Chokepoint

For centuries, empires dreamed of cutting through the sands of Egypt. Pharaohs envisioned it, Persians revived it, Napoleon mapped it-but only in the nineteenth century did men finally force the Mediterranean and Red Seas to meet. The result was not just a canal, but the most perilous chokepoint in the modern world.

Chokepoint tells the epic story of a waterway that became the artery of empires and the prize of conquerors. Born from the vision of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the Suez Canal was carved by the sweat of tens of thousands who labored and died in the desert. Once opened, it instantly redrew the map of power-shortening voyages, fueling global commerce, and transforming Egypt into the crossroads of civilization.

The canal was never safe. It was besieged in the First World War, bombed and fought over in the Second, and set ablaze during the Suez Crisis of 1956, when President Nasser's daring nationalization shocked the globe. Britain, France, and Israel launched a secret invasion, while America and the Soviet Union hovered on the brink of confrontation. The waterway became more than a passage-it became the stage for the great rivalries of the modern age.

Even in peace, the canal remained fragile. Oil tankers, container ships, and superpowers all depended on its narrow channel, and the slightest disruption sent tremors across the world. That fragility was laid bare in 2021, when the colossal Ever Given lodged across the canal, halting billions of dollars in trade and reminding the world that a single accident could bring global commerce to its knees.