a chilling tale for a chilly night

Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker
One thing I like about reading YA nonfiction books are that they are shorter and more to the point then adult books. Sometimes I wish some of those loquacious authors of adult history would take a hint, but maybe they're not into the whole brevity thing.

Did you know that before the atomic bombs the biggest man made explosion happened (yep, you guessed it) in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1917 when a Belgian relief vessel, the Imo, and a French munitions ship, the SS Mont-Blanc, collided in Halifax Harbour. World War I was happening and both ships were trying to aid in the efforts in Europe. Not only did the explosion caused by the crash kill tons of people, but what followed was a tsunami within minutes. And as if matters couldn't get worse, as relief workers showed up and started to do some serious "damage control," the island was hit by a huge snow storm (this was the following day).

Reading Walker's book was a quick, fascinating look back into the history of a city and its people--its decimation and attempts at moving on.

I would definitely recommend this book.
Ages: 11 and up
Photo found here.

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