The Great Halifax Explosion

A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism

De: John U. Bacon

Narrado por: Johnny Heller

Duración: 10 h y 38 m

Resumen del Editor

From New York Times best-selling author John U. Bacon, a gripping narrative history of the largest manmade detonation prior to Hiroshima: In 1917, a ship laden with the most explosives ever packed on a vessel sailed out of Brooklyn's harbor for the battlegrounds of World War I; when it stopped in Halifax, Nova Scotia, an extraordinary disaster awaited....

On Monday, December 3, 1917, the French freighter SS Mont-Blanc set sail from Brooklyn carrying the largest cache of explosives ever loaded onto a ship, including 2,300 tons of picric acid, an unstable, poisonous chemical more powerful than TNT. The US had just recently entered World War I, and the ordnance was bound for the battlefields of France to help the Allies break the grueling stalemate that had protracted the fighting for nearly four demoralizing years. The explosives were so dangerous that Captain Aimé Le Medec took unprecedented safety measures, including banning the crew from smoking, lighting matches, or even touching a drop of liquor.

Sailing north, the Mont-Blanc faced deadly danger, enduring a terrifying snowstorm off the coast of Maine and evading stealthy enemy U-boats hunting the waters of the Atlantic. But it was in Nova Scotia that an extraordinary disaster awaited. As the Mont-Blanc waited to dock in Halifax, it was struck by a Norwegian relief ship, the Imo, charging out of port. A small fire on the freighter's deck caused by the impact ignited the explosives below, resulting in a horrific blast that, in 1/15 of a second, leveled 325 acres of Halifax - killing more than 1,000 people and wounding 9,000 more.

In this definitive account, Bacon combines research and eyewitness accounts to re-create the tragedy and its aftermath, including the international effort to rebuild the devastated port city. As he brings to light one of the most dramatic incidents of the 20th century, Bacon explores the long shadow this first "weapon of mass destruction" would cast on the future of nuclear warfare - crucial insights and understanding relevant to us today.

©2017 John U. Bacon (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

tragedy that brought the US & Canada together

We all learn about the war of 1812 but not what ended the hostility between the US & Canada.

great story

A tragic but also very hopeful book

Excellent research. Riveting Writing/Performance Opens with the foibles and blindness to possible tragedy that all humanity suffers from. Describes in detail how real people dealt with the biggest human made explosion in history up to that point in time. Describes how when everything is gone humans are basically good, caring and wanting to help others. Left me feeling that we still have hope to return to less hateful, polarized times. I'm just praying it doesn't take a terrible tragic event to get us there

Informative and interesting

Having visited Halifax a couple of times I found this book to be very informative and appreciated the fine citizens of Canada. Their heroism is to this day very much appreciated.

Unsung heros unearthed amidst overlooked history

Loved this retelling of an all too often forgotten chapter of history that's had ripple effects up to the modern day. This true story uncovered everyday heros who emerged n the middle of one of North America's greatest (and mostly unknown) tragedies.

Touching and Memorable

I had never heard about Halifax. I just listened to another book about how disasters can bring together a “survivalist” community that brings out the best in people and helps them overcome such disasters, and Halifax was mentioned. It peaked my curiosity and I purchased this book. At first I thought it was way too slow, and couldn’t understand why the writer spent so many chapters on Halifax history before ever getting to the explosion incident. However, that background buildup made the event far more poignant and many attitudes more understandable. This ended up being a heartfelt and memorable telling of a terrible tragedy that I feel bad for not having known about. Well worth the listen.

Wow! What a story!

Excellent research and an exquisitely told story of tragedy and triumph. The narration is perfect. The story is not well known now, but should be. I give this book and recording my highest recommendation.

Breathtaking

Stunning story, not for the faint hearted! Well written and narrated. A forgot piece of history a must listen/read for all Americans and Canadians alike. 10 stars!!

An event I knew nothing about

I'd never even heard about this happening until coming across the book on Audible. Very well put together. It could have been written as a recitation of facts, but is pursued as a story of people's lives. I'd suggest it to anybody.

A very detailed account of an unfortunate event!

Before embarking on a road-trip to Halifax, I downloaded this audio book to listen to while driving from VA to NS. This book covered much more detail than I expected, though I found it to be very engaging none-the-less. It served well to help me learn more about this event that shaped the areas around where the explosion happened as well as relations between the US and Canada. Initially, I found the level of detail to be overwhelming, however, as I continued listening, I appreciated these interwoven storylines and data points. John U. Bacon went to great lengths to pull together a huge variety of information from many disciplines--and did so with a very obvious fondness and tenderness for the people whose lives were affected by this tragedy. Johnny Heller did a seamless job of narrating this book as well--and though I don't know French, I saw another reviewer pointed out that Heller's pronunciation and accent were accurate, which only allowed better focus on the book (meaning, not distracted by anything in the narration, as can happen sometimes.) I also agree with fellow reviewers who noted Heller's appropriate seriousness and light-heartedness at times throughout the book. It has been about 10 years since the last time I read a book of this length. Also about 10 years since I listened to a book of this length. It took me a while to get back into the rhythm of a book of this length, but it was well worth it for its richness in detail and human capabilities.

Way more than I anticipated

I read and enjoy a ton of history books, and they can often become dry or overweight with minutiae. The length of this book had me worrying that that was the case. How can there be this much book for a lightning fast event?

I was wrong, and really this was one of the most interesting books I tackled last year. Not only does the author slow down the events to stack them up into a gripping narrative. He slows down to almost a “bullet time” account of the explosion itself. Leading us into a terrifying account from several perspectives.

The humanity the author accounts for before and after the event are rich with detail. And I came away with way more perspective on the event and how it shaped the world than I was anticipating.