The French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805 1894) was instrumental in the successful completion of the Suez Canal, which reduced by 3000 miles the distance by sea between Bombay and London. This two-volume memoir, written towards the end of his life and dedicated to his children, was published in this English translation in 1887. In it, de Lesseps describes his experiences in Europe and North Africa. He includes reflections on European and colonial history and politics, a chapter on steam power, and a report on the 1879 Paris conference that led to a controversial and abortive...

The French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805 1894) was instrumental in the successful completion of the Suez Canal, which reduced by 3000 miles the distance by sea between Bombay and London. This two-volume memoir, written towards the end of his life and dedicated to his children, was published in this English translation in 1887. In it, de Lesseps describes his experiences in Europe and North Africa. He includes reflections on European and colonial history and politics, an essay on steam power, and a report on the 1879 Paris conference that led to a controversial and abortive...

In the early 1850s the French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805 1894) revived earlier French plans to build a canal through the Isthmus of Suez, and, thanks to his good relations with the Viceroy of Egypt, won approval for the project in the face of British and Turkish opposition. This 1870 lecture reveals de Lesseps' enchantment with the desert and its people, his determination to complete the canal, and his annoyance at British antagonism. By 1875, when this English translation by Sir Henry Wolff was published, the canal had been open for six years and the British position...

In the early 1850s the French diplomat and engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805 1894) revived earlier French plans to build a canal through the Isthmus of Suez. He saw the immense benefits such a canal would bring, reducing by 3000 miles the distance by sea between Bombay and London, and he was instrumental in its successful completion. These letters, published in this English translation in 1876, show how De Lesseps persuaded the Viceroy of Egypt to allow construction, and how he overcame opposition from Britain and Turkey. Letters to the Viceroy, Emperor Napoleon III, Members of Parliament,...