First published 2011
Award-winning journalist Jonathan Franklin chronicles the Chilean mine disaster that trapped thirty-three men underground for months. Franklin rushed to the scene when the miners were found alive and secured a Rescue Team pass that allowed him to report from beyond police barriers for six weeks. He conducted over 110 interviews with the trapped miners, their families, and rescue workers to reconstruct this remarkable survival story. The narrative reveals the physical and psychological challenges the men faced during one of history's longest human entrapments. Franklin captures moments both shocking and heroic as the rescue operation unfolds above ground while the miners struggle to survive below. The book presents intimate details of how ordinary men endured extraordinary circumstances, supported by the determination of their families and rescuers who refused to give up hope.
Genres: adventure, non-fiction, 21st-century, journalism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: survival, true-story
Setting: Chile
Period: 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons