Hack Historians James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy trace the early history of the Panama Canal, from the first European crossing of the Isthmus to the dreams and delusions of travel writers and pontificators who never visited the region. They explore how the Gold Rush and the Panama Railroad laid the groundwork for the canal’s eventual construction. Along the way, James and Thornton examine the role of international politics, tropical disease and 19th-century hubris. It’s a story of ambition, missteps and the irresistible pull of a shortcut between oceans.