The Path Between the Seas (David McCullough)

In the award-winning The Path Between the Seas, David McCullough looks at the story of the Panama Canal- from the initial survey of the area in 1870 to completion in 1914.  Along the way, he guides the reader through the initial (failed) French attempt, the revolution which created the country of Panama (it was previously part of Colombia), and the second (successful) American attempt.  In each section, McCullough explores the varied aspects involved- not just the building of the canal, but the medical, political, cultural, logistic, and social situations and challenges that the project encountered.  You quickly see that the task at hand- though extremely technical in nature- required problems in these other areas- medicine, for example- to be solved before the main project could succeed.

As I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) this book, I couldn't help think that it's not just a history book- it's also a lesson on leadership.  My highlighter got a lot of work with this one.  You see a study of contrasts- what the French did (or failed to do), opposed to what the Americans did (or failed to do).  You see good and bad leaders of men on both sides, and the impact (good or bad) of their leadership abilities on the whole effort.  Politics also plays heavily- and shows how great technical challenges must also take politics into the fold during design (the canal came close to being built in Nicaragua).  It's not just a study of history; it's a study of how to run a project.

The only thing that takes away from this work is the comparative lack of discussion of the technical side of the canal building.  Certainly challenges are presented, and some statistics are mentioned- the amount of earth to be excavated, for example- but little was said about how it was done, how it was planned/approached at a high level, etc.  The final chapter focused on the locks, which was great- but I had hoped for more.  As an engineer, "the technical stuff" was what I was really interested in learning more about.  Things like "they dug in area __ first because of ___, then tackled ___ because of ____."  I also would have enjoyed a quick chapter on canal basics- i.e. how do locks work, etc.  The author here assumes the reader has this basic knowledge, or at least can access it easily (which we can, frankly, in this day and age).  I'm sure the History Channel or other networks have covered this aspect of it, but I was disappointed to see so little of it here.  That aside, this is a worthy read.

Rating: A