Agree with "The Path Between the Seas" as a great source of history about the canal. Perhaps if you don't want to read all the history you could skip the French failure part. We did the canal on a 19 day on the Sun back in 2015, got some good historic info on the ship, which was unusual for an NCL cruise. The sun did not measure up to the Jewel or the Gem, was a bit boring, but We got new entertainers after going through the canal,that helped. Helps if you like trivia, join a good team.