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The Big Ditch : How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal / Carlos Yu, Noel Maurer.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2010]Copyright date: ©2011Edition: Course BookDescription: 1 online resource (440 p.) : 1 halftone. 30 line illus. 48 tables. 6 mapsContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780691147383
  • 9781400836284
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 386/.44 22
LOC classification:
  • F1569.C2
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Preface -- One: Introduction to the Ditch -- Two: Before the Ditch -- Three: Preparing the Ditch -- Four: Digging the Ditch -- Five: Crossing the Ditch -- Six: Passed by the Ditch -- Seven: Sliding into Irrelevancy -- Eight: Ditching the Ditch -- Nine: Concluding the Ditch -- Notes -- Index
Summary: On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened for business, forever changing the face of global trade and military power, as well as the role of the United States on the world stage. The Canal's creation is often seen as an example of U.S. triumphalism, but Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu reveal a more complex story. Examining the Canal's influence on Panama, the United States, and the world, The Big Ditch deftly chronicles the economic and political history of the Canal, from Spain's earliest proposals in 1529 through the final handover of the Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, to the present day. The authors show that the Canal produced great economic dividends for the first quarter-century following its opening, despite massive cost overruns and delays. Relying on geographical advantage and military might, the United States captured most of these benefits. By the 1970s, however, when the Carter administration negotiated the eventual turnover of the Canal back to Panama, the strategic and economic value of the Canal had disappeared. And yet, contrary to skeptics who believed it was impossible for a fledgling nation plagued by corruption to manage the Canal, when the Panamanians finally had control, they switched the Canal from a public utility to a for-profit corporation, ultimately running it better than their northern patrons. A remarkable tale, The Big Ditch offers vital lessons about the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects, American overseas interventions on institutional development, and the ability of governments to run companies effectively.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781400836284

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Preface -- One: Introduction to the Ditch -- Two: Before the Ditch -- Three: Preparing the Ditch -- Four: Digging the Ditch -- Five: Crossing the Ditch -- Six: Passed by the Ditch -- Seven: Sliding into Irrelevancy -- Eight: Ditching the Ditch -- Nine: Concluding the Ditch -- Notes -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened for business, forever changing the face of global trade and military power, as well as the role of the United States on the world stage. The Canal's creation is often seen as an example of U.S. triumphalism, but Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu reveal a more complex story. Examining the Canal's influence on Panama, the United States, and the world, The Big Ditch deftly chronicles the economic and political history of the Canal, from Spain's earliest proposals in 1529 through the final handover of the Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, to the present day. The authors show that the Canal produced great economic dividends for the first quarter-century following its opening, despite massive cost overruns and delays. Relying on geographical advantage and military might, the United States captured most of these benefits. By the 1970s, however, when the Carter administration negotiated the eventual turnover of the Canal back to Panama, the strategic and economic value of the Canal had disappeared. And yet, contrary to skeptics who believed it was impossible for a fledgling nation plagued by corruption to manage the Canal, when the Panamanians finally had control, they switched the Canal from a public utility to a for-profit corporation, ultimately running it better than their northern patrons. A remarkable tale, The Big Ditch offers vital lessons about the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects, American overseas interventions on institutional development, and the ability of governments to run companies effectively.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021)