Failures and Fiascos
Dan Soucoup
9781771080422
176 pages
Nimbus Publishing
Overview
Do you remember the invasion of Newfoundland’s hydroponic cucumber? How about New Brunswick’s ill-fated space-age sports car?
In this dynamic collection, Dan Soucoup follows the money trail up the political ladder to deliver the dirt on the most devastating failed business ventures, political scandals, and industry fiascos in Atlantic Canadian history. Presented in concise, entertaining vignettes, Boondoggles exposes two centuries of debacles in regional, national, and international scope.
Exposed is the downfall of many local industries including steel, coal mining, nuclear and hydro-power, oil, heavy-water, and even rum-running. Relive the tragic fall of Sydney Steel in Cape Breton, PEI’s flawed immigrant investor program, the controversial (and ongoing) Churchill Falls project in Newfoundland, New Brunswick’s doomed Chignecto Ship Railway, and plenty more. From the coal mines of Cape Breton to the dry docks of Esquimalt, rediscover the stories that made headlines and continue to baffle Atlantic Canadians today.
Includes 40 historical and contemporary images.
Author Bio
Dan Soucoup has worked as a bookseller and publisher for many years. He is the author of numerous historical books about the Maritimes, including Failures and Fiascos, A Short History of Halifax, Railways of New Brunswick, and Know New Brunswick. He lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
