<div><div>Before Hiroshima, there was Halifax. In 1917 the busy Canadian port was crowded with ships leaving for war-torn Europe. On December 6, two of them, the Mont Blanc and the Imo, collided in the hard-to-navigate Narrows of the harbor. Within minutes, the Mont Blanc, ablaze, grounded against the city's docks. The explosion that followed would devastate the city and shock the world.&nbsp; <br>Set against the background of World War I, Curse of the Narrows is the first major account of the world's largest pre-atomic explosion that set in motion a remarkable relief effort originating from Boston.</div></div>