The Path Between the Seas

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914 (1977) is a book by the American historian David McCullough, published by Simon & Schuster.[1][2] The 698-page book contains 80 photographs, two maps and extensive source references. It won the U.S. National Book Award in History,[3] the Francis Parkman Prize,[4] the Samuel Eliot Morison Award,[5] and the Cornelius Ryan Award.[6]

The Path Between the Seas
Cover of the first edition.
AuthorDavid McCullough
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistory
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
1977
Pages698
ISBN978-0-671-22563-6
Preceded byThe Great Bridge 
Followed byMornings on Horseback 

The book details people, places, and events involved in building the Panama Canal. The title refers to the connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that the opening of the canal created.

Making extensive use of letters and interviews with participants and their surviving relatives, the author presents the personal side of the difficulties of the original French effort, and the massive financial losses caused by the failure of that effort; the American negotiations with Colombia, and the machinations that brought about the independence of Panama; and the personalities and conflicts of the principal players in the American effort. This personal aspect is set against the backdrop of the gigantic scale of the construction and the enormous technical difficulties that were surmounted to reach the eventual goal, the prospective benefit of which had long been recognized.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter has said that the treaties passing control of the Canal to Panama would not have passed the U.S Senate had it not been for McCullough's book. “All through the Senate debates on the issue,” McCullough observes, “the book was quoted again and again, and I’m pleased to say that it was quoted by both sides. Real history always cuts both ways."[5]

See also

References
  1. McCullough, David (1977). The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870—1914 (Octavo, 698 pages ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22563-4.
  2. McCullough, David (1977). The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870—1914 (Paperback ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-24409-4.
  3. "National Book Awards". National Book Foundation. 1978. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  4. "Francis Parkman Prize". Columbia.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-03-04. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  5. "Samuel Eliot Morison Award 1978". American Heritage. 29 (6). October 1978. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  6. "The Cornelius Ryan Award 1977". opcofamerica.org. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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