Book Review

Wedding of the Waters: the Erie Canal and the making of a great nation
Peter Bernstein

I really liked this book.

To commerate the trip to Buffalo, I picked this book up before we left. It had been a recommendation from someone else. Growing up, I don't really remember hearing much canal history in school. 3 weeks ago, this struck me as odd, since it's a mile from my parents house. I asked Tom while we were at the airport on Tuesday, he had canal history in school, and had to do a report on it. Maybe I missed it, we moved just before 8th grade, maybe it was a 7th grade topic in Tonawanda. Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention, it's not like I had to put much effort into high school.

Anyhow, the author goes through the stuff that went into thinking up and getting approved the canal, digging it, and what things the canal led to. (His point is that it was the leading factor in Westward expansion and the building up of the Midwest.) It was a very interesting book, I recommend it to all.