THE TOWN THAT DIED (192 pp.)—Michael J. Bird—Putnam ($3.95). A mushroom-shaped cloud with a massive fireball rose 12,000 ft. in the air. In the city beneath, buildings of all sizes and materials were ...

The 3,000-ton Mont Blanc disintegrated in the detonation and debris rained down from the sky. A 1,100-pound anchor fragment landed more than 2 miles away. One of the vessel's guns was tossed nearly ...

Breaking glass. Trembling ground. Blood, fire, screaming and a wave of sound and shake that felt “like all thunders rolled into one.” One hundred years ago this Wednesday morning (Dec. 6), at roughly ...

Steve Inskeep talks with author John U. Bacon about a ship collision and explosion during World War I that's been called "the world's first weapon... 100 Years After The Great Halifax Explosion STEVE ...

As the scope of the August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut becomes clear, the tolls of the loss of life, injuries, homelessness and property damage are staggering. In the immediate chaos of large ...

There are many instances of tragedy in the history of the fire service. One that stands alone is the tragedy that befell the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada), and its fire department in 1917. In ...

John U. Bacon is the author of “The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism.” A bustling port in a time of conflict. Explosive compounds ...

On the morning of December 6, 1917, the citizens of Halifax, Nova Scotia, witnessed the largest and most destructive man-made explosion the world had seen to that day. The S.S. Imo, a Norwegian vessel ...