On December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc and the Norwegian war-relief vessel Imo collided in the harbour at Halifax, Nova Scotia. That accident sparked a fire and an apocalyptic explosion that was the largest man-made blast prior to the 1945 dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Together with the killer tsunami that followed, the explosion devastated the entire city in the … entire city in the wink of an eye and instantly killed more than two thousand people.
While much has been written about the disaster, there is still more to the story, including the investigation of the key figures involved, the histories of the ships that collided and the confluence of circumstances that brought these two vessels together to touch off one of the most tragic man-made disasters of the twentieth century.
The Halifax Explosion is a fresh, revealing account that finally answers questions that have lingered for a century: Was the explosion a disaster triggered by simple human error? Was it caused by the negligence of the ships’ pilots or captains? Was it the result of shortcomings in harbour practices and protocols? Or was the blast—as many people at the time insisted—the result of sabotage carried out by wartime German agents?
December 6, 2017, marks the centennial of the great Halifax explosion. The Halifax Explosion tells the gripping, as-yet untold story of Canada’s worst disaster—a haunting tale of survival, incredible courage and, ultimately, the triumph of the human spirit.
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Relating and incident that is easily forgotten.
In the 1930’s my mother spent summers in Halifax as my grandfather was the shipping manager for an English steamship line in New York. At that time, there were still many signs of the damage. I’ve always been interested in this story, though this is the first really detailed description I’ve come across. Very interesting.
Great historical story of an event that I was not familiar with.
A little known tragedy caused by a confluence of bad decisions.
A fabulous read of an historic event. Couldn’t put the book down.
Well researched and well written.
A piece of history that we never heard of that is earth shaking.
Story was compelling but you get lost in the details. Every character (and there are many) is described in detail including their past — kept getting lost in what time period the author was talking about. Before the explosion? After? How is all that detail relevant to the story? Kept hoping at some point we would have all the characters and get on with the story. Two-thirds through and I gave up.
Very good coverage of the people and events.
Wonderful telling of a fascinating story.
When in Halifax a number of years ago I learned of the explosion. This book bring the horrible event to life in a factual detailed report.
An excellent history of the explosion and its aftermath.
Hard to put down and horrifying!
Outstanding book about a great and tragic event that changed maritime procedures forever.
An excellent recounting of a little known disaster. Well done!
A little remembered tragic accident that affected a very large urban population. The book offers a full account of all of the events leading up to the a dramatic explosion–what the was happening in the world (First world war) at the time, the details of the slow unfolding triggering event, and the truly devastating consequence of the explosion to a large population. The book speaks not only to the global, and local settings, but also down to the impact on individual families.
An extremely informative book about the great Halifax explosion. It look at it from several angles, including a broad view and personal accounts of some of the people affected. A great account of tragedy, heroism, and sacrifice.
Visited this area on a cruise and heard about the explosion. When this book came up on Book Bubs, it peaked my interest. The book is excellent. It provided a lot of interesting information, foremost why it should never have happened. Highly recommend!!
Good historical tale of a tragedy during WWI.
This was a great book. I’m a fiction reader but this was so easy reading, I couldn’t put it down. It made you wonder how had we heard so little about this event. Made me do additional research on the explosion.