the 100th Anniversary Edition for 2017. 
With over 220 photographs and illustrations, this Second Edition volume contains two brand new sections: 1) The Ships of the 1917 Halifax Explosion (12 pages) with individual photographs and histories of the vessels; 2) A photographic history of The Royal Naval College of Canada (8 pages). Other features: a clarification & errata page, an illustrated timeline from collision to explosion, additional photographs - many previously unseen, a full list of all witnesses and sessions of the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, updated information, and a new cover.
SCAPEGOAT (second ed.) by Joel Zemel has won the prestigious international John Lyman Book Award in the category "Canadian Naval and Maritime History" for books published in 2016.Announcements of winners of the various awards will be published in the following publications: the Society for Military History, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the Canadian Nautical Research Society. The awards are given out annually by the North American Society for Oceanic History.  Scapegoat is a recipient of the 2015 Bronze IPPY Award (Independent Publisher Book Awards) in the Canada-East Best Regional Non-Fiction Category. Joel's second book, Betrayal of Trust is the 2019 Gold Medal IPPY award winner in the same category.    John Lyman Book Award and IPPY Bronze & Gold Medals  The 2014 Atlantic Book Awards: Scapegoat: winner of the Dartmouth Book Award for non-fiction. This award is in memory of Robbie Robertson and is presented by the Kiwanis Club of Dartmouth. Title: Scapegoat - the extraordinary legal proceedings following the 1917 Halifax Explosion Author: Joel Zemel Subject: History (non-fiction) Category: Scholarly Monograph (fully notated and indexed) Format: Soft cover, 7" x 10", 504 pages (including full-page photographs) Publisher: New World Publishing Publishing Date: Fall of 2016 Book Price: TBA Summary: |
On the morning of 6 December 1917, a French munitions ship, SS Mont Blanc, carrying a full cargo of highly volatile explosives, and a Belgian Relief vessel under Norwegian registry, SS Imo, collided in Halifax Harbour. Twenty minutes later, a catastrophic explosion destroyed the district of Richmond in the North End of the city, causing the loss of over 2,000 lives, countless injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. At first, German spies and saboteurs were assumed to have been the culprits. However, within a few days, Captain Aime Le Medec and Pilot Francis Mackey of Mont Blanc were under intense scrutiny in the court of public opinion. read more |
Table of Contents Clarifications and Errata ix Acknowledgements xi "Scapegoat" Definition / Epigraph xii Timeline of Events xiii Preface 1 Introduction 11 Chapter 1 - Convergence 16 The Morning of the Explosion Chapter 2 - "Right to the Channel" 27 Chapter 3 - "There is Going to be a Collision" 42 Chapter 4 - "Nothing but Fire" 54 Chapter 5 - "A Serious Disturbance" 69 The Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry & Subsequent Judicial Proceedings Chapter 6 - Setting Legal Parameters 81 Chapter 7 - Let the Games Begin 88 Chapter 8 - Lost In Translations 102 Chapter 9 - Rules, Telegrams and Memos 114 Chapter 10 - The "Dead Letter" Effect 132 Chapter 11 - The Making of a Scapegoat 159 Chapter 12 - Path to Predetermination 184 Chapter 13 - A Futile Exercise 202 Chapter 14 - Voice of Reason 223 Chapter 15 - Of Decisions, Wrongs and Remedies 235 Chapter 16 - "Civium Ardor Prava Jubentium" 256 Chapter 17 - Guardian of the Gate 278 Epilogue/Comments and Conclusions 290 Appendix Note of Protest, S. S. Mont Blanc 309 Written Testimony from HMS Highflyer Officers 311 Compendium of Military Personnel and Civilians 313 Elements of the Halifax Explosion 341 Catalogue of Writs and Documents, R v. Mackey and Le Medec 351 List of Inquiry Witnesses and Dates of Sessions 353 Ships of the 1917 Halifax Explosion 355 The Royal Naval College of Canada 367 Notes 375 Bibliography 423 Photographs and Illustrations 425 Timeline from Collision to Explosion 432 Index 433 * * * Joel Zemel is the historical and design consultant for Canada Post Corporation's Halifax Explosion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Stamp. The OFDC was released to the general public in November 2017. Click to read an excerpt (Chapter 4, pp. 61-63) from Scapegoat. Read a review for Atlantic Books Today's 2014 Christmas issue by Henry Roper. Read an article in the National Post, regarding the destruction of Ground Zero and the the loss of the view to the harbour from Needham Hill. Janet Kitz and Joel Zemel are interviewed. Listen to a radio interview with Joel Zemel & Rick Howe on News 95.7. (19 June 2014) CTV Atlantic interview with Joel Zemel. Global TV interview with Joel Zemel. Listen to Joel Zemel discuss Scapegoat in a radio interview with Rick Howe on News 95.7. An article by Kevin McCoy, President Irving Shipbuilding "Shipyard Transformation: Generating Nova Scotia employment today." Read the complete winners list of the 2014 Atlantic Book Awards. The 2014 Atlantic Book Awards Festival poster. Click for an article in the Chronicle Herald entitled "Seven N. S. Writers Honoured" New World Publishing: 
New World Publishing sells Scapegoat through its website. The book is also available in selected bookstores throughout Atlantic Canada at Bookmark and Chapters/Indigo, and online at amazon.ca, indigo.ca and 49th Shelf.
Where to buy Scapegoat in HRM:  In HRM, Scapegoat is available from Carrefour Atlantic, Historic Properties. Map Location  Scapegoat is available at the following learning and lending institutions: Harvard Law School Library (Cambridge Mass., USA) Osgoode Hall Law Library (Toronto, Ontario) University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT, U.S.A.) Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) University of Toronto Libraries Nova Scotia Archives Maritime Museum of the Atlantic McCord Museum (Montreal, PQ) Westminster School Archives (London, England) Halifax Regional Libraries Cape Breton Regional Library Annapolis Valley Regional Library South Shore Regional Library Greater Victoria Public Library (B. C.) Vancouver Public Library (B. C.) Articles on the research and completion of Scapegoat in the Westminster School newsletter, "The Elizabethan," by Consultant Archivist, Rita Boswell (ret.) 2010-2011 and Archivist and Records Manager, Elizabeth Wells 2014. In the Wake of the Explosion Newspaper article
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New book by Joel Zemel available 16 September 2017: 
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