Wedding of the Waters
by Peter L. Bernstein
Buy book: $15.71

The building of the Erie Canal is one of the greatest and most riveting stories of American ingenuity. Now a bestselling author presents the story of the canal's construction against the larger tableau of America in the first quarter-century of the 1800s.

 

I read this book when it first came out. I'm a big fan of Bernstein. WOTW provides insight into the social, political, and economic climates of the late 1700's and early 1800's and waht the causes were behind building the canal. It particularly describes why New York City transcended all other east coast cities to become the pre-eminent city in the country. I enjoyed the passages about life along the canal and how the canal was modernized to try to keep pace with the growing railroad system in New York state. But beware, the whole time you're reading it the old time folk song runs through your head:

"Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge, we're coming to a town,
You'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal."

I happen to enjoy reading non-fiction history and this one was very readable. It reminded me of the Ambrose style in his book on the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. It was even better in the detail and political intrique that surrounded the entire effort. Like the railroad, it was an incredible effort by a group of visionaries. If you had lived in their day, you might not have liked their politics - or even their attitude - but they had a dream (an American one at that) and they followed through on it. It is a terrific read and would be worthy of a good movie as well.

Being a local brings added interest - I will definitely finish the week's readings and look to withdraw from the library. It is very interesting to read about dealings in the past & compare to politics of today.

This week, while reading Wedding of the Waters, I am also watching a local television program, The Making of Milwaukee. I learned that the Erie Canal was instrumental in Milwaukee's incredible growth in the 1850's, by giving immigrants a way to travel west and by giving midwestern farmers a way to ship grain to the East and on to Europe. The book is a very interesting read.