Year of Reading 9: "Parting the Desert"

I have now read two books about canals! I don't know too many people who have done that. This one focuses on the building of the Suez Canal, by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1869. He also tried to build a canal in Panama but wasn't successful.

I was really surprised at how the British viewed the canal. They really didn't support de Lessep's efforts; but then took over the canal in 1882. Thieves! Or just being British. Americans aren't as good at exploiting the world as the British were. Britain, of course, used the canal to take over most of Africa and Asia. De Lesseps thought he was uniting the world, not allowing one end to conquer it. In the end the canal went back to Egypt. Since then the use of it has really

declined. One wonders if it will still be being used in a hundred years.

The book was not such a bad read. Slim, yet it contains a lot of information that is intriguing and fascinating. Something to carry on a trip overseas.

Of course, now I wonder if I have enough books for my remaining time in Yemen.