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Curse of the Narrows
Curse of the Narrows | Laura Mac Donald
5 posts | 2 read | 7 to read
Finalist for the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-FictionNational BestsellerThe events of the horrific Halifax explosion are well documented: on December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc and the Belgian relief ship Imo collide in the Halifax harbour. Nearly 2,000 people are killed; over 9,000 more are injured. The story of one of the world's worst non-natural disasters has been told before, but never like this.In a sweeping narrative, Curse of the Narrows tells a tale of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation, retracing the steps of survivors through the wreckage of a city destroyed. Laura M. Mac Donald weaves apanoramic chronicle of the astonishing international response to the explosion, telling of the generous donations of money and medical specialists made by thecity of Boston, of how the number of horrific injuries to Halifax's childreninspired startling developments in pediatric medicine, and exploring the disaster's chilling link to the creation of the atomic bomb.Filled with archival photos, defined by meticulous research and infused with a storyteller's sensibility, Curse of the Narrows is a compelling and powerful book.
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EadieB
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Day 25 - #Disaster #ReallyRandomFebruary

I read this in 2017. Very interesting!
dramatic story of one of the greatest disasters - the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was crowded with ships leaving for war-torn Europe. On December 6th, two of them―the Mont Blanc and the Imo―collided in the Narrows, a hard-to-navigate stretch of the harbor. Ablaze, and with explosions on her deck filling the sky, the Mont Blanc grounded against the city's docks.

EadieB As thousands rushed to their windows and into the streets to watch, she exploded with such force that the 3,121 tons of her iron hull vaporized in a cloud that shot up more than 2,000 feet; the explosion was so unusual that Robert Oppenheimer would study its effects to predict the devastation of an atomic bomb. 5y
EadieB The blast caused a giant wave that swept over parts of the city, followed by a slick, black rain that fell for ten minutes. Much of the city was flattened, and not one in 12,000 buildings within a 16-mile radius left undamaged. More than 1,600 Haligonians were killed and 6,000 injured; and within twenty-four hours, a blizzard had isolated Halifax from the world. 5y
EadieB Set vividly against the background of World War I, Curse of the Narrows is the first major account of the world's largest pre-atomic explosion, the epic relief mission from Boston, and the riveting trial of the Mont Blanc's captain and pilot. 5y
EadieB Laura M. Mac Donald is as adept at describing the dynamics of a chain reaction explosion as she is at chronicling unforgettable human dramas of miraculous survival, unfathomable loss, and the medical breakthroughs in pediatrics and eye surgery that followed the disaster 5y
OriginalCyn620 Sounds good! 5y
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EadieB
Curse of the Narrows | Laura M. Mac Donald
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#KeepLitsyAlive #Disasters

Before Hiroshima, there was Halifax. In 1917 the busy Canadian port was crowded with ships leaving for war-torn Europe. On December 6, two of them, the Mont Blanc and the Imo, collided in the hard-to-navigate Narrows of the harbor. Within minutes, the Mont Blanc, ablaze, grounded against the city's docks. The explosion that followed would devastate the city and shock the world.

ljuliel Wow, great review, Eadie. It sounds interesting. Another one I‘ve not heard of ! 5y
DrexEdit 😨😨😨 5y
Andrew65 Sounds good, don‘t know this one. 5y
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EadieB @ljuliel Thanks! It is a very interesting book! 5y
CoverToCoverGirl I live close to that the area, we all know it as the Halifax Explosion. My husband‘s entire family hails from Nova Scotia. (edited) 5y
Lucy_Anywhere I listened to a podcast on the Halifax Explosion - so interesting! I'd never heard of it before 5y
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review
rabbitprincess
Pickpick

A good choice if you want a comprehensive overview of the circumstances surrounding the Halifax Explosion. In particular, transcripts from the trial of pilot Francis Mackey demonstrate the importance of clear communication in this type of situation.

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rabbitprincess
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A surprising LOL moment in what is otherwise a deeply sobering book.

MayJasper Lol 7y
26 likes1 comment
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rabbitprincess
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This may be a reference to Hugh MacLennan's father, Samuel. Hugh recounts the story of his family's "own private explosion" in the essay "An Orange from Portugal" (found in the collection Cross-Country). See here:
http://litsy.com/p/NjJQTm1BU1dT