Shattered City

by Janet Kitz

This book, the most comprehensive ever written on the Explosion, details the terrific devastation, the aftermath and the restoration. It encompasses dozens of previously unpublished stories, photographs, and documents, along with some thought-provoking coverage of the inquiry into the disaster. A best-selling book from its first printing in 1989, this new edition has an updated cover and is sure to be a must-have for readers.

242 pages, Paperback

Published July 3, 2008

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts: Historical Events that occurred close to the 6 December 1917 Halifax Explosion
1. Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres) concludes on 10 November 1917.
2. Balfour Declaration – 17 November 1917.
3. Halifax Explosion at 9:04 AM on 6 December 1917. Total of 2,000 deaths and 9,000 injured.
4. Russians Depart Eastern Front – Treaty effective on 17 December 1917 with the Central Powers.
5. Canadian PM Robert Borden wins a landslide election – 17 December 1917.
6. Ironically, 7 December 1941 – a mere 24 years after the tragedy in Halifax, Nova Scotia – I imagine for people that lived through the carnage of 1917 this was likely a revisit of horror for them through the news and film reels of the day. The total death count at Pearl Harbor was 2,403; 1,107 of which were aboard the USS Arizona alone. A total of 68 civilians were killed. Inserted here for comparisons of those killed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book written by a Canadian writer of a Canadian tragedy. To say that this was a tragedy, or a devastation is to minimize the long-term effects upon those who struggled to survive, survived, and lived on – scarred for the remainder of their lives these people also brought hope to despair and proved that human resiliency is a force that can never be underestimated.

[Suezq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about the Halifax explosion in 1917. I am going to Halifax soon and am interested in seeing some of the sights mentioned in the book.