Catastrophe in Halifax - 100th Anniversary of the The World's Greatest Maritime Disaster
Today, December 6th, 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the catastrophic explosion 
in Halifax of the French munitions ship Mont Blanc. Thousands died in an instant and a harsh winter killed thousands more. The people of Boston rallied to their aid and to this day, Halifax sends Boston its Christmas tree. Laura M. MacDonald's, "Curse of the Narrows", paints a vivid picture of the utter devastation and frantic efforts to save survivors from raging fires and a bitterly cold winter.
Top Recommendation for December
Curse of the Narrows, by Laura MacDonald (2006 - 372pp)
Highly compelling tale of the Halifax disaster, the largest man made explosion before the atomic bomb, caused by an exploding ammunition ship.
This is one of the most amazing stories.An old neighbor’s grandfather was in the Halifax schoolhouse basement when the boats hit. All of his family and neighbors were killed or blinded by the breaking window glass, as people rushed to the window to see what the emergency alarms were about. So much research on how to heal eyes from that explosion changed the study of eye care. I also love the fact that Nova Scotia continues to send a Christmas tree to Boston for all the doctors, nurses and Red Cross volunteers, that went to help that destroyed city.