Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal - Hardcover

Karabell, Zachary

3.71

178 ratings by Goodreads

9780719561603: Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719561604 ISBN 13: 9780719561603

Publisher: John Murray, 2003

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The building of the Suez Canal was considered the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century, but, as Zachary Karabell shows in this book, there was much more to it than just a marvel of construction. In addition, Parting the Desert describes an extraordinary meeting between East and West.;The idea which began with Napoleon Bonaparte was then taken up by the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, who masterminded the project winning a concession from the ruler of Egypt. Lesseps travelled throughout Europe to raise money, and managed to win the support of Louis Napoleon and neutralize the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was a persuasive public-speaker but he never convinced Lord Palmerston, one of the towering figures of Victorian England, who was determined to prevent the canal's completion. To carry out the enormous engineering project, Lesseps used both old tools and new ones. He set up a modern company governed by shareholders, but took advantage of forced labour, and he hired the best engineers of the day who designed machines to excavate the 100-mile long canal.;The creation of the Suez Canal captured the imagination of the world. It was heralded as a symbol of progress that would unite East and West, but its legacy is mixed. The canal was supposed to strengthen the Middle East and bridge cultures; instead the gap widened. However, it opened up a trade link between West and East which had enormous repercussions.

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Review:

'Concise and pleasantly digressive history' (The Economist )

'Well-researched and very well-written book' (Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph 20030601)

'They did indeed part the desert, and their story cannot be told better than by this fine book' (Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph 20030601)

'A concise and pleasantly digressive history ... a tale of colourful and clashing personalities' (The Economist 20030614)

'This fascinating book ... guides the reader admirably through the background to what was the world's greatest engineering project' (Justin Marozzi, Literary Review 20030601)

'Parting the Desert is an excellent story, skillfully told. Even those who are bored to tears by canals, whose eyes glaze over at the first mention of engineering, will find themselves ... racing through it' (Justin Marozzi, Literary Review 20030601)

'Karabell has written an exceptional book, one of the best of its kind ... a splendid account of a great project' (Sunday Herald 20030603)

'Excellent and well-written' (Sunday Herald 20030603)

Book Description:

An extraordinary meeting between East and West and the story of the nineteenth century's greatest engineering feat.

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