In Chapter 1 of his book, David McCullough views a number of expeditions that were made in Central America in the early 19th-century looking for the ideal route, but what did he find as common to every canal proposal?

David McCullough finds the theme common to them collectively is that "all early 19th-century canal plans are preposterous." Each survey is flawed with any of a number of things, including ridiculous assumptions, poor equipment, and inaccurate data.