Gateway To Power: How America Forged The Panama Canal

For centuries, a path between the seas was merely a dream, one that broke the ambitions of kings and the world's greatest engineers. This book tells the story of how the United States, at the dawn of the 20th century, took on this impossible challenge and succeeded where all others had failed. It is a narrative of American ingenuity and sheer force of will that literally reshaped the globe.Discover the full story behind the political masterstroke that created a new nation to secure the Canal's path. Follow the medical pioneers who waged a relentless war on tropical disease, making the monumental construction effort possible. Witness the epic ten-year struggle of engineering and labor that carved a fifty-mile channel through a continent.For nearly a century, the Panama Canal was the linchpin of American naval strategy and a symbol of its global power. This history explores its vital role in two World Wars and the Cold War, a period when the Canal Zone was a unique slice of America in the tropics. Understand the contentious political battle that resulted in the United States relinquishing control of its greatest engineering achievement.The story is not over, as the Canal now stands at the center of a new great-power competition with China's growing influence in the region. This book examines the modern challenges to the waterway and the enduring American strategic interest in its security and neutrality. It is the definitive account of the past, present, and future of the vital waterway America built.Read more