Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine

[gilda_elise]

When the San Jos mine collapsed outside of Copiap, Chile, in August 2010, it trapped thirty-three miners beneath thousands of feet of rock for a record-breaking sixty-nine days. Across the globe, we sat riveted to television and computer screens as journalists flocked to the Atacama desert. While we saw what transpired above ground during the grueling and protracted rescue, the story of the miners experiences below the earth's surface, and the lives that led them there, hasn't been heard until now. In this master work of a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist, Hector Tobar gains exclusive access to the miners and their stories. The result is a miraculous and emotionally textured account of the thirty-three men who came to think of the San Jose mine as a kind of coffin, as a cave inflicting constant and thundering aural torment, and as a church where they sought redemption through prayer while the world watched from above. It offers an understanding of the families and personal histories that brought Los 33 to the mine, and the mystical and spiritual elements that surrounded working in such a dangerous place.

I can't even begin to imagine what something like this would be like. When they were actually saved, it really did seem like a miracle. All of them alive and well. Amazing. And then time passed, and you didn't hear anything more. They were yesterday's news.

But I always wanted to know more. Because I couldn't imagine what they had been through, how they had managed to come out of it sane. So when I saw this book advertised, I knew that I had to read it.

It's informative, telling a story of each man, how he was before and what became of him after. Unfortunately, each is little more than a snapshot. It couldn't be anything else, or the book would have to run into the thousands of pages. But I learned enough to be able to "see" some of the men.

I do wish there had been more pictures, other than the small picture of each man on the cover. That lack, plus the lack of diagrams of the mine, itself, was, I think, the book's biggest shortcoming. Still, I think the book well worth reading.

Comments

[cluesby4.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. I definitely remember when this happened. It seems as if the world was transfixed on Chile and that mine.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Yes, and then nothing at all. I always find it interesting to learn "what happened next."

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Gosh, it doesn't seem long enough ago for there to be a book about it (which I know is a terribly unrealistic view, these days!) I must admit that I find myself hoping that each of those men were given a share in the profits from the book too! Sounds interesting though - and something I probably wouldn't pick up without prompting too, so thanks!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

There was a pact between all the men that they would only tell their story together and to only one person, so I'm pretty sure they shared in the profit from the book. Given how much didn't happen afterwards, as in promised funds, I certainly hope they did.