Public-domain ebook
The Panama Canal
Language: en1,629 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: History - American·History - Modern (1750+)·Engineering & Technology
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #41807.
About this book
The book is a straightforward, nonfiction account aimed at “the layman” that chronicles the Panama Canal from its geographic necessity to its ultimate completion. Its opening explains the author’s intent to keep the narrative simple despite the technical and diplomatic complexities of the project, noting that Colonel Goethals reviewed the engineering sections but declined to read a chapter on leadership. The work is organized into a detailed table of contents that covers everything from the Gatun Dam and lock machinery to the social life of workers, the political disputes with Colombia and Panama, and even comparative studies of other canals. The introductory chapter situates the canal within a broader historical sweep, linking Columbus’s early voyages to the modern American undertaking, and sets the stage for a factual, illustrated exploration of the engineering marvel.
Written in a clear, didactic style typical of early‑20th‑century American engineering literature, the text mixes descriptive passages with plentiful photographs, maps, and diagrams. Its tone is patriotic yet measured, reflecting the period’s confidence in large‑scale infrastructure. Readers who enjoy detailed technical histories, students of engineering or diplomatic history, and anyone interested in the practical and human dimensions of a monumental public works project will find the book both informative and accessible.
The opening · free to read
The primary purpose of this book is to tell the layman the story of the Panama Canal. It is written, therefore, in the simplest manner possible, considering the technical character of the great engineering feat itself, and the involved complexities of the diplomatic history attaching to its inception and undertaking. The temptation to turn aside into the pleasant paths of the romantic history of ancient Panama has been resisted; there is no attempt to dispose of political problems that incidentally concern the canal; in short, the book is confined to the story of the canal itself, and the things that are directly and vitally connected with it.
Colonel Goethals was good enough to read and correct the chapters relating to the construction of the canal, and, when shown a list of the chapters proposed, he asked that the one headed "The Man at the Helm" be omitted. The author felt that to bow to his wishes in that matter would be to fail to tell the whole story of the canal, and so Colonel Goethals did not read that chapter.
Every American is proud of the great national achievement at Panama. If, in the case of the individual, this book is able to supplement that pride by an ample fund of knowledge and information, its object and purpose will have been attained.
Acknowledgments
The grateful acknowledgments of the author are due to Mr. William Joseph Showalter for his valuable aid in gathering and preparing the material for this book. Acknowledgments are also due to Colonel George W. Goethals, chairman and chief engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission, for reading and correcting those chapters in the book pertaining to the engineering phases of the work; to Mr. Ernest Hallen, the official photographer of the Commission, for the photographs with which the book is illustrated; to Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, editor of the National Geographic Magazine, for permission to use the bird's-eye view map of the canal; to Mr. G. Thomas Ritchie, of the Library of Congress, for assistance in preparing the index; and to Mr. Howard E. Sherman, of the Government Printing Office, for revising the proofs to conform with the typographical style of the United States Government.
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