Trapped
How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert
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4.1 • 29 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The amazing story of the trapped Chilean miners and their incredible rescue that Publishers Weekly calls “a riveting, in-depth recounting of the events that held the world rapt.”
In early August 2010, the unthinkable happened when a mine collapsed in Copiano, Chile, trapping 33 miners 2,000 feet below the surface. For sixty-nine days they lived on meager resources with increasingly poor air quality. When they were finally rescued, the world watched with rapt attention and rejoiced in the amazing spirit and determination of the miners. What could have been a terrible tragedy became an amazing story of survival.
In Trapped, Marc Aronson provides the backstory behind the rescue. By tracing the psychological, physical, and environmental factors surrounding the mission, Aronson highlights the amazing technology and helping hands that made it all possible. From the Argentinean soccer players that hoped to raise morale, to NASA volunteering their expertise to come up with a plan, there was no shortage of enterprising spirit when it came to saving lives. Readers will especially appreciate the eight pages of full-color photos, timeline, glossary, notes, and more.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Aronson marks the one-year anniversary of the collapse of a Chilean copper mine that entombed miners for more than two months with a riveting, in-depth recounting of the events that held the world rapt. His fluid narrative begins with a brief eyewitness account of the cave-in before contextualizing the disaster. Initial chapters cover mine layout and terminology, as well as prehistoric geology (and how it helped form Chile's Atacama Desert) and the mythology of the blacksmith god, Hephaistos, who "creates the tool the hero needs, and yet he is lame, ugly, a figure of fun." Aronson (Sugar Changed the World) smartly links this ancient pejorative attitude to contemporary ones toward mining despite reliance on its products, drawing on cultural connections between the underground world and hell, Hades, etc. Twelve short chapters with photos and diagrams keep the story well-paced as it alternates between above- and below-ground scenes, detailing the heroic efforts of the trapped men, their waiting families, and their rescuers, sometimes on an hour-by-hour basis. Extensive author and source notes, a bibliography, and suggested reading leave plenty for readers to explore. Ages 8 12.
