The Panama Canal: The Story of How a Jungle Was Conquered and the World Made Smaller

by Elizabeth Mann

Book Overview

Panama was less than 50 miles wide, yet difficult to bridge by canal -- its swamps were disease-ridden, its mountainous rain forest challenged the most brilliant engineers, and its oppressive heat exhausted the hardiest workers. Engineers found ways to cut through the forest, medical visionaries conquered the diseases, and workers endured the jungle. Yet there were also broken treaties, political tyranny, and the tragedy of thousands of West Indian...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1931414149
• ISBN13: 9781931414142
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Mikaya Press
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 9.6" x 9.9"
• Age Range: 9 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

Engineering triumphs of many different types

The Panama Canal was an incredible triumph of engineering and the final move towards completion was a patently illegal action by U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer who had built the Suez Canal was attempting to build the canal across Panama, but the company that he headed eventually abandoned the project in disgrace. At that time, Panama was a state in Columbia and President Roosevelt tried to get the Columbians to sign a treaty ceding the rights to a canal to the United States. When he considered the conditions demanded by the Columbians to be too onerous, he supported a "rebellion" in Panama that led to independence from Columbia. A treaty was then signed and the Americans started work on the canal. The problems that had to be overcome were substantial, and they are very well detailed in this book. The damming of the Chagres River to make the 164 square mile reservoir Gatun Lake was a stroke of genius as it created a large waterway and provided a source of water to run the locks. I was surprised to learn that there are only 12 locks in the canal. A lot of this is due to the enormous amount of earth that was moved to create the Culebra cut, a ditch 272 feet deep and wide enough for ocean-going ships to pass through. It also requires 52 million gallons of water for a ship to go through the canal. However, the greatest single problem to be solved had nothing to do with moving earth. It was the battle against the jungle and the associated tropical diseases. All of this is explained in great detail, including the solutions to these problems. This is an excellent way for children to learn how the Panama Canal was created and I recommend it to everyone who teaches history to children.

for children and adults

The illustrations in this book are so good that I have offered it to my husband as a "ready made diary" of our trip to the Panama canal. The pictures capture all the beauty and the technological marvel of the canal. The book is an excellent visit in an armchair.