The Halifax Explosion: Canada's Worst Disaster

Ken Cuthbertson

Nov 2017 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

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 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.

Ratings and reviews

Didn't get to to read it all. free sample came to an end. but what I did read was very interesting!

About the author

KEN CUTHBERTSON is a veteran journalist with forty years’ experience writing for publications in Canada, the US and the UK. A finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, he is the bestselling author of six books, including the critically acclaimed The Halifax Explosion: Canada’s Worst Disaster. Ken Cuthbertson lives in Kingston, Ontario, and has deep maternal roots in Nova Scotia.