The Devil's Gap: The Untold Story of Canada's First Suicide Bomber

Ralko, Joe

ISBN 10: 1546969713 / ISBN 13: 9781546969716

Published by CreateSpace, 2017

About this Item

Fine 1st edition trade paperback. Small ownership stamp on 1st page otherwise as-new. 6x9, 224 pages. It was 1973 in Kenora, Ontario. There was no internet, no cell phones, no swat team, no crowd control. Paul Higgins walked into the bank armed with a home-made bomb and dead man's switch in his mouth. When he exited the bank, the crack of a rifle was followed by an explosion. Seller Inventory # 007997

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Devil's Gap: The Untold Story of ...

Publisher: CreateSpace

Publication Date: 2017

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

The scene on May 10, 1973, seemed like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster. In the town of Kenora, on the north shore of the Lake of the Woods near the Ontario-Manitoba border, a man was robbing a bank in the most bombastic way.

Paul Higgins walked into the bank armed with a home-made bomb and Dead Man’s Switch in his mouth to detonate it. If anyone were to shoot him and if he let go of the switch, he would blow himself up and take as many people with him as possible. The police were in a standoff. Was it worth the risk to shoot?

Acclaimed journalist Joe Ralko has spent his entire life mulling over this case. It wasn’t his career that put him on the trail of Paul Higgins—Joe was there! He was a curious high school student who watched the drama unfold from the street. He had a clear line of sight down the sidewalk as Higgins emerged from the bank fifty feet away.

What happened next would go down in Canadian history. Ralko would become fascinated with every aspect of the case. It was only years later, after he had established himself as a writer and while recovering from his first battle with cancer, that he decided to finally tell the story.

About the Author:

Joe Ralko was a two-time finalist for the Canadian National Newspaper Awards, which is equivalent to the American Pulitzer Prize. Ralko has also received recognition for his nonfiction books.

Ralko grew up in Kenora, Ontario, and was an eyewitness to the events of The Devil’s Gap.