by David McCullough, 1977, Simon and Schuster, New York

This is a fabulous book.  Although it is somewhat detailed and requires a bit of fortitude to read it through, the book chronicles one of the greatest American accomplishments ever.  The story begins with the efforts of the French and Ferdinand de Lesseps (the builder of the Suez Canal) and their failure and ends with the opening of the canal in August of 1914.  McCullough writes a great deal about the background and personal characteristics of the individuals involved; the reader can readily detect the attributes of each individual that contributed to either success or failure.

One of the more interesting facets of the story was the lessening and, in some cases, the elimination of various diseases in the Canal Zone.  This was an absolute prerequisite to the success of the Americans.  The discovery that yellow fever and malaria was caused by mosquitoes at the time was a key element.  Even though the discovery was well documented in the medical journals, however, there were quite a number of individuals who discounted the theory and continued to believe these diseases were caused by “bad air”.  We have significant parallels today in our society who are quick to discount scientific theory in such areas as climate change and evolution.

Another interesting area was the extent of the changes in technology in a very short period of time that would have made the building of the canal all but impossible even ten years earlier.  The development of electricity and steel metalurgy in those ten years was signfiicant.  At about the time the locks were being built the first factories in the U.S. were being electrified.  The advances in technology that were employed in the design of the canal were remarkable.As we are planning to take a cruise to Panama next winter, the reading of this book will provide a great deal of insight.   The book was very readable and interesting to me.