Like all of McCullough's books, brings the subject alive through primary resources and personalities.
I even found myself interested in the engineering challenges and solutions. The medical and human challenges and personalities like Teddy Roosevelt were what really made me enjoy it though ( )

Amazing story of the building of the Panama Canal at the beginning of the 20th Century. Given the tools and communications available at the time, it is an epic on overcoming incredible obstacles. It would have more stars if engineering was more exciting. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "The building of the Panama Canal! First attempt by the French fails; the Americans prevail, despite extremes challenges. A good historical read!" ( )

It's been a while since I've read a David McCullough book even though every one I've read has been great. This, like the ones about the Brooklyn Bridge, the Wright Brothers, the Johnstown Flood (among others) tells a story but includes the political and cultural context as well as comprehensible engineering details. ( )

I found "The Path Between the Seas" to be very interesting, well researched and well written. It reads much like a novel and as it progressed I thought it got better.

McCullough organized the book in an easy to understand fashion and it progressed logically. There were some changes in the tone it was written as later chapters used more first person accounts reminiscent of Walter Lord.

Although the book was written in 1977, McCollough gives a fair and even-handed accounting of the non-American, non-white workers. He illustrates the differences in the health, diet and living conditions while indicating the canal was really made a reality by mainly West Indian labor. A fact that is very much glossed over in most contemporary accounts.

The backstory of the French attempt and the resulting political backlash was very interesting also.

I am also finding overlapping references to individuals in this book with other histories, Gorgas for example, who was featured in "The Great Influenza" by John Barry is fleshed out more as his work in Panama fighting Yellow Fever and Malaria were the seminal works of his career

This is an excellent history of a monumental project, the likes of which no longer happen. ( )