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Title: The Path Between the Seas
Review: This is a fascinating story of the entire history of the construction of the Panama Canal, beginning with the French, who had recently completed construction of the Suez Canal at sea level.With virtually no advance surveys of the terrain at Panama, de Lesseps decided to build a sea level canal, since that had done the job at Suez. The French government became involved in the financing, and millions of francs were spent and thousands of lives lost to malaria and yellow fever, before the project was given up. This brought about the fall of the French government.With some highly suspicious maneuverings by Theodore Roosevelt, the U.S. gained independence of Panama from Columbia and eventually built the canal after discovering the cause of malaria and yellow fever and taking steps to avoid it.The usual excellent writing by David McCullough.
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