Curse of the Narrowsby Laura MacDonald [940.3 Mac]
Imagine a disastrous man-made explosion in Halifax (Nova Scotia) harbor in 1917. Then imagine that bad weather makes the situation even worse as the town tries to figure out the extent of the damage and start to recover. It really happened. The author pieces together news accounts, official records, personal memories, and scientific and medical information in a fascinating narrative about the World War I munitions ship filled with high explosives which was struck by another ship and blew up, destroying much of Halifax. Interestingly, this event also brought about some good things in regard to disaster relief and medical practices. A real page-turner!
[ Publisher's page for Curse of the Narrows ] [ official Laura MacDonald web site ]
Have you read this one? What did you think?
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2 comments:
Thanks for the recommendation -- sounds like something I'd like. If you like books that take a detailed look at a historical event and the framework within which it occured, you might like "Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919" by Stephen Puleo.
Another good choice is "The Children's Blizzard" by David Laskin. It talks about the Great Blizzard of 1888 in Nebraska.
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