The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

First, a glorious vision of what might be animates worldwide imaginations: a canal to bisect the New World whereby commerce in vast quantities would pass more cheaply than anyone had heretofore dreamed. France in particular had the vision and the man for the job: Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had led the construction of the Suez Canal. A long back and forth about the new canal's route several times almost gave the nod to Honduras. Then, what type of canal should it be, sea level or lock based Meanwhile, the Isthmus of Panama festered-a malarial swamp interspersed with high mountains, awash in bubbling mud, sick with yellow fever. Pulitzer Prize winner McCullough gathers all these threads and adds the human drama: engineers who underestimated the challenge; their families, many of whom died from the yellow fever; and black workers from the Caribbean who were better paid than they could have been elsewhere. The engineering was spectacular; the locks still function flawlessly today. McCullough's careful research and genius for narrative come brilliantly through; distinguished actor Edward Herrmann adds just the proper gravitas and warmth. The very fine combination should be welcome in history collections in any type of library.-Don Wismer, Cary Memorial Lib., Wayne, ME Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of David McCullough

David McCullough, whose new book, 1776, is to be published this spring by Simon & Schuster, has been called a "master of the art of narrative history." His books have been praised for their exceptional narrative sweep, their scholarship and insight into American life, and for their literary distinction.In the words of the citation accompanying his honorary degree from Yale, "As an historian, he paints with words, giving us pictures of the American people that live, breath, and above all, confront the fundamental issues of courage, achievement, and moral character." Author of John Adams, Truman, The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path Between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, and Brave Companions, he has received the Pulitzer Prize twice (in 1993, for Truman, and in 2001, for John Adams), the Francis Parkman Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and has twice won the National Book Award.For his work overall he has been honored by the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, the St. Louis Literary Award, the Carl Sandburg Award, and the New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award. None of his books has ever been out of print.In a crowded, productive career, Mr. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television ' as host of Smithsonian World, The American Experience, and narrator of numerous documentaries including The Civil War and Napoleon. He is a past president of the Society of American Historians. He has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received 31 honorary degrees.A gifted speaker, Mr. McCullough has lectured in all parts of the country and abroad, as well as at the White House, as part of the White House presidential lecture series. He is also one of the few private citizens to be asked to speak before a joint session of Congress.Born in Pittsburgh in 1933, Mr. McCullough was educated there and at Yale, where he was graduated with honors in English literature. An avid reader, traveler, and landscape painter, he lives in West Tisbury, Massachusetts with his wife Rosalee Barnes McCullough. They have five children and fifteen grandchildren.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Touchstone

Filesize

2.16 MB

Number of Pages

704

eBook ISBN

9780743201377

Awards

• Francis Parkman Prize
• National Book Awards