Ben Waber reviewed Canal Dreamers by Jessica M. Lepler
A Rare Book Examining a Failed Innovation/Industry
4 stars
This is a great addition to the criminally small canon of books dealing with failed industries/innovations, focusing on the small group of players from the US and Europe that jockeyed to build a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific in the 1820s. The rampant financial speculation in the space, the fantastical stories told by the "entrepreneurs" backing these efforts, and the appeals to poorly understood science should all be familiar to people today (cough AI cough), and from that perspective this book is extremely helpful for understanding how common these cycles are. I wish there were a lot more here on the Central American nations and players (probably instead of the sections on domestic US political machinations), and some more shipping and trade economic context would be appreciated. Still, this deep dive into a little-known but extremely representative era. Highly recommend
This is a great addition to the criminally small canon of books dealing with failed industries/innovations, focusing on the small group of players from the US and Europe that jockeyed to build a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific in the 1820s. The rampant financial speculation in the space, the fantastical stories told by the "entrepreneurs" backing these efforts, and the appeals to poorly understood science should all be familiar to people today (cough AI cough), and from that perspective this book is extremely helpful for understanding how common these cycles are. I wish there were a lot more here on the Central American nations and players (probably instead of the sections on domestic US political machinations), and some more shipping and trade economic context would be appreciated. Still, this deep dive into a little-known but extremely representative era. Highly recommend