaving thoroughly amazed at this masterwork in engineering, I've read various shorter accounts of the project in years since. But nothing comes close to this masterwork of scholastic research. I can't imagine a more thorough, comprehensive, end-to-end history of one of the most amazing and successful efforts mankind has ever attempted in terms of overcoming nature and geography. I knew of the previous French effort, and was also aware of the "Nicaragua" option, but to read of the intrigue, the politics, and the personalities that tried, failed, and influenced the ultimate outcome is riveting. It took the total commitment and faith of the United States Presidents (Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson) over 14 years to do what they seldom do - make a decision, fund it, and then leave it to the hands-on experts to make the real decisions in how to get it done. That, more than anything, seems to come through as the foundation for success. Having been in the tropics, and Panama, in more modern times one can still see the rampant jungle literally a few miles from civilization. To imagine the thousands of workers toiling day after day in the wet, mud, and unbearable heat is mind boggling, yet they did it. There were parts of the book where I thought it bogged down in minutiae, reading almost as minutes of endless rounds of meetings among French and/or U.S. politicians, lobbyists, lawyers, and those in authority for building the canal "on the ground" in Panama, but in the end I have only praise for David McCullough - it wouldn't have been a complete story without all of those background details. It was a stupendous effort, and it required a stupendous effort by a gifted researcher and writer to document it, and David McCoullough has done just that. Read about one of the engineering marvels and wonders of our modern day world. You'll be glad you did.

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Nick T

Really interesting story about the Panama Canal's creation

March 15, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

You wouldn't think that a book detailing the creation of the Panama Canal would be an exciting and quick read. Well, you'd be wrong! I love David McCullough, I think he is flat-out the best biographer out there as well as being one hell of a history author. 1776 is my favorite book about the American revolution. The Path Between the Seas had me so interested in geology, Central American politics, jungle wildlife, topography, stuff that I would never have thought I would be interested in. It's not simply a story of the Panama Canal, it is a story of everything that multiple countries and governments went through to bring this grand project to fruition. Amazingly well-written, but I expect no less from Mr. McCullough.

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David E. Eppenstein, Jr.

If you are a history nerd like myself then this book probably deserves the 4 stars ...

January 25, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a tough book to rate. If you are a history nerd like myself then this book probably deserves the 4 stars that I have given it. However, if you are a more normal person and reader then this book would probably get three, maybe even two stars, because it can easily be mind-numbingly boring. The reason for this difference of opinion is almost certainly the length and the depth of detail. The book is 617 pages of text and I have to admit that 150-200 pages could probably have been chopped to make the book more readable. That being said I can't imagine a more thoroughly researched and detailed account of everything that went into building the Panama Canal.

The first half of the book is devoted to the French effort that started the Canal in 1880. Because the French effort was publicly financed most of the detail concerns all the financial schemes needed to keep this project moving ahead. Then there was the resulting legal actions that followed the French failure. While this was important information to know as the basis for the subsequent American effort I do believe that it was vastly overdone and could have benefited from serious editing. Following the French disaster you get Roosevelt's involvement and the theft of Panama from Columbia and the politics and schemes involved with that enterprise. The American effort is the heart of the book and probably what most readers are interested it learning. The book is no less detailed but this detail is more about the actual digging of the canal and how the project was approached by the succession of chief engineers. What you get from all of this is that the building of the Panama Canal was a lot more than a lot of digging in the jungle and it was. It was interesting to read about the successful endeavors of people in something other than a military or political event. Our history is more than bombs and bureaucrats, generals and diplomats. In the history of this canal you have innovative people from a variety of disciplines from medicine to engineering, from management to human resources and it was fascinating to read about their problems and the solutions they devised to solve them. But I will grant that much of the fascination a reader could have had from this book was diluted by the cumbersome length and depth of detail. I liked the book but it did stop the circulation in my leg more than once. LOL (less)

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Most recent customer reviews

Linda Schaller

Five Stars

Fascinating book but LONG with lots of detail and history!

Published 7 hours ago

D. Lubin

A Long Book that is worth it

It took over forty years to build the Panama Canal. This story covers all of it. Per Mr McCullough's usual style, it is extremely well researched and details all the major...Read more

Published 2 days ago

James j McLary

Fabulous accounting

The technical aspects were minor. The medical and political issues were prevalent. A great read for all. Thank you David McCullough

Very detailed account of the Panama Canal

Bought this to read before going to Panama on a Road Scholar trip. Found it was much too detailed for my use, so went to the library where the Librarian suggested 2 children's...Read more

Published 7 days ago

TOP CAT

Five Stars

Love everything by this author.

Published 8 days ago

David Freydkin

French innovation, American triumph

The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough is an informative read, though not always a page turner. One learns a great deal about the history of the Panama Canal.Read more

Published 8 days ago

Jerre McQuinn

Second reading

A fabulous narrative with fascinating detail. A must-read prior to undertaking a trip through the canal. A second reading, accompanied with consulting a map surfaced more detail.

Published 13 days ago

Robert flygare

Panama miracle

Great book. David McCullough never ceases to amaze me with his preparation and attention to detail. As with the canal David is also an American treasure.Read more

Published 13 days ago

Mac

good read

as advertised

Published 14 days ago

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