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

After reading David McCullough’s The Path Between The Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914, John recommended me to read earlier this year.  I promised to return the book “next” time John and Tuner came back to Waynesburg, after several “next” times, I finally finished it yesterday.

McCullough made the seemingly boring story of the creation of Panama Canal a fascinating one.  So many pivotal people involved came alive in his book.  It spanned three Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.  It is fair to say that without Teddy Roosevelt, the “rough rider”, there will be no Panama Canal.  He earned a place in Mount Rushmore rightfully for he was the President that made the American might and power known in the international community.  And being a naturalist and a conservationist, he had great impacts in the shaping of wildlife refuges and conservation that we can take pride to say “This is America!”

Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal once at its very early stage (see photo; he was actually operating the big, 95-ton machine for more than 20 minutes, truly enjoyed it); he never saw it after its completion.  The passage of the American Pacific Fleet through the Canal when they returned from WWI in 1919 took place seven months after his death.  This is the scene he envisioned and would love to see.

It was also a story of the conquest of the disease in the jungle, such as malaria and yellow fever, a remarkable story of Dr. William Goethals, who later served as the head of the Army Medical Service during WWI and died of stroke in London in 1920.  King George visited and knighted him in the hospital before his passing.

Many persons were in charge of the project on site, George Goethals (a West Pointer) impressed me the most.  He was buried at West Point Academy in 1928, I’ll look for his grave next we visit West Point.

David McCullough is my favorite historian, a prolific one.  Jo gave me his Truman many years ago.  His John Adams is one of the best books I read about Adams (I bought one after reading the library copy).  His In the Dark Street Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story is my favorite story of Churchill and FDR.  His recent book, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, which unfortunately covers the Americans in Paris in 19th century only, the likes of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Samuel Morse, and Charles Sumner (I know him well through reading Lincoln; he accompanied Lincolns on their last visit to General Grant in early April 1865.  Mary respected him and got along well with him.)  The 20th century American expatriates, such as Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald are not covered for a good reason though, as the theme of the book is about how France/Paris created/influenced the creation of America as we know her.