33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners (Jonathan Franklin)

Of course everyone knew a book about the incredible story of the Chilean miners would come out sooner rather than later. And this one is probably just the first of many more to come.

The drama of the rescue sucked me in, just as it did many around the world. I watched as much of the rescue as I could, even while I worked.

Jonathan Franklin managed to get permission to work closely with the rescue team. He has interviewed major players in this story, including all 33 miners. Though nobody can understand what these men went through, Franklin manages to give readers a good look at what life was like inside the mine. It became easy to forget, as the miners showed a united front, that 33 people living under those conditions had to have problems arise. Franklin makes these men human again without taking away from the extraordinary way they faced their ordeal.

Rescue workers also overcame unimaginable obstacles to get the job done. Men and women from all over the world pitched in to get these men out. Franklin describes these efforts in a way that makes you hold your breath, even though you know how the story ended.

If someone had written a movie with this premise, I'm pretty sure most people would have thought it ridiculous. The drama going on 2,300 feet below ground and the drama going on above with rescue workers, family members of the trapper miners, the press, and the Chilean government, is just something you can't make up. Thankfully, it had a happy resolution.

Next up: The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake.