Book Guide

From the time when the first faint whisperings of a new world came to the ears of Europe, man began to dream of a westward passage through the great land masses of North and South America. After many centuries, their dream came true in the mighty engineering work called the Panama Canal.

Here is the story of Panama, the Canal, and of the man who built it—a great story of adventure and adventurers. As told by Howard Fast, it becomes the saga of the men who went down to the Isthmus to conquer it: explorers, Spanish Dons, pirates, gold hunters, and lastly, engineers. How they fought and worked and dreamed, and how finally their dreams came true in the completed "big ditch" makes as fascinating a tale as any piece of fiction.

Every detail of the Canal is simply explained, and a hundred mysteries are cleared up, such as how, a ship is lifted over the mountains from ocean to ocean.

The chief character is George Washington Goethals, who supervised the building of the Canal, and while the book covers his childhood and later years, it deals particularly with Goethals' culminating achievement—his work on the Panama Canal.

Today, when the Panama Canal is on everyone's lips, this book will have more than ordinary interest. No one can realize the full importance of the Canal who does not know what went into the making of it.

From the dust jacket

To view an example page please sign in.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Howard Fast

Howard Fast

1914 - 2003
American
Howard Fast was born in New York City but he has been to almost every part of the United States, having a tremendous curiosity about people and an e... See more
Rafaello Busoni

Rafaello Busoni

1900 - 1962
Italian American
Rafaello Busoni was born in Berlin, Germany, and began to paint at the age of twelve, becoming very interested in drawing and illustrating. His inte... See more

To view reprints of this book please sign in.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Content Guide

Please sign in to access all of the topics associated with this book and view other books with the same topics.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Please sign in to access the locations this book takes place in and view other books in the same location.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Please sign in to access the time periods this book takes place in and view other books in the same time period.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

For information about the lead characters please sign in.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial

Resource Guide

Please sign in to access resources associated with this book.

Sign In




Not a member yet? Start your Free Trial