OT: John U. Bacon Book Launch TONIGHT, Rackham 7PM

Submitted by Bando Calrissian on

I had the opportunity to attend John U. Bacon's pre-launch book talk for the U of M Club of Greater Chicago last night, and wanted everyone to make sure to head to the official launch tonight, Tuesday, November 7th, at the Rackham Auditorium at 7PM.

Bacon's new book, The Great Halifax Explosion, is the story of what was the largest man-made explosion in human history until the detonation of the first atomic bomb, the massive, accidental detonation of over 3000 tons of explosives, airplane fuel, and the ship that carried it all in the port at Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 6th, 1917. The disaster killed some 2000 people, injured over 9000, and left much of one of Canada's major shipping centers in ruins. The sheer scope of this thing was off the charts. 

What makes this story so extraordinary is the response, both immediate and long-lasting, to one of the world's most significant disasters to date. The book emphasizes the speedy response from Boston with manpower and relief supplies, as well as the outpouring of support, material goods, and manpower from across the United States and Canada that streamed into Halifax in the days and weeks that followed the explosion--this is a story just as much about the world's first mushroom cloud (really!) as it is the human capacity for empathy and selflessness. And there's a bonus Michigan connection to all of this, which all of us fans of Michigan Hockey will all appreciate.

Information on the talk can be found here.

Hope everyone can come out tonight to enjoy one of our university's greatest storytellers, and to celebrate an all-around good guy who does great work in the classroom, in the community, and over the airwaves for this Michigan of ours.

Kevin13

November 7th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^

today. Looking forward to reading it. Wish I could attend the official launch tonight. Love his writing style and have read most of his books. 

skurnie

November 7th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^

Interesting subject matter, for sure. I've read a decent amount about this event in particular and am really curious to see what JUB can add.

I'm going to try to make it tonight. 

PeteM

November 7th, 2017 at 12:05 PM ^

I’ve read it and highly recommend. One of the many heroic figures in the book — Joseph Barrs — later attended Michigan med school and became Michigan’s first varsity hockey coach.

Zoltanrules

November 7th, 2017 at 2:34 PM ^

I know the good old days were not always so good but stories like these through the "greatest generation of WW2" are almost unthinkable nowadays. My main takeaways from this book was some wonderful and forgotten history, some great UM trivia, and the positive things we as people can accomplish (rather than all the negative news we hear).

An 18 minute interview can be heard on NPR here.

http://michiganradio.org/post/how-largest-man-made-blast-atomic-bomb-led-michigan-s-first-hockey-team

The relationship with the US and Canada up to 100 years ago is also interesting and noteworthy.  One small nit: JUB suggests the White House was named after the Brits torched it in 1814 during the War of 1812, which is not really true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESdgP2fTJZ0

I will be giving this book out as Xmas presents. Great stuff!

Boner Stabone

November 7th, 2017 at 1:58 PM ^

I wish Bacon would write a book about one of these topics:

-Jim Delany and the B1G conference 

-Rick Pitino and the Hookers

-North Carolina Basketball: Phantom Classes

-SEC Bagmen

-Mark Emmert and the Corrupt NCAA

You Only Live Twice

November 7th, 2017 at 9:05 PM ^

Kids and I were going to attend but the Tuesday homework scene was stressful.  Wish this could have been on a Friday.

Planning on getting the hardcopy as a present for someone who loves both history and hockey.