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33 Men
Having had unparalleled access to the Chilean mine disaster, award-winning journalist Jonathan Franklin takes readers to the heart of a remarkable story of human endurance, survival, and historic heroism.
33 Men is the groundbreaking, authoritative account of the Chilean mine disaster, one of the longest human entrapments in history. Rushing to the scene when the miners were discovered, Franklin obtained a coveted "Rescue Team" pass and reported directly from the front lines of the rescue operation, beyond police controls, for six weeks. Based on more than 110 intimate interviews with the miners, their families, and the rescue team, Franklin's narrative captures the remarkable story of these men and women, in details shocking, beautiful, comedic, and heroic. Gripping and raw with never-before-revealed details, 33 Men is a true story that reads like a thriller.
33 Men is the groundbreaking, authoritative account of the Chilean mine disaster, one of the longest human entrapments in history. Rushing to the scene when the miners were discovered, Franklin obtained a coveted "Rescue Team" pass and reported directly from the front lines of the rescue operation, beyond police controls, for six weeks. Based on more than 110 intimate interviews with the miners, their families, and the rescue team, Franklin's narrative captures the remarkable story of these men and women, in details shocking, beautiful, comedic, and heroic. Gripping and raw with never-before-revealed details, 33 Men is a true story that reads like a thriller.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 251 reviews
August 3, 2016
Fascinating story, but the book is in terrible need of editing. Repetitive and choppy. And the author (whose bio says he writes for Playboy) has a strange focus on sex. The miners are not going to die from not having sex...give it a rest.
December 14, 2014
I remember in 2010 sitting on my couch in the safety and comfort of my home and watching the rescue of 33 miners in Chile being hauled out of a ground in a capsule, one by one from a mine after being trapped for 69 days underground after the mine collapsed. It was an engrossing story that I really got caught up in. When it comes to miracles, the rescue of these men certainly was one.
33 Men tells the story of the trapped miners, their families that waited, and the rescue efforts being made above.
On the morning of August 5, 2010, thirty-three men gathered at the entrance to the San Jose copper mine outside Copiapo, Chile, for a twelve hour shift.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., the earth cracked sharply: two and a half hours later there was a massive thud unlike any the men had heard before. A giant section of the mine had collapsed. Thirty-three men scrambled for refuge inside the mine and headed for the safety shelter – a 540 square foot room stocked with enough food and liquid to last a group of ten men forty-eight hours.
Their nightmare had begun.
For the next seventeen days, engineers drilled and families prayed, with dimming hopes for the mens survival. And then on August 22, at 5:50 a.m., a drill bit pierced the tunnel near the miners safety shelter. It came back up with a note attached to the tip – “Estamos bien en el refugio los 33” – We are all right in the shelter, the 33 of us. 33 men is the story of the miraculous survival and rescue of all thirty-three miners who for sixty-nine days lived inside the collapsed mine.
The author, Jonathan Franklin, did an excellent job in telling the story. He was a transplanted American who had lived in Chile since 1994, married a Chilean woman and had six kids. Franklin was a well=known journalist reporting stories world-wide from Chile, and when this disaster occurred, was the only reporter who was allowed into the rescue area and had access to speak to the miners below.
Even though everyone knows that the miners were finally rescued, Franklin provides the drama, and insight of living the horror. I cannot imagine being trapped for seventeen days and not knowing if you would be found, let alone rescued, and forced to face a long lingering death by starvation.
Of the thirty-three men, the book tells the story of only a few individuals and then the story of the group as a whole. It is all interesting.
The story also provides a lot of faith in mankind. The men were trapped with very little food, not knowing if they would be found, yet managed to keep an orderly democratic society underground. Sure there were tense moments and times there were some fractures, but overall, every decision was voted upon and nobody was ever accused of stealing what limited food they had. I found their story inspiring.
I found it easy to hate the owners and operators of the mines. When the cave-in happened, miners were told they could not use the landlines in the offices to call for help. The company never informed the families of the miners and as the rescuers came in from all over the world, company officials just packed up their offices and left. Damn them to hell!
The book was written soon after the rescue so the reader never finds out about the life of the thirty-three past a few days after they came out of their hell, nor do we know what happened to the company and the officials onsite the day of the cave-in.
This is an excellent book with the story being told from many angles. I highly recommend it.
33 Men tells the story of the trapped miners, their families that waited, and the rescue efforts being made above.
On the morning of August 5, 2010, thirty-three men gathered at the entrance to the San Jose copper mine outside Copiapo, Chile, for a twelve hour shift.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., the earth cracked sharply: two and a half hours later there was a massive thud unlike any the men had heard before. A giant section of the mine had collapsed. Thirty-three men scrambled for refuge inside the mine and headed for the safety shelter – a 540 square foot room stocked with enough food and liquid to last a group of ten men forty-eight hours.
Their nightmare had begun.
For the next seventeen days, engineers drilled and families prayed, with dimming hopes for the mens survival. And then on August 22, at 5:50 a.m., a drill bit pierced the tunnel near the miners safety shelter. It came back up with a note attached to the tip – “Estamos bien en el refugio los 33” – We are all right in the shelter, the 33 of us. 33 men is the story of the miraculous survival and rescue of all thirty-three miners who for sixty-nine days lived inside the collapsed mine.
The author, Jonathan Franklin, did an excellent job in telling the story. He was a transplanted American who had lived in Chile since 1994, married a Chilean woman and had six kids. Franklin was a well=known journalist reporting stories world-wide from Chile, and when this disaster occurred, was the only reporter who was allowed into the rescue area and had access to speak to the miners below.
Even though everyone knows that the miners were finally rescued, Franklin provides the drama, and insight of living the horror. I cannot imagine being trapped for seventeen days and not knowing if you would be found, let alone rescued, and forced to face a long lingering death by starvation.
Of the thirty-three men, the book tells the story of only a few individuals and then the story of the group as a whole. It is all interesting.
The story also provides a lot of faith in mankind. The men were trapped with very little food, not knowing if they would be found, yet managed to keep an orderly democratic society underground. Sure there were tense moments and times there were some fractures, but overall, every decision was voted upon and nobody was ever accused of stealing what limited food they had. I found their story inspiring.
I found it easy to hate the owners and operators of the mines. When the cave-in happened, miners were told they could not use the landlines in the offices to call for help. The company never informed the families of the miners and as the rescuers came in from all over the world, company officials just packed up their offices and left. Damn them to hell!
The book was written soon after the rescue so the reader never finds out about the life of the thirty-three past a few days after they came out of their hell, nor do we know what happened to the company and the officials onsite the day of the cave-in.
This is an excellent book with the story being told from many angles. I highly recommend it.
February 2, 2018
'On 12 October 2010 the world’s attention was fixed on a remote copper mine in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Final preparations were underway for a daring rescue to bring to an end the longest underground entrapment in human history. Sixty-nine days earlier, 33 miners were midway through a routine shift, deep in the San Jose mine. They stopped for lunch at the tiny safety shelter 688 metres below the surface. Ten minutes later they heard an almighty crack and a deep rumbling sound. Clouds of dust and debris poured down on the choking men. The bombardment lasted for five hours. When it finally cleared the men discovered they were trapped under tonnes of collapsed rock.'
Incredible story with Franklin getting a front row seat at the top of the very dangerous gold and copper mine watching, and in some cases helping, with the Operation San Lorenzo rescue effort. He takes us through the 69 days with the mountain groaning and President Pinera looking to gain a whole boatload of political points by bringing all miners up alive.
Goes over the desperation of the first couple of weeks while they try and drill a hole (paloma) down to the miners so they can at least have food and water. The miners having to ration to a ridiculous extent while this happens. Above ground there are the families where the stressful situation causes emotions to spill over somewhat as happens with the miners themselves. There are the politicians and ministers but also the global help from many people. They come from far-and-wide to offer assistance.
Then there are the main drilling efforts to drill a hole accurately all that way down so that the can drop a capsule in that the miners can climb into and be winched up.
I expect this book came out pretty quickly after the actual event. You do get a sense of what it was like down in the mine while they waited to be rescued. This book does not tell the experience of a miner being down there but the overall rescue attempt. I am sure there are other books where the miners have been paid a lot of money to tell their story. This is not that book.
Incredible story with Franklin getting a front row seat at the top of the very dangerous gold and copper mine watching, and in some cases helping, with the Operation San Lorenzo rescue effort. He takes us through the 69 days with the mountain groaning and President Pinera looking to gain a whole boatload of political points by bringing all miners up alive.
Goes over the desperation of the first couple of weeks while they try and drill a hole (paloma) down to the miners so they can at least have food and water. The miners having to ration to a ridiculous extent while this happens. Above ground there are the families where the stressful situation causes emotions to spill over somewhat as happens with the miners themselves. There are the politicians and ministers but also the global help from many people. They come from far-and-wide to offer assistance.
Then there are the main drilling efforts to drill a hole accurately all that way down so that the can drop a capsule in that the miners can climb into and be winched up.
I expect this book came out pretty quickly after the actual event. You do get a sense of what it was like down in the mine while they waited to be rescued. This book does not tell the experience of a miner being down there but the overall rescue attempt. I am sure there are other books where the miners have been paid a lot of money to tell their story. This is not that book.
November 9, 2011
I feel like I missed out on the whole "Los 33" Chilean Miner thing because the time period in which it took place happened to span exactly the time period in which we were moving our lives over to the UAE. So when the miners were rescued, it was kind of a "huh?" moment for me, rather than a huge big emotional deal. That made me sad, so I sought out this book. I thought it might be fantastic like Alive and Miracle in the Andes (and the situations are shockingly similar, even down to the length of the separate ordeals).
However, I kind of wish I'd just read the Wikipedia article instead. The book didn't really have any additional insight and it certainly wasn't written any better. Oh well.
However, I kind of wish I'd just read the Wikipedia article instead. The book didn't really have any additional insight and it certainly wasn't written any better. Oh well.
November 7, 2018
Well told, gripping story of the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for three months, and the extraordinary rescue. There are surprises, political drama, logistical challenges, psychological intrigue, and a spectacular, tense, rescue event. The psychologists supposed to be taking care of them became manipulative. The rescue capsule had to be invented. A tent CITY of well-wishers materialized at the site. The unstable rock groaned and threatened to shift any moment.
An amazing story, truly, and very well-delivered, holding the tension taut throughout.
An amazing story, truly, and very well-delivered, holding the tension taut throughout.
June 23, 2022
Anyone who watched in amazement as the 33 trapped Chilean miners were rescued to freedom in 2010 should read this book and learn everything you don't know about their journey. Like many other true stories, in 33 Men, tragedy is the great equalizer. The book documents the lives of these men before, during, and after the collapse. The relationships they have inside and outside the mine, with the mine, and the global politics surrounding them all. The author describes the whole thing as the "anti 9/11", a rare and brief example of the world working together towards a common goal for good. What I found most interesting was learning about the human nature cycle the men went through while underground. Franklin sums it up well as he writes "How did a ragtag band of desperate miners and their families become a showcase of tenderness and emotional intelligence? Few of these men were well educated, successful in their career or able to spend 'quality time' with their families. They were hardened men, survivors who labored in anonymous corners of a dark cave where few other humans could last a single shift." Highly recommend.
August 22, 2024
What a great story of the willingness to survive. I was born in Chile. It brought back great memories of the people and culture.
January 18, 2014
At its heart, the story of the thirty-three men who survived 69 days trapped at the bottom of a Chilean mine is a compelling one - but that story is not particularly well told in this book. Franklin has a talent for bombast; it's easy to imagine a movie announcer annunciating the book's early pages. ("In a world gone mad . . . ") Is this the story of thirty-three men who worked together to overcome tremendous odds? Or is it the story of thirty-three men who splintered and formed cliques and didn't get along? Franklin wants it to be both, despite the fact that the stories are contradictory, and that was one of my major frustrations with the book.
There's a lot of information about drilling in this book. If drilling is your thing, and you enjoy information about schematics and bits and the challenges of boring a hole through several different kinds of rock, this is the book for you. For me, those sections were uninteresting, and I wanted much, much more information about the men in the mine. What information we did get was hard to fathom. Why does Franklin bring up the "specter" of the men engaging in homosexual behavior when he has no evidence to corroborate that supposition? It seems like the worst kind of baiting, and - in the way that it was written - not a little homophobic.
My favorite parts of the book were those dealing with the medical and psychological challenges of surviving the mine. No one on earth had any experience dealing with the kind of isolation the miners were experiencing - only astronauts had any kind of similar experience. NASA was called in to provide expertise; psychologists made various choices about how to manage the miners as the rescue operation took place. This was fascinating stuff, and I wish there had been more of it, and fewer details about machines.
There's a lot of information about drilling in this book. If drilling is your thing, and you enjoy information about schematics and bits and the challenges of boring a hole through several different kinds of rock, this is the book for you. For me, those sections were uninteresting, and I wanted much, much more information about the men in the mine. What information we did get was hard to fathom. Why does Franklin bring up the "specter" of the men engaging in homosexual behavior when he has no evidence to corroborate that supposition? It seems like the worst kind of baiting, and - in the way that it was written - not a little homophobic.
My favorite parts of the book were those dealing with the medical and psychological challenges of surviving the mine. No one on earth had any experience dealing with the kind of isolation the miners were experiencing - only astronauts had any kind of similar experience. NASA was called in to provide expertise; psychologists made various choices about how to manage the miners as the rescue operation took place. This was fascinating stuff, and I wish there had been more of it, and fewer details about machines.
April 28, 2011
The writing style is choppy. The stage was not set, the story didn't flow. I was about 3/4 of the way through the book when I noticed a couple maps way in the front of the book. It would have been helpful to have those at least referenced in the text to help give understanding of the layout of the mine. I did learn some things that I hadn't heard on the news. How terribly humid and wet it was down there, the swimming pool, the smuggled drugs. Would have liked more photos from underground, more photos of the miners, would have liked the miners in the photos identified, more personal info on the miners. To give the author the benefit of the doubt, perhaps the miners weren't talking and perhaps he couldn't get access to underground photos. It's still an amazing story. Wonder where they are now?
February 5, 2016
I listened to the audiobook of this book. The narrater was interesting and engaging, but the story felt a bit stifled at times. While the realities of the true story was fascination and interesting, the book felt a little disjointed and was a little difficult to follow at times. I also feel the author was ridiculously obsessed with the sexual side of this story. In the middle of a chapter describing the realities the minors were experiencing, he'd randomly start talking about how sexually frustrated they must be. I understand the reality of discussing this aspect of the story, but it was focused on far more than necessary and was dropped into the story at random - only making sense in the fact that the author wanted to talk about whether or not the men were sleeping together. Really - who cares?! They're stuck at the bottom of a mine, why are we focusing on this?
November 8, 2017
I can remember following the news stories when this disaster happened.
It is hard to imagine what these men went through trapped so long underground for such a long time.
A story of survival and a lesson to never lose hope.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and the narration was really good.
Recommended.
It is hard to imagine what these men went through trapped so long underground for such a long time.
A story of survival and a lesson to never lose hope.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and the narration was really good.
Recommended.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2019
It's a story that's as familiar as it is compelling: 33 miners trapped deep underground in Chile and the massive rescue effort to save them. The book exists in the same tension - the space between being an incredible narrative and yet trying to retell a story that has been told so often before.
The good in the book comes thanks to Franklin's access. Early on in the search, journalist Jonathan Franklin was able to get access behind the gates at Camp Hope, where the drills and rescuers worked to free the 33 trapped underground. This access provides a unique vantage, allowing him to tell the story of those above in a compelling way. The book offers an effective tick-tock narrative of each day, from collapse to shortly after the rescue. It's a heck of a story, and Franklin tells it in an engaging way. Despite knowing the story well, I read the book in an afternoon, sucked in by the plight of those trapped and the efforts to save them.
The bad comes in the form of slightly half-baked writing. There are more grammatical and typographical errors than I would expect from a Random House Group book, no doubt in part via a rush to publish and capitalize on the media attention. Likewise, there are places where the story is a little rushed; where I'd love more detail about how events unfolded both above and below the surface; and where there needs to be a little more coherence in the narrative.
The confusing arises because of Franklin's standpoint as a journalist. At times, his journalistic skill is obvious: he lets the story shine through effectively, knowing the value of getting out of the way of the narrative and simply letting the characters and events speak for themselves. Yet, there isn't the critical insight, the holding-to-account, nor the investigation of power and interests and conflicts in narrative that I'd expect from a seasoned reporter. He occasionally lobs in cheap, sultry remarks (did they have sex in the mine?!) and yet fails to explore systematic problems in the mining industry (or that particular company), the psychology or physiology of what was going on, or the politics of responding.
In sum, the book represents an effective cataloging of key events in the rescue. In doing so, it's a wonderfully engaging story that is hard to put down - five starts on its story! But, it comes up short in terms of asking tough questions or pulling back the curtain on the disaster, and makes me wish that the story wasn't rushed to market for a distractible audience, but was given the time to incubate and percolate in reflectiveness instead.
The good in the book comes thanks to Franklin's access. Early on in the search, journalist Jonathan Franklin was able to get access behind the gates at Camp Hope, where the drills and rescuers worked to free the 33 trapped underground. This access provides a unique vantage, allowing him to tell the story of those above in a compelling way. The book offers an effective tick-tock narrative of each day, from collapse to shortly after the rescue. It's a heck of a story, and Franklin tells it in an engaging way. Despite knowing the story well, I read the book in an afternoon, sucked in by the plight of those trapped and the efforts to save them.
The bad comes in the form of slightly half-baked writing. There are more grammatical and typographical errors than I would expect from a Random House Group book, no doubt in part via a rush to publish and capitalize on the media attention. Likewise, there are places where the story is a little rushed; where I'd love more detail about how events unfolded both above and below the surface; and where there needs to be a little more coherence in the narrative.
The confusing arises because of Franklin's standpoint as a journalist. At times, his journalistic skill is obvious: he lets the story shine through effectively, knowing the value of getting out of the way of the narrative and simply letting the characters and events speak for themselves. Yet, there isn't the critical insight, the holding-to-account, nor the investigation of power and interests and conflicts in narrative that I'd expect from a seasoned reporter. He occasionally lobs in cheap, sultry remarks (did they have sex in the mine?!) and yet fails to explore systematic problems in the mining industry (or that particular company), the psychology or physiology of what was going on, or the politics of responding.
In sum, the book represents an effective cataloging of key events in the rescue. In doing so, it's a wonderfully engaging story that is hard to put down - five starts on its story! But, it comes up short in terms of asking tough questions or pulling back the curtain on the disaster, and makes me wish that the story wasn't rushed to market for a distractible audience, but was given the time to incubate and percolate in reflectiveness instead.
April 17, 2017
I visited a museum dedicated to the commemoration of this event as a significant point of national sympathy, and was moved far more than I expected at the circumstances of the 33, and the resolution. I found it difficult to be moved in the same way by the book. In the museum the claim that the buried miners received worldwide attention, including recognition by Britain's queen of all people, aroused my curiosity. But the book made little impression. Part of the problem with knowing the outcome, as I did from the museum visit, removes some of the suspense of a real life drama. But the author seemed to create little suspense, rather as it seemed to me, looking for any opportunity to wow the reader - depths compared to Empire State Building heights are almost guaranteed to push me away and certainly indicative of a shallow appeal to a school age audience. I wonder if the author ever went down a mine himself to try to know more deeply how darkness, rock and stifling humidity looks and feels.
Still, many of the events taking place are laid out in a readable story, and this substance is enough to sense that it was an event worth paying attention to. Surprisingly, despite the media attention it gained at the time, I don't think it's status as a memorial event has stood the test of time - less than a decade later and it is vague in my mind at least (although, watching the oj Simpson series last year I realized that I zone out to long running media stories). However, I am not sure it really sits high on the list of 'most important' chilean events, and I imagine the earthquake from earlier the same year will be the event more strongly retained in the countries memory.
The comments above were written as I read the book, something I don't normally do, leaving my review to the aftertaste left once I've finished. I was sufficiently disappointed to jump the gun (in contrast to times I leave it too long). Now finished, I am glad I read the story but I don't feel the author managed to win my interest. I do appreciate the points he made regarding journalists avoiding the sensation of scandal etc., and bringing the facts to light. I also appreciate the optimism that journalism can tell more than simply the bad and the ugly. Maybe he was too close? Too soon? Too sensitive? Hard to recommend this one as a book, but it is a story, accessible through other avenues, worth hearing.
Still, many of the events taking place are laid out in a readable story, and this substance is enough to sense that it was an event worth paying attention to. Surprisingly, despite the media attention it gained at the time, I don't think it's status as a memorial event has stood the test of time - less than a decade later and it is vague in my mind at least (although, watching the oj Simpson series last year I realized that I zone out to long running media stories). However, I am not sure it really sits high on the list of 'most important' chilean events, and I imagine the earthquake from earlier the same year will be the event more strongly retained in the countries memory.
The comments above were written as I read the book, something I don't normally do, leaving my review to the aftertaste left once I've finished. I was sufficiently disappointed to jump the gun (in contrast to times I leave it too long). Now finished, I am glad I read the story but I don't feel the author managed to win my interest. I do appreciate the points he made regarding journalists avoiding the sensation of scandal etc., and bringing the facts to light. I also appreciate the optimism that journalism can tell more than simply the bad and the ugly. Maybe he was too close? Too soon? Too sensitive? Hard to recommend this one as a book, but it is a story, accessible through other avenues, worth hearing.
September 23, 2022
Trigger warnings: mine collapse, mental health, mentions of cheating
This is a very informative overview of the 2010 Chilean mine collapse, both in regards to how the men survived and how they were rescued. Franklin was on the site as a journalist at the time, and was able to interview many of the survivors after the fact, as well as working closely with members of the rescue team. So from that perspective, it was fascinating.
But somehow, this felt almost...clinical?...in the writing. I didn't get any real sense of how claustrophobic it was to live in that environment for two months. I didn't get any real sense of how hot and humid it was. I didn't get any real sense of desperation from the rescuers.
Don't get me wrong, it was very readable. But at the same time, it was strangely emotionless when telling such an incredible and emotional story.
This is a very informative overview of the 2010 Chilean mine collapse, both in regards to how the men survived and how they were rescued. Franklin was on the site as a journalist at the time, and was able to interview many of the survivors after the fact, as well as working closely with members of the rescue team. So from that perspective, it was fascinating.
But somehow, this felt almost...clinical?...in the writing. I didn't get any real sense of how claustrophobic it was to live in that environment for two months. I didn't get any real sense of how hot and humid it was. I didn't get any real sense of desperation from the rescuers.
Don't get me wrong, it was very readable. But at the same time, it was strangely emotionless when telling such an incredible and emotional story.
December 26, 2022
Bem escrito, objectivo e bastante detalhado.
August 7, 2025
6/10
Definitely an interesting read, but not as good as I was hoping for. I would have liked to dive a bit deeper into many of the issues that the miners faced as well as spend a bit more time talking about what came after, both for the miners and for laws/regulations on mining in Chile.
Definitely an interesting read, but not as good as I was hoping for. I would have liked to dive a bit deeper into many of the issues that the miners faced as well as spend a bit more time talking about what came after, both for the miners and for laws/regulations on mining in Chile.
January 13, 2014
Incredibly well written, this is truly just as the title indicates, a miraculous true story of 33 men trapped 2,300 feet below in the bowels of a copper and gold mine in a remote area in Chile. With over time, working in brutal conditions, a good month could net $2,000 of pay, and thus the men put life and limb in danger every second, hour and day.
Known for the many earthquakes and the terrible track record of poor safety in this mine, every time they entered, the men knew they were beating incredible odds to see the light of day.
Though in the case of this disaster, there never was a survival for that period of time under these extreme conditions.
This is a true testimony of the will of survival and a joyous celebration of all those who worked so very hard, despite the incredible odds, to develop a rescue operation.
Barely surviving for 17 dark days, with only one day food supply left, the miners had little hope of discovery. When they were discovered, even the brave people above who were trying to help, were unsure how to rely to the miners that they may be trapped for four more months.
Many miracles occurred in order to get the men to the top, and even then after 69 long days in a small confined space, the men listened as yet another earthquake shook the mountain until the rocks thundered and cried.
Praying the escape route would not be blocked, the men knew ever fiber of their being was tested.
Kissing the ground, crying and thanking God, after 69 days, 33 men were rescued by slowly being wrenched up through a drilled hole wide enough to contain a small, tiny capsule called "the Phoenix."
Highly Recommended!!!
Known for the many earthquakes and the terrible track record of poor safety in this mine, every time they entered, the men knew they were beating incredible odds to see the light of day.
Though in the case of this disaster, there never was a survival for that period of time under these extreme conditions.
This is a true testimony of the will of survival and a joyous celebration of all those who worked so very hard, despite the incredible odds, to develop a rescue operation.
Barely surviving for 17 dark days, with only one day food supply left, the miners had little hope of discovery. When they were discovered, even the brave people above who were trying to help, were unsure how to rely to the miners that they may be trapped for four more months.
Many miracles occurred in order to get the men to the top, and even then after 69 long days in a small confined space, the men listened as yet another earthquake shook the mountain until the rocks thundered and cried.
Praying the escape route would not be blocked, the men knew ever fiber of their being was tested.
Kissing the ground, crying and thanking God, after 69 days, 33 men were rescued by slowly being wrenched up through a drilled hole wide enough to contain a small, tiny capsule called "the Phoenix."
Highly Recommended!!!
August 6, 2012
My breath comes slightly thicker whenever I think about 33 Men; lunches taste extra delicious and showers feel more luxurious, even days after finishing the book.
Thirty-three men buried beneath 2,300 feet of mountain for sixty-nine days, food running low and then out, 95 degrees Fahrenheit and almost 100% humidity: we all know the story. I remember reading about the mine collapse and then, weeks later, realizing in horror that those men were still under there, still alive. The celebrations when they were rescued reverberated around the world but there are a lot details I’d forgotten, or maybe never heard.
The psychological angle interested me most, as I imagined staring at the same rock walls and the same thirty-two people for weeks on end, all while the mountain above “cries” boulders and dust, the “restroom” sends waves of reek through the “bedroom”, and your neighbor’s slightly drier rock pit begins to merit a fistfight.
What could have been a Lord of the Flies scenario, instead became an inspiring tale of brotherhood.
The author does not exploit the miners, doesn’t sacrifice their dignity for the sake of his story. His strong verb usage stood out to me. (Though why he compares a natural disaster with a terrorist attack in the last pages remains a mystery.)
Since the book is set almost exclusively inside the mine and among the families' tents down in Camp Hope, I didn’t pick up many choice tidbits of Chilean culture. However, I now know a little more about mining and Chilean geography and a lot more about team spirit and courage.
Thirty-three men buried beneath 2,300 feet of mountain for sixty-nine days, food running low and then out, 95 degrees Fahrenheit and almost 100% humidity: we all know the story. I remember reading about the mine collapse and then, weeks later, realizing in horror that those men were still under there, still alive. The celebrations when they were rescued reverberated around the world but there are a lot details I’d forgotten, or maybe never heard.
The psychological angle interested me most, as I imagined staring at the same rock walls and the same thirty-two people for weeks on end, all while the mountain above “cries” boulders and dust, the “restroom” sends waves of reek through the “bedroom”, and your neighbor’s slightly drier rock pit begins to merit a fistfight.
What could have been a Lord of the Flies scenario, instead became an inspiring tale of brotherhood.
The author does not exploit the miners, doesn’t sacrifice their dignity for the sake of his story. His strong verb usage stood out to me. (Though why he compares a natural disaster with a terrorist attack in the last pages remains a mystery.)
Since the book is set almost exclusively inside the mine and among the families' tents down in Camp Hope, I didn’t pick up many choice tidbits of Chilean culture. However, I now know a little more about mining and Chilean geography and a lot more about team spirit and courage.
November 24, 2015
This story was amazing and it was definitely a miracle that they were rescued. My disappointment was in how the author chose to tell the story. It seems like the authors journalistic instinct to report ALL info he learned won out over the desire to tell a cohesive, well-written story of the rescue. A lot of things he told about took away or added no value to the rescue story. Examples, a lot of focus on family drama up top (i.e a wife discovers a lover & their battles, media deals that the families began making, stuff going on with the media circus camped out, too much dwelling on whether the men were having homosexual affairs and then on the other extreme the concern about the men not having had sex for so long & what to give them to help them with their urges). Also, it was sad that the author felt the need to lash out at America by comparing (pg. 300) the Chilean miner rescue and how it was something that united the world and gave us all hope versus how American handled the 9/11 attacks where "divisions overshadowed understanding" ("racism, tribalism, us vs. them, brute force, torture", etc) . I don't see how he can make any comparison at all between a terrorist attack on the U.S., seen as an act of war, versus a mining accident.
I'm interested in how the movie will handle some of these topics, not sure whether I will see it after reading this book.
I'm interested in how the movie will handle some of these topics, not sure whether I will see it after reading this book.
February 10, 2020
One would hope that a journalist who was present during most of the 69 days could produce a riveting and insightful page-turner about this amazing rescue. I’m sorry to say it reads like a B+ high school research paper, where the student piled his/her research notes in chronological order and went through them one by one. Wrote that: Check. Wrote that: Check. “Reporting” on the rescue challenges and emotional demands is just that: reporting. Franklin fails to transcend the daily/individual realities of the rescue, so this account falls flat. Read instead the stirring account by Hectar Tobar--
Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free
(2014), and his New Yorker article, “Sixty Nine Days".
July 28, 2014
Nothing like the dry, facts-only, reporting found in newspapers, this reporter has brought these 33 miners and their rescuers to 3-D life. I'm glad to have made the trip.
This story has been amazing from "How did they know the miners were in trouble?" (They didn't. They worked from the shift staff-list and hoped to find some alive. Miraculously, all 33 survived.) to "How did they extract them from 3,200 ft. below the surface? Clue: they didn't try to clean out the collapsed mine tunnels. Totally WOW!
This story has been amazing from "How did they know the miners were in trouble?" (They didn't. They worked from the shift staff-list and hoped to find some alive. Miraculously, all 33 survived.) to "How did they extract them from 3,200 ft. below the surface? Clue: they didn't try to clean out the collapsed mine tunnels. Totally WOW!
April 18, 2017
The story is fascinating, and this book offers some interesting insights. The style is very journalistic though, and the editing falls down in places. There are a couple of stories that don't go anywhere, and are not picked up later, while other facts are repeated over and over.
Towards the end, I found it somewhat snide and dismissive at times, particularly towards other media professionals.
Because of the style, I came to doubt a lot of the stories as they were presented, an air of sensationalism got in the way of the chronicle.
Towards the end, I found it somewhat snide and dismissive at times, particularly towards other media professionals.
Because of the style, I came to doubt a lot of the stories as they were presented, an air of sensationalism got in the way of the chronicle.
January 4, 2016
Senza nulla togliere alla drammaticità degli eventi narrati, questo libro mi ha lasciato un po' perplessa. Franklin sembra indeciso se fare il freddo cronista o lasciarsi andare a romanzare certi eventi. Ne risulta uno stile che saltella tra i due opposti, e che non mi è piaciuto. Inoltre in più punti sembra che butti là degli spunti da approfondire più avanti, senza poi farlo. Mi ha lasciato se non altro il desiderio di leggere altro sull'argomento.
December 6, 2021
What a read- so much went on behind the scenes and within the mine during this amazing rescue. I was expecting a more technical/scientific look into the rescue, but this book was more of a chronology of the event detailing the experiences of the miners, their families, and those coordinating the rescue efforts. I couldn’t put it down. Drugs, affairs, sex dolls, family drama, the development of leaders…so much packed into this book. A must-read.
May 20, 2011
Very interesting. Sadly I was living under a rock when this happened (also known as being pregnant and having a toddler) and knew little to nothing of this as it was happening so most of what I read was completely new to me.
September 7, 2017
I found it amazing that those men were able to survive under those conditions for that length of time. They have an amazing story.
August 28, 2016
A detailed account of a tremendous effort to save the miners that turned into a spectacular save.
June 20, 2016
Um testemunho magnífico de uma história real com final feliz.
November 15, 2018
I lived in Chile for 3 years. While we were there the movie with Antonio Banderas was released 6 months before the US premier. Watching the move with a Chilean audience brought home to me how the rescue of the 33 miners was a matter of national pride. I leaned as the audience booed and cheered who were the villains and heroes in the Chilean collective judgement.
The story is gripping, the writing is not. This author, who apparently also writes for Playboy, was obsessed with the sexuality of the miners so much so that it was demeaning to them and what they went through. I listened to the audio version and found it absolutely laughable when the narrator was quoting a Chilean that he felt this odd need to use a very bad Spanish accent. The book should have delved more into the safety lapses in the mine specifically and the mining industry generally. Virtually no investigative reporting and commentary.
The real hero was Laurence Golborne the minister of mining who simply would not give up while other public officials and mining company executives were prepared to just write it off to another unfortunate mining accident.
I love all thing Chilean but I must admit that the food is not Chile's best asset. At one point the author relates an incident with one of the trapped miners, who in a weakened condition from lack of food, dreams about his mother's empanadas. The author explains that an empanada is a meat pie with a hard boild egg and a black olive. Then his comment - "And like most Chilean food, entirely forgettable." I stopped what I was doing and laughed out loud. Pero con respecto a todos mis companeros Chileano.
The story is gripping, the writing is not. This author, who apparently also writes for Playboy, was obsessed with the sexuality of the miners so much so that it was demeaning to them and what they went through. I listened to the audio version and found it absolutely laughable when the narrator was quoting a Chilean that he felt this odd need to use a very bad Spanish accent. The book should have delved more into the safety lapses in the mine specifically and the mining industry generally. Virtually no investigative reporting and commentary.
The real hero was Laurence Golborne the minister of mining who simply would not give up while other public officials and mining company executives were prepared to just write it off to another unfortunate mining accident.
I love all thing Chilean but I must admit that the food is not Chile's best asset. At one point the author relates an incident with one of the trapped miners, who in a weakened condition from lack of food, dreams about his mother's empanadas. The author explains that an empanada is a meat pie with a hard boild egg and a black olive. Then his comment - "And like most Chilean food, entirely forgettable." I stopped what I was doing and laughed out loud. Pero con respecto a todos mis companeros Chileano.
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