Reddit reviews The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914

Injury and/or infection seem like safe bets. I highly doubt he "went native" (ugh, colonial-era racism) or set up a cult. The jungle is extraordinarily dangerous and the insect problem is probably what got them in the end. I read David McCullough's The Path Between the Seas about the building of the Panama Canal, and it's estimated that over 27,000 workers died from malaria and yellow fever. Three guys alone in the Amazon with rudimentary protection would probably perish very quickly.

Never learned it in school here, but the whole story of the Scottish settlement in Darién is featured prominently in The Path Between The Seas by David McCullough. I read it shortly after high school. “Thrilling” isn’t an adjective I would normally use to describe a non-fiction book, but the way McCullough pieces the history of the canal with the history of Panama and the various countries and personalities invested in the project(s) at one point or another is superb.

Yup, Ferdinand de Lesseps was the one who was given much of the credit for the construction of the Suez Canal. He tried to do the same in Panama and make the whole canal at sea level but failed miserably and almost bankrupted France.

The book by David McCullough on the Panama Canal is an amazing read https://www.amazon.com/Path-Between-Seas-Creation-1870-1914/dp/0671244094

Theories of what caused maladies were many and varied before the germ theory eventually won out in the early days of the 1900s. It's crazy to think about it, but they still hadn't figure out that, for instance, malaria was an illness caused by a microscopic parasite transmitted through the bite of a mosquito at the time they were digging the Panama canal...leading to many a tragic treatment theory for malaria wards. I recommend The Path Between The Seas for a tragically enlightening read.

A theory that hysterical behavior was caused by a malfunction of the uterus is not really any more sexist than the general belief that people had 4 'humors' in their body, and their relative imbalance could cause illness. Or that illness was caused by 'bad air' especially from swamps.

Someone else listed the source, but this book, The Path Between The Seas, covers it very in depth, and is 100% worth the read. I consider it one of the best books I've read of 2014, and that is an extensive list full of some really good books.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Path-Between-Seas-1870-1914/dp/0671244094/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330717914&sr=8-3

If you're interested in the history of the construction of the original canal I highly recommend a book called Path Between the Seas by David McCullough. It's full of all kind of interesting stuff about the political, engineering and epidemiological problems they faced.

i read this quote in David McCullough's incredible book about the Panama Canal, called The Path Between The Seas. It comes from John Stevens, the man who eventually came in and finished the overwhelmingly gargantuan task of completing the construction of the Panama Canal, perhaps the largest engineering task ever undertaken up until that point.

"Do something, for the mistake can be corrected...but there is no way to correct nothing".

I'd highly recommend David McCullough's "Path Between the Seas" for a great discussion of the Panama/Nicaragua debate and history of the actual construction.