The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue (Studies in Canadian Military History, 1)

Rating:
Summary: A Well Written Examination of a Disaster?s Aftermath
Review: I purchased The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy thinking it was a depiction of the navy's efforts to assist victims of this disaster. While that aspect is slightly covered, the majority of the book deals with the ramifications that the explosion had on the Canadian Navy's organization and morale. Even though it turned out to be a different book than I expected, I still found it to be absorbing and informative.

The main reason I still enjoyed the book was due to Armstrong's superb summarization of various legal and military documents associated with the disaster's inquiry. This summarization showed how political pressure distorted an otherwise perfunctory legal hearing. The documents' sections that he chose also brought to life the scapegoats for the catastrophe and the villains behind the pillorying that followed the hearing. In bringing these proceedings and people to life, Armstrong showed that the political traumas resulting from the calamity affected people and institutions in ways that were as destructive as the explosion itself.

Many potential readers may not think that this book is worth reading, because it barely focuses on the tales of survival and heroism that sprung from the tragedy. But, thanks to his meticulous research and solid writing, Armstrong presents a cautionary tale that is especially relevant in the aftermath of September 11th. This book is one that will appeal to anyone who is interested in how people and institutions react to disaster.

Rating:
Summary: A Well Written Examination of a Disaster¿s Aftermath
Review: I purchased The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy thinking it was a depiction of the navy's efforts to assist victims of this disaster. While that aspect is slightly covered, the majority of the book deals with the ramifications that the explosion had on the Canadian Navy's organization and morale. Even though it turned out to be a different book than I expected, I still found it to be absorbing and informative.

The main reason I still enjoyed the book was due to Armstrong's superb summarization of various legal and military documents associated with the disaster's inquiry. This summarization showed how political pressure distorted an otherwise perfunctory legal hearing. The documents' sections that he chose also brought to life the scapegoats for the catastrophe and the villains behind the pillorying that followed the hearing. In bringing these proceedings and people to life, Armstrong showed that the political traumas resulting from the calamity affected people and institutions in ways that were as destructive as the explosion itself.

Many potential readers may not think that this book is worth reading, because it barely focuses on the tales of survival and heroism that sprung from the tragedy. But, thanks to his meticulous research and solid writing, Armstrong presents a cautionary tale that is especially relevant in the aftermath of September 11th. This book is one that will appeal to anyone who is interested in how people and institutions react to disaster.

Rating:
Summary: A depressing but educational story of institutional CYA
Review: On December 6, 1917, two ships in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia, collided. The resulting fire soon led to a massive explosion that destroyed the ships, much of the harbor, and a good part of the surrounding city. The scope and impact of the tragedy is almost unimaginable. And yet, according to author John Griffith Armstrong, the event is largely forgotten by Canadians and almost universally unknown to Americans. That's too bad -- not only for the sake of the people killed or wounded, but also for the lessons we can still learn from the event and its aftermath today. Armstrong's book shows us why.

As the author notes early in his book, the Halifax explosion, to the extent it's been studied by historians at all, is generally approached from a sociological viewpoint that concentrates on the event's impact on the people of Halifax. Armstrong's brief is different. He analyses the effect of the explosion and subsequent investigation on the Royal Canadian Navy.

In so doing, he's created a surprisingly interesting story that, while it gets a little bogged down in the minutia of inquiry transcripts quoted at length, nevertheless develops a number of themes that are still relevant today. For example: the tendency of military and political bureaucracies to obfuscate, shift blame, and throw others to the wolves in order to protect themselves (and the difficulties military and civilian bureaucracies have in communicating with, or even understanding, one another); the dangers that result from unclear divisions of responsibility; the ease with which opportunistic politicians can manipulate and enflame public opinion; and much more.

It's also very interesting to see the developing institutional ethos of the Royal Canadian Navy, which had existed as a nominally independent body for less than a decade at the time of the explosion.

On the whole, this book is a study of bureaucracy, legal proceedings, and institutional evolution that frankly may not appeal to a lot of people. But for students of disasters, institutions, the navy, or just an overlooked chapter in Canadian history, this title has a lot to recommend it.