Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy

Inquiry and Intrigue

AvJohn Griffith Armstrong

Häftad, Engelska, 2003

Del i serien Studies in Canadian Military History

327 kr

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Beskrivning

The Halifax Explosion of 1917 is a defining event in the Canadian consciousness, yet it has never been the subject of a sustained analytical history. Astonishingly, until now no one has consulted the large federal government archives that contain first-hand accounts of the disaster and the response of national authorities.Canada's recently established navy was at the epicentre of the crisis. Armstrong reveals the navy's compelling, and little-known, story by carefully retracing the events preceding the disaster and the role of the military in its aftermath. He catches the pulse of disaster response in official Ottawa and provides a compelling analysis of the legal manoeuvres, rhetoric, blunders, public controversy, and crisis management that ensued. His disturbing conclusion is that federal officials knew of potential dangers in the harbour before the explosion, took no corrective action, and kept the information from the public. As a result, a Halifax naval officer was made a scapegoat and the navy received lasting, and mostly undeserved, vilification.This is a provocative read not only for military and naval devotees but for anyone who wants to understand one of the events that shaped Canada in the twentieth century.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2003-05-01
Mått:152 x 229 x 18 mm
Vikt:340 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Studies in Canadian Military History
Antal sidor:256
Förlag:University of British Columbia Press
ISBN:9780774808910
Utmärkelser:Short-listed for Keith Matthews Award for Best Book 2003

Utforska kategorier

Mer om författaren

John Griffith Armstrong is a retired career officer who taught history at the Royal Military College of Canada and was part of the team at the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History that wrote volume 3 of The Official History of the RCAF.

Recensioner i media

Armstrong's account and analysis adds considerably to our knowledge not only of the explosion, but also of the influence of the media, and the concerns of Ottawa. Having spent years in the latter as an official historian, the author has had first-hand knowledge of how covers-up work. - Robin Highman (American Review of Canadian Studies, Winter 2005) While the disaster has been subject of several popular histories, until now, the event has not been given the detailed scholarly study required to sweep away myth and provide an accurate account of what took place. John Griffith Armstrong has undertaken the first such academic work, and it is a very good study indeed. Armstrong's focus is the role of the Royal Canadian and Royal navies in the events leading up to the explosion, its aftermath, and the investigations that followed. By shifting the attention of the reader away from the calamity that befell the city, Armstrong has provided a remarkable fresh look into the explosion. - David Zimmermann, University of Victoria (International Journal, Summer 2005)

Innehållsförteckning

IllustrationsForeword / J.L. GranatsteinAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Through Sailors' Eyes1 The RCN in Halifax -- December 19172 Towards the Unthinkable3 Halifax Tide4 Through the Grim Day5 Reaction and Recovery6 Of Sailors, Lawyers, Goats, and Newspapers7 Goats to the Slaughter8 Covering the TracksNotesBibliographyIndex