Seven wonders of the industrial world. The Panama Canal / produced and directed by Philip Smith ; a BBC/TLC co-production.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Smith, Philip (Television director), director, producer.

British Broadcasting Corporation, production company.

Learning Channel (Firm), production company.

Series:

Academic Video Online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lesseps, Ferdinand de, 1805-1894.

Lesseps, Ferdinand de.

Civil engineering--Panama--History.

Civil engineering.

Panama Canal (Panama).

Genre:

Historical reenactments (Television programs)

Physical Description:

1 online resource (50 minutes)

Other Title:

Panama Canal

7 wonders of the industrial world

Place of Publication:

London, England : BBC Worldwide, 2003.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

An encounter with the most brilliant pioneers of the industrial age. Recreating their stories of burning ambition, extravagant dreams, passion and rivalry as great minds clashed, this programme delves into the history of seven epic monuments spanning the industrial revolution. Using spectacular CGI, the seven stories that are revealed here are: the SS Great Eastern; the London sewer system; the Bell Rock Lighthouse; the US Transcontinental Railway; the Panama Canal; the Hoover Dam; and the Brooklyn Bridge. With the growth in travel and trade, by the late 19th century shipping had become big business. Having completed the building of the Suez Canal in 1869, a Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, dreamed of an even bolder scheme: the Panama Canal. Lesseps decided he would cut a path across the isthmus of Panama,and thus unite the great oceans of the Atlantic and Pacific. He knew that the long journey around South America's Cape Horn would then become unnecessary for ships carrying cargo across the world, and the world itself would seem a smaller place. Once out in the tropical heat of Panama, however, the French found themselves facing impenetrable jungle, dangerous mudslides and deathly tropical diseases, as the project proved to be an undertaking of nightmare proportions. The extravagant dream eventually came true, but in the process it stole over 25,000 lives, and 25 years had to elapse before the oceans were finally united.

Participant:

Narrated by Robert Lindsay.

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed March 06, 2019).

OCLC:

1096487322