The Isthmus of Panama

Chevalier, Michel, 1806-1879Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 268K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.L'isthme de Panama by Michel ChevalierAuthor: Chevalier, Michel, 1806-1879,Language: French, Class: TC: Technology: Ocean engineering, Release Date: Sep 3, 2008

Editor's review

This book is a topical study of the Isthmus of Panama by the French economist and engineer Michel Chevalier, with the original French text prepared and released by Project Gutenberg. It discusses engineering questions within a view where economics and geography meet, and is of considerable value for understanding nineteenth-century arguments about interoceanic routes. Though brief, it preserves the reasoning and evidence of contemporary debates over canal and railway schemes, allowing readers to observe the costs, trade considerations and geopolitical calculations behind technical choices. As a public-domain ebook it is better suited to research reading than as an introductory general text. Read it with maps and historical background at hand, noting how the author's dual identity as engineer and economist shaped his judgments. For readers interested in the history of marine engineering, Latin American transport history or French technical literature, it is a primary text ready for direct use.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers in the history of technology studying nineteenth-century interoceanic route schemes
Students of the prehistory of the Panama Canal and Latin American transport history
Researchers with French reading ability needing primary documents
Readers interested in arguments at the intersection of engineering and economics

Not a good fit for

General readers wanting a popular history of the Panama Canal
Those unable to read French and unwilling to use reference tools
Readers expecting modern engineering data and diagrams

Reading tips

Consult a map of the Isthmus of Panama first, then follow the routes and schemes discussed chapter by chapter.
Have a French dictionary or a parallel translation ready, focusing on the sections on costs and trade.
Read alongside contemporary canal-scheme documents to compare the trade-offs among technical routes.
After reading, organize the author's core arguments, distinguishing engineering judgments from economic speculation.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or French?

It is in the original French, released as an ebook by Project Gutenberg, with no Chinese translation included. Readers need French reading ability or should use dictionaries and translation tools.

Is it suitable as an introductory book on the Panama Canal?

Not really. It is a topical nineteenth-century discussion of the Isthmus of Panama with a distinctly period style of argument and lacks the background synthesis of a modern general history; it is better suited to readers with some foundation.

What background knowledge is needed before reading?

It helps to know the geographical position of the Isthmus of Panama, the general outlines of nineteenth-century debate on interoceanic transport, and the broad contours of the canal-versus-railway controversy. Basic French and some knowledge of engineering and economics make reading smoother.

Comments

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About the author

Chevalier, Michel, 1806-1879 Author

Michel Chevalier (1806–1879) was a French economist, engineer, and political writer. The library holds two of his works: Society, Manners and Politics in the United States and L'isthme de Panama. The former records and comments on American social customs and political institutions, while the latter focuses on transport and the proposed cutting of the Isthmus of Panama, reflecting his enduring interest in economic development, infrastructure, and public affairs. His writing tends to combine firsthand observation with policy analysis, addressing practical problems in a pragmatic style. Though the two works differ in subject, both show his habit of linking economic perspectives with engineering questions. Public information about the details of his life is limited, so no further inferences are made here; readers may approach his viewpoint and argumentative manner through the works mentioned above.