John U. Bacon

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Bacon, It’s Been Good to Read You

The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon

January 23, 2026 by lafocareta 6 Comments

The genius of a good microhistory is that it makes you care. The Gales of November is a very, very good microhistory. “Edmund Fitzgerald in MacArthur Lock” by Detroit District is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 . If you’re already steeped in the lore of the Edmund Fitzgerald because of where and when you grow up, this book will only deepen your affection. And if you somehow missed this particular historical event? Buckle up for some time travel. Bacon frames the central narrative with a lot of important […]

CBR11Bingo: History/Schmistory

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John U. Bacon

July 9, 2019 by badkittyuno Leave a Comment

History/Schmistory Well, the great thing about having a 65 book backlog is I can almost certainly fill a board. The bad thing is — reviewing 65 books… This book was really good though so it’s a great place to start! The Halifax explosion took place in 1917 (history!) and truly changed the world — the aftermath of the explosion affected medicine, World War I, nuclear science and the relationship between the United States and Canada. It also took over 2,000 lives, and caused thousands of […]

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