Book Review by Aarene Storms: Blizzard of Glass

Blizzard of Glass by Sally M. Walker

December 6, 1917, started out as an ordinary day in Halifax, Nova Scotia. People breakfasted, left for work, for school. However, just before 9am, two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. One was empty, preparing to collect medical supplies for troops fighting in Europe. The other was heavily laden with highly explosive munitions.

The resulting disaster was the largest human-caused explosion until the detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima in 1945. Huge areas of Halifax were flattened, and shrapnel flew for miles. Nearly two thousand people died, and nearly nine thousand were injured....and then came a blizzard and more than a foot of snow, blocking relief efforts from surrounding towns and the rest of the world.

Carefully researched and copiously illustrated with photos from the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and private collections, this slender volume (145 pages) documents the tragedy and the recovery efforts with gentle compassion. Descendents of survivors were interviewed, artifacts investigated, and primary resources explored in depth to provide a fascinating, readable account of the Halifax explosion. Highly recommended.

This watch melted and stopped during the Hallifax disaster. Survivors reported that the owner of the watch, who died of his wounds, always kept his watch set five minutes fast so that he would never be late to work.

The events may not have happened; still, the story is true. --R. Silvern

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian
Richmond Beach Library, KCLS