From the Publisher
The Great Halifax Explosion is absorbing from first page to last. With deep research and evocative writing, John U. Bacon has brought back to life this devastating wartime event and illuminated its lasting meaning.” — DAVID MARANISS, Pulitzer Prize winner, and author of Once in a Great City
“Fans of Ken Burns, Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat, and John Hersey’s Hiroshima will find in John Bacon’s meticulous reporting a story that literally rocked the world. This is a story with an enormous heart; this is an author with astounding range.” — DOUG STANTON, New York Times bestselling author of The Odyssey of Echo Company
“[A] prodigiously researched and gripping account. ... [A] vivid narrative that make[s] extensive use of archive material, family histories and newspaper accounts.” — Toronto Star
“An eternal story worth knowing. ... Well-researched and told in an engaging style.” — San Antonio Express-News
“The most destructive moment of World War I occurred far from the Western Front, in Canada, where an explosion blew a city apart but propelled two nations together. John U. Bacon, a superbly talented historian and story teller, has rescued from obscurity an astonishing episode of horror and heroism.” — GEORGE F. WILL
“John U. Bacon’s The Great Halifax Explosion is the seminal account of one of the bloodiest man-made disasters in world history, which killed some 2,000 people. This is a riveting, well-written and researched World War I book. Highly recommended!” — DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, author of Cronkite
“Riveting. ... Gripping. ... Bacon applies something like a play-by-play strategy to his non-fiction that makes it nearly bingeable. ... A pleasure to read.” — National Post
“Bacon does an excellent job of bringing the century-old events to life. He has immersed himself in old letters and journalistic accounts, finding the human stories that allow readers to connect with stories of men, women and children whose lives were ended or altered by the terrible explosion.” — Chicago Tribune
“Engrossing and enthralling. ... Gripping and deeply relatable. ... A captivating and emotionally investing journey into a community’s great sadness and how it builds strength in times of unfathomable devastation. … A striking, poignant reminder that what is forgotten should be remembered once more.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A story of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of tragedy. Told convincingly and powerfully.” — John Baldoni, Forbes
“Bacon has crafted a marvelous story about this huge tragedy. ... Ultimately, it is a book about the power of the human spirit and how ordinary people overcome unimaginable horror to rebuild their lives and help others. It is indeed a story for our times.” — Providence Journal
“Bacon documents the terrifying incident in vivid detail. ... An absorbing history of disaster and survival.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Definitive. ... Bacon recreates the recklessness that caused the tragedy, the selfless rescue efforts that saved thousands, and the inspiring resilience that rebuilt the town. ... Brings to light one of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century.’” — Book Riot
“Bacon’s discovery of a trove of Barss’s letters... injects his book with a fresh and compelling storyline.” — Toronto Globe and Mail
“Bacon is a fine storyteller, who brings all of his skills as a historian to bear on the tragedy. ... Anyone who wants to know more about a remarkable story should not miss this book.” — CBC Radio
“Many Americans are unaware of the terrible tragedy so ably described in this book. The author’s inclusion of many personal accounts greatly enlivens the narrative. ... The Great Halifax Explosion sheds new light on this sad but fascinating event.” — The Journal of America’s Military Past
“Well-documented. … Details the lapses in procedure and judgment that led up to the catastrophe, describing both the victims’ accounts and the enormous outpouring of aid from both Canada and America. … An accessible narrative useful to all World War I collections.” — Library Journal
“Very compelling.” — Brooklyn Digest
“The Halifax Explosion of 1917 has been virtually forgotten, at least until this excellent book. ... Reads like an exciting novel. ... Once you start reading, it will be hard to put down. Highly recommended.” — Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg)
“A vivid reconstruction of history that turns out to have been in great measure forgotten even by those who thought they already knew all about it. The telling of the story is spectacularly cinematic.” — David Frum, The Atlantic
“A really remarkable book, exactly the kind I love reading. The research was put together with care to create a full portrait of an event and a moment in time — and written with pace and craft. I just love it. I already want to read it again. I don’t think I can really express my admiration adequately.” — Glenn Stout, author of Fenway 1912
DAVID MARANISS
The Great Halifax Explosion is absorbing from first page to last. With deep research and evocative writing, John U. Bacon has brought back to life this devastating wartime event and illuminated its lasting meaning.
National Post
Riveting. ... Gripping. ... Bacon applies something like a play-by-play strategy to his non-fiction that makes it nearly bingeable. ... A pleasure to read.
DOUG STANTON
Fans of Ken Burns, Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat, and John Hersey’s Hiroshima will find in John Bacon’s meticulous reporting a story that literally rocked the world. This is a story with an enormous heart; this is an author with astounding range.
GEORGE F. WILL
The most destructive moment of World War I occurred far from the Western Front, in Canada, where an explosion blew a city apart but propelled two nations together. John U. Bacon, a superbly talented historian and story teller, has rescued from obscurity an astonishing episode of horror and heroism.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Engrossing and enthralling. ... Gripping and deeply relatable. ... A captivating and emotionally investing journey into a community’s great sadness and how it builds strength in times of unfathomable devastation. … A striking, poignant reminder that what is forgotten should be remembered once more.
John Baldoni
A story of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of tragedy. Told convincingly and powerfully.
Toronto Star
[A] prodigiously researched and gripping account. ... [A] vivid narrative that make[s] extensive use of archive material, family histories and newspaper accounts.
Chicago Tribune
Bacon does an excellent job of bringing the century-old events to life. He has immersed himself in old letters and journalistic accounts, finding the human stories that allow readers to connect with stories of men, women and children whose lives were ended or altered by the terrible explosion.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY
John U. Bacon’s The Great Halifax Explosion is the seminal account of one of the bloodiest man-made disasters in world history, which killed some 2,000 people. This is a riveting, well-written and researched World War I book. Highly recommended!
San Antonio Express-News
An eternal story worth knowing. ... Well-researched and told in an engaging style.
Chicago Tribune
Bacon does an excellent job of bringing the century-old events to life. He has immersed himself in old letters and journalistic accounts, finding the human stories that allow readers to connect with stories of men, women and children whose lives were ended or altered by the terrible explosion.
David Frum
A vivid reconstruction of history that turns out to have been in great measure forgotten even by those who thought they already knew all about it. The telling of the story is spectacularly cinematic.
Providence Journal
Bacon has crafted a marvelous story about this huge tragedy. ... Ultimately, it is a book about the power of the human spirit and how ordinary people overcome unimaginable horror to rebuild their lives and help others. It is indeed a story for our times.
Book Riot
Definitive. ... Bacon recreates the recklessness that caused the tragedy, the selfless rescue efforts that saved thousands, and the inspiring resilience that rebuilt the town. ... Brings to light one of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century.’
Brooklyn Digest
Very compelling.
The Journal of America’s Military Past
Many Americans are unaware of the terrible tragedy so ably described in this book. The author’s inclusion of many personal accounts greatly enlivens the narrative. ... The Great Halifax Explosion sheds new light on this sad but fascinating event.
Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg)
The Halifax Explosion of 1917 has been virtually forgotten, at least until this excellent book. ... Reads like an exciting novel. ... Once you start reading, it will be hard to put down. Highly recommended.
Glenn Stout
A really remarkable book, exactly the kind I love reading. The research was put together with care to create a full portrait of an event and a moment in time — and written with pace and craft. I just love it. I already want to read it again. I don’t think I can really express my admiration adequately.
Toronto Globe and Mail
Bacon’s discovery of a trove of Barss’s letters... injects his book with a fresh and compelling storyline.
CBC Radio
Bacon is a fine storyteller, who brings all of his skills as a historian to bear on the tragedy. ... Anyone who wants to know more about a remarkable story should not miss this book.
The Journal of America's Military Past
Many Americans are unaware of the terrible tragedy so ably described in this book. The author’s inclusion of many personal accounts greatly enlivens the narrative. ... The Great Halifax Explosion sheds new light on this sad but fascinating event.
BETH MACY
When I first encountered the Halifax Explosion, I knew immediately it was a tick-tock of a story just waiting to become a book. John U. Bacon is clearly the perfect writer for the job, able to keep you awake reading hours after your spouse has turned out the lights. In this suspenseful tale of heartbreak and heroism, Bacon deftly recreates a world at war and sheds new light on one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.
DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
The centennial of the shocking event this book discusses takes place in December 2017. The timing is perfect for an in-depth study of the causes and consequences of the largest man-made explosion on earth before the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Sadly, listeners may become exhausted by Johnny Heller's selection of an urgent newscaster tone to deliver the many chapters preceding the event itself. With the author making deep dives into the personal histories of a variety of individuals affected by the explosion—including backstories from the battlefields of the Great War—this kind of unrelenting voicing numbs the ears before the tragedy even occurs. Mispronunciations of local place names also intrude on listening interest. Heller chooses more nuanced tones throughout the drama itself and its aftermath. F.M.R.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-09-19
A history of the destruction of a Canadian city by an explosion as powerful as a nuclear weapon.In 1917, the thriving seaport of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was leveled by a munitions explosion of unprecedented force when two ships collided in the city's harbor. One carried 2,925 tons of high explosives; 494 steel drums of combustible airplane fuel; 250 tons of TNT, and 2,366 tons of the unstable, poisonous chemical picric acid, even more powerful than TNT. The ship was bound for France via Halifax as part of a convoy, the better to avoid German U-boats, until miscalculations ended in a devastating "awkward, dangerous dance." Synthesizing locally published sources, a family archive, and World War I histories, Bacon (Endzone: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football, 2015, etc.) documents the terrifying incident in vivid detail: events leading up to the ships' arrival; a capsule history of Halifax and a reprise of the start of World War I; the nail-biting collision; and its gruesome, horrific aftermath. Fires blazed, fueled not only by the explosives, but by overturned stoves and furnaces in homes; shock waves blasted out windows, spewing glass; railroad tracks were thrown up, factories crushed, wooden houses reduced to kindling. A tsunami, created by the air waves, quickly followed. Many who survived the conflagration were caught in the undertow and drowned. The explosion, Bacon writes, "destroyed 6,000 buildings, rendering 25,000 people—almost half the population of Halifax—homeless in one-ear-splitting whoosh" and killed 1,600 instantly. Corpses, many dismembered or burned beyond recognition, were scattered everywhere. Survivors at first assumed that the city had been attacked by Germans; years later, trials revealed the culpability of the ships' captains. When word spread—by telegram—to other Canadian cities and to Nova Scotia's American neighbors, help was immediate and generous. Boston, especially well-prepared because of the war, sent doctors, nurses, medical supplies, and many millions of dollars in aid. Since 1976, Boston's annual Christmas tree has been a gift of thanks from Halifax.An absorbing history of disaster and survival.
