tenpintap Posted August 25, 2016 #1 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Going to the Panama Canal and was interested in doing some reading about the building of the canal, can anyone offer some suggestions. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaware32 Posted August 25, 2016 #2 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Anne Vipond has a book about the Canal for cruisers . Also a good but lengthy read is The Path Between The Seas . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old nutter Posted August 25, 2016 #3 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Another solid vote for The Path Between the Seas by David Mccullough. Superb book - heavy reading in places but it details the whole story of the building, including the early period when the French tried and failed. It also tells the story of how Yellow Fever was conquered on the way to getting it built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samstress Posted August 25, 2016 #4 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Another vote for the Path Between the Seas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare www3traveler Posted August 25, 2016 #5 Share Posted August 25, 2016 David McCoullough's The Path Between The Seas The Creation of the Panama Canal 187-1914 It was published in 1977. Excellent book but very long and detailed. I have a large paperback copy that is 615 pages in length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polySeraph Posted August 25, 2016 #6 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Anne Vipond's book on the Panama Canal has some great maps and diagrams. The Path between the Seas also comes as an audiobook (slightly abridged) which my husband listened to during his daily commute. In 2015 I transited the Canal aboard the Celebrity Infinity. The cruise started in Valparaiso, Chile and ended in Fort Lauderdale. If you would like to read my photo review of the cruise, click here. The Panama Canal portion of my review begins at Post #39. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted August 25, 2016 #7 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Another vote for Path Between the Seas, there are some other good works out there as well. Panama Fever by Matthew Parker not quite the epic by McCoullough's Path Between, but a good read. Another very interesting book that details the construction in pictures from the Col. Goethal's collection of photos from West Point is The Panama Canal, The Invisible Wonder of the World by Ron Armstrong. I have viewed many photos from the construction era of the Canal and the vast majority of the photos in Armstrong's book have never been widely exhibited. Excellent for someone who would like to see some of the construction and what it involved. Don't how widely available The Invisible Wonder maybe, so here is a website for the book... http://theinvisiblewonder.com/intro.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdchiefthom Posted August 25, 2016 #8 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Path Between the Seas is the go to book about the building of the canal as mentioned in several replies to your question. The hardcover is a rather large book to be toting around on your cruise, but the E-version is downloadable for a Kindle reader.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger001 Posted August 25, 2016 #9 Share Posted August 25, 2016 All of the above. A Path Between the Seas. I've read it twice and been through the PC twice. The book is long, but well written. I begins at the very beginning of the effort by the French and follows with detail until the final completion by the US (with thousands of workers from over the world). After reading this book, you will sooo much more appreciate the PC and the fact that it even exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted August 25, 2016 #10 Share Posted August 25, 2016 We will be making our first transit of the Canal in January, and I have The Path Between the Seas loaded on the Kindle app on all my devices. I'm about 2/3 through. It's an excellent book. I love David McCullough, and was waiting until we had a transit actually scheduled before reading this particular book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfaaa Posted August 25, 2016 #11 Share Posted August 25, 2016 NCL will offer canal history tutorial at the theatre, on ship TV and also provide you with reading material before the ship enters the canal. You will be well informed by the time the ship hits the first canal lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenpintap Posted August 26, 2016 Author #12 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Thanks all for the info on what books to read. This will be our 2nd time to the canal but my first time to really get into the history/construction etc. And a special thanks to "polyseraph", I enjoyed your review and pictures of the canal passage. We sail in December !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted August 26, 2016 #13 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Don't how widely available The Invisible Wonder maybe, so here is a website for the book... http://theinvisiblewonder.com/intro.htm Seems an interesting read too. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polySeraph Posted August 26, 2016 #14 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Thanks all for the info on what books to read. This will be our 2nd time to the canal but my first time to really get into the history/construction etc. And a special thanks to "polyseraph", I enjoyed your review and pictures of the canal passage. We sail in December !!! You are more than welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. We are actually considering a third visit to the Canal in late 2017 - probably a partial transit. My husband, ever the nerdy engineer, wants to go back to see the new locks in operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retired rascal Posted August 27, 2016 #15 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Don't miss the documentary about the history and then construction of the Canal. Shown in the theatre either the day before or the day before that. Must see...fascinating and informative! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapata Posted August 27, 2016 #16 Share Posted August 27, 2016 We will be on the Pearl in October transiting the canal. I am about 2/3 though Path between the Seas and usually would have put a book like this down after 20 pages. Fascinating history, I am sure I will appreciate the transit so much more knowing some history. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugtech Posted August 27, 2016 #17 Share Posted August 27, 2016 We will be on the Pearl in October transiting the canal. I am about 2/3 though Path between the Seas and usually would have put a book like this down after 20 pages. Fascinating history, I am sure I will appreciate the transit so much more knowing some history. Sent from my iPad using Forums Great book, read it during the three sea days out of Tampa on the Sun. There was also an astute Panamanian picked up early on who answered all questions about everything canal. We saw the new locks being built, and excellent reason to have to back, even for non-nerds.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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