Burden of Desire centres on the love triangle between bohemian Halifax south-end belle Julia Robertson, Dalhousie professor Stewart MacPherson, and young Anglican minister Peter Wentworth. Julia keeps a diary detailing her sexual fantasies, which she has with her at the moment of the blast that was the Halifax Explosion. She hides her diary in her coat, which is subsequently donated to a clothing drive for the individuals from the north end of the city who've lost everything in the explosion. Peter discovers the diary and becomes fixated on its author, enlisting the help of his friend Stewart to find her. Burden of Desire explores the repression and expression of sexual desire at the time of the First World War. It also offers a compelling fictional account of the impact on Halifax society of the Halifax Explosion.
Emma FitzGerald sketches Halifax and its residents vividly, in colour. She effortlessly catches moments in the life of the city. While she draws, she keeps notes on what she sees -- and what people say to her. She has an ear, as well as an eye. In this sketchbook readers will find spots they didn't even know existed and hear stories they never imagined. Emma overhears conversations in the bookstore, notices prom night in the Public Gardens, learns the recipe for McNabs famous Island lemonade, checks out Ashtray Rock, and finds out where the real fishermen live. The personality and character of the city and its people shine through in the brightly illustrated pages.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER The "riveting" (National Post) tick-tock account of the largest manmade explosion in history prior to the atomic bomb, and the equally astonishing tales of survival and heroism that emerged from the ashes “Enthralling. ... Gripping. ... A captivating and emotionally investing journey.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette After steaming out of New York City on December 1, 1917, laden with a staggering three thousand tons of TNT and other explosives, the munitions ship Mont-Blanc fought its way up the Atlantic coast, through waters prowled by enemy U-boats. As it approached the lively port city of Halifax, Mont-Blanc's deadly cargo erupted with the force of 2.9 kilotons of TNT—the most powerful explosion ever visited on a human population, save for HIroshima and Nagasaki. Mont-Blanc was vaporized in one fifteenth of a second; a shockwave leveled the surrounding city. Next came a thirty-five-foot tsunami. Most astounding of all, however, were the incredible tales of survival and heroism that soon emerged from the rubble. This is the unforgettable story told in John U. Bacon's The Great Halifax Explosion: a ticktock account of fateful decisions that led to doom, the human faces of the blast's 11,000 casualties, and the equally moving individual stories of those who lived and selflessly threw themselves into urgent rescue work that saved thousands. The shocking scale of the disaster stunned the world, dominating global headlines even amid the calamity of the First World War. Hours after the blast, Boston sent trains and ships filled with doctors, medicine, and money. The explosion would revolutionize pediatric medicine; transform U.S.-Canadian relations; and provide physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who studied the Halifax explosion closely when developing the atomic bomb, with history's only real-world case study demonstrating the lethal power of a weapon of mass destruction. Mesmerizing and inspiring, Bacon's deeply-researched narrative brings to life the tragedy, bravery, and surprising afterlife of one of the most dramatic events of modern times.
"[This book is] an ... examination of how we can respond to suffering, live our fullest lives, and remain open to the full spectrum of our human experience"--Amazon.com.
Using the perspectives of law, politics, public policy and intergovernmental relations, historian Barry Cahill describes the complex activities of an almost-unaccountable agency that took the place of municipal, provincial and federal governments in addressing the needs of the citizens and the city after the Explosion. He provides new insight into the pioneering town planning and construction of the Hydrostone neighbourhood in Halifax. He also explains why this ad-hoc disaster agency continued to operate for nearly sixty years after the catastrophic event that precipitated its establishment. This book offers a new and unique perspective on the recovery efforts which followed a domestic disaster unprecedented in Canadian history.
On December 6, 1917, two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. One ship was loaded top to bottom with munitions and one held relief supplies, both intended for wartorn Europe. The resulting blast flattened two towns, Halifax and Dartmouth, and killed nearly 2,000 people. As if that wasn't devastating enough, a blizzard hit the next day, dumping more than a foot of snow on the area and paralyzing much-needed relief efforts. Fascinating, edge-of-your-seat storytelling based on original source material conveys this harrowing account of tragedy and recovery. This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum.
Emma FitzGerald's 2015 book Hand Drawn Halifax was an immediate hit in Halifax. Emma's appealing sketches of the city's neighbourhoods and her obvious appreciation of the diversity of the city in her notes on her experiences as she drew won her many fans. At events and signings, Emma offered printouts of line drawing versions of a few of the book's illustrations, which were eagerly accepted. Out of that experience comes this book -- a collection of 80 line drawings for colouring book fans, including brand new drawings. There's an opportunity for everyone to produce their own versions of Emma's portraits of Halifax's buildings, places and people. Printed on thick paper selected to prevent bleedthrough, the 80+ illustrations vary in intricacy, giving options to colour-inners of all ages!
Charlotte struggles to find her twin brother after the rest of her family is killed in the tragic Halifax explosion. No Safe Harbour is set in the months before and after the December 6, 1917 Halifax explosion, which was the largest man-made blast in history until the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The explosion levelled most of the city and sent shards of glass and burning debris flying for miles. It left thousands dead, blinded or homeless. Suddenly orphaned, Charlotte turns to her diary to help her cope with the events that killed her entire family -- leaving her older brother, still fighting in the trenches of WWI, as her only surviving relative. This is an affecting story of loss and recovery, powerfully told by award-winning author Julie Lawson.
