Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert

by Marc Aronson

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Survival, Adventure, Teen, Juvenile

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2011

About the author

Aronson has won many awards for his books for young readers and has a doctorate in American history. His lectures cover educational topics such as mysteries and controversies in American history, teenagers and their reading, the literary passions of boys, and always leave audiences asking for more.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/marcar...

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The notion that history is always happening isn’t necessarily obvious to a kid. I remember have several moments of revelation when I was younger, realizing time and time again that the folks we studied in school were real. That they walked around like I did. History has a tendency to play out like a movie when you’re young. You might be moved but you wouldn’t necessarily be able to wrap your head around the notion that there but for the grace of God go I. To hammer this notion home it might be advisable to find moments in recent history that have been recorded for all of posterity. Like, say, the Chilean miner incident of 2010. A lot of kids (as of this review) would remember when that was in the news. Yet they might not think of that as a historical incident yet. Enter Trapped by Marc Aronson. Here we have a book that sheds some light on the story that hypnotized the world. With its natural tension and everyday heroes, Trapped is that rarest of nonfiction beasts: A contemporary work of historical fact that has you gripping the edge of your seat.

The collapse of a San Jose mine on August 5, 2010 wasn’t anything the world hadn’t seen before. Mines collapse all the time. It’s a dangerous occupation. The difference here, of course, was the fact that the 33 men trapped 2,300 feet underground were still alive. Suddenly the world was riveted by their story. Would the rescuers be able to find them? And even if they did, how would they get them out? Backmatter to this true tale includes brief biographies of each of the thirty-three miners, a Timeline, a Glossary of Names and Terms, a word on “The World of the Miner” by a miner, a note to students, Notes and Sources, a Bibliography, a list of interviewed subjects, Useful Websites, and an Index.

A good work of nonfiction for kids makes you want to keep reading, even when you know the outcome. When I pick up a book like Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming, I love that I feel like there may be a chance that they'll find Ms. Earhardt this time. Similarly, when I read Trapped I have to feel like there’s a chance that they won’t rescue the miners this time. Indeed there were several moments when it really seemed as though the miners wouldn’t be found. Aronson parcels out this tension, knowing better than to fill the narrative with foreshadowing or some kind of false narrative technique. And like Fleming’s book he makes sure to tell two different stories at once. We are both with the miners and with the rescuers as the tale unfolds.

Mr. Aronson is a fan of context. It isn’t enough to know that this story takes place 2,000 feet below the Chilean Desert. He must show you how that desert was formed. And it isn’t enough to simply know that these men were farmers of items like copper. He’s inclined to give you the very history of copper itself, going so far as to tie it into scenes from The Lightning Thief or Harry Potter (sometimes inexplicably). For me, these sidenotes distracted from the larger (and more interesting) story. I know why Aronson has included them, but most of this information appears at the beginning of the book in a big lump. I would have preferred it to be integrated evenly throughout the text. That way a sentence like, “Today, the average American uses sixteen pounds of copper a year” will have the adequate oomph it deserves.

Aronson writes for both child and teen readers, and you’re never quite certain which he’ll write for next. In this particular case he’s made certain that this book would appeal to kids as well as those in the throes of adolescence. Of course, to do that he has to tiptoe around some interesting issues. I didn’t follow the disaster very closely when it was occurring back in 2010, but one thing I do remember is hearing that one of the miners had the awkward problem of being visited via the hole by both his wife and his mistress. You’ll find no mention of that fact in this book. There are points where the men resolve to become better people when they leave the mine, and there’s a point where Aronson condemns the sordid stories that the press indulged in at times, regarding the miners’ personal lives as nothing more than tabloid fodder. Nothing sordid makes it onto these pages, though. Later we read an account of the items that were lowered to the miners. Amongst the listed objects is “a picture of a pretty girl”. Call me dirty minded, but it is possible that picture was more than just that. It doesn’t matter, though. That’s not the story that’s being told here.

At the end of Trapped Aronson includes a section called “How I Wrote This Book: And what I learned that could be useful for students writing research reports (and a couple of last thoughts from men I interviewed). The section distinguishes nicely between original research and merely trolling the web. The book certainly works as an example of how to do research, but I suspect that the primary readers will be those kids eaten up by curiosity. How does a person survive for months under the ground? How do you fight off the claustrophobia? And how do you rescue someone if you can’t quite get a lock on where precisely they are? Trapped seeks to answer all these questions and, in doing so, satisfies a variety of different kinds of readers. If you’re looking for an account of recent history with a happy ending (no small feat no matter what the year) seek ye no further. This, as they say, is it.

Ages 10 and up.

[Martha Anne Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading an interesting book entitled Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert (2011) by Marc Aronson. A friend loaned me the book. The book is written for a juvenile audience, but the way the story is told worked for me. A mine collapsed in Copiano, Chile, trapping 33 miners 2,000 feet below the earth for sixty-nine days. The book shares a great deal of information about mining and the drilling that led to the rescue. I would have liked to have learned even more about the resilient miners and their families, but what Aronson presents was very informative and readable. As a teacher, I also like the way the author provides some useful ideas and incentives for young readers to continue their own research into the subject. There are other books on the mine disaster. Aronson mentions one: 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners (2011) by Jonathan Franklin, a journalist. There is another that seems popular: Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free (2014) by Héctor Tobar, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. The book inspired a movie entitled The 33, starring Antonio Banderas. The idea of Mr. Banderas gives this older (but perhaps still a little juvenile) reader some incentive for further research, or at least movie watching.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh. I know what book I WANTED. It focused on the 33 miners. Each one of them got a name and a story and a family. Some of them were brothers and one of them liked Elvis and lots of them liked to play dominoes and one of them was an awesome Colonel Potter type who got everyone to do what they were supposed to and not turn on each other and not ask for an extra serving of canned tuna. Sometimes the story would cut to the rescue operation above and the waiting families, but mostly you'd be down in the mine, and then everyone gets brought up one by one and shakes the president's hand while wearing some rad Oakleys.

This is not that book. It would have been if Jon Krakauer had written it. Let's have a moment of silence for the book Jon Krakauer will never write about the 33.

.....................

I'm not a big fan of Aronson's writing. He likes to insert himself in the narrative and I don't dig that, and also makes leaps in his similes. When you say "More recently, in Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief", you date your book. Plus it's just kind of weird. There's other stuff about bronze and copper that feels extraneous, and an awful lot of references to Greek mythology that didn't seem to add anything. Get back to those miners.

So even though no one has any responsibility to write the book I wanted instead of the book he wrote, I just didn't think this was great. The flopping between "above" and "below" wasn't smooth. Most of the photographs were really dull visually. I imagine there must have been licensing issues. Worst of all, the ending, the day of the rescue, is hardly given any development. Just a thing about how a strong guy had to go first and the captain came up last. NO DRAMA, and drama is what that day was all about, and it was awesome. But instead the book ends on a very flat note.

I'm glad he points out that miners still work in bad conditions all over the place and lots of them never get rescued. The rest of the back stuff feels extraneous, especially the lengthy thing about how HARD it was to write this because it's practically current events. Authors love to put in stuff about their PROCESS at the end of books now.

Also, the list of people he interviewed seems weird. In that he didn't talk to anyone from Chile at all. I expect it is hard, or perhaps impossible, to get access to the miners themselves. But surely... And couldn't the reason WHY he didn't talk to anyone from Chile have appeared somewhere in that long process note, seeing as it's already there? Speaking of which, does anyone really affectionately refer to the Internet as "the Net" anymore?

All three stars for the parts with the miners in.

[Janet]

I’m really glad I read this YA non-fiction book, How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert by Marc Aronson. This book was written in a really simplistic way which made it really easy to understand. I thought the way it was presented was concise but highly effective it gave readers the sentiment of the Chilean miners. This non fiction book was about the mine collapse in Chile that occurred in 2010 and trapped 33 miners. This novel did an excellent job in describing the setting in where the mine disaster occurred and the reasons why the miners would take such dangerous jobs. The book takes you through their journey of pain and survival 2,000 below the earth. It demonstrates to readers how they were capable to survive underground for over 2 months in an enclosed space without the certainty that they were going to be rescued. One thing I wish that the novel did was to give more background on each of the miners that were trapped, but I guess that is another book/story on its own.

I would recommend this book to middle school and high school students. This book will help demonstrate that history is happening now and that it is not a far away thing. It will teach them to have empathy for those who have to take arduous jobs because they have no other opportunities and need the job to survive. It will also hopefully enlighten them and show them the beautiful side of humanity in which people help others regardless of race, language, religion, or culture. I would especially recommend this book to Latino teenagers to show them a piece of their culture, a piece of their history, strength, resilience, and to show them that all of this is being taken into consideration by the world. Arriba Chile.

[529_Amalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners From 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert written by Marc Aronson, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, (2011). “Estamos biev en el refugio los 33 (we are in the shelter and are well, the 33)” Contact, on August 22, 2010, seventeen days after the collapse of the San Jose mine, no connection to the world above, a note with these words was attached to a drill that was sent from 2000 feet below the Chilean Desert from the 33 miners that were trapped in that mine. Aronson does a fantastic job of telling the story of how these miners had the courage and hope to survive 69 days in that mine. From explaining how forty million years ago the “great dance of shifting continents” began and in the crevices of Atacama Fault is the treasures of our planet, gold, silver and copper to the rescue efforts of the miners, Aronson tells the story from “above” and “below”. He explains in detail how people from around the world came together to save those 33 miners, and how those 33 miners worked together to save themselves. Aronson uses “exclusive interviews with key rescuers, unique photos, and intriguing historical background” to tell this amazing story. He shows “the astounding psychological strain, physical challenges and scientific hurdles involved” in this astonishing rescue. With extensive pages following the story, a timeline, glossary, the world of the miner, an explanation of how Aronson wrote this book, notes and sources, useful websites and an index, this is an outstanding modern-day story of survival of a current event that can be used for grades 7 and up.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud (5th-8th) that gets at the idea of how problem solving requires coming together and collaborating. Never before had the world faced the problem of 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet underground (think “farther than the length of seven football fields”) beneath 708,000 tons of rock (think “ the weight of 88,500 African male elephants”). Aronson reveals the unprecedented “coming together” of experts from all over the world to solve the myriad of problems this catastrophe posed. Teams worked to not only find the miners (17 days), but to keep them alive and healthy until they could be brought to the surface (another 53 days). “Unbelievable” is what I thought as I read this short narrative (94 pages). And, yet, this is how the world is succeeding in the 21st century – by coming together, by collaborating, by tapping new technologies and collective human wisdom.

BOOK TALK TIP:
Read aloud Chapter One – the start of this tragic experience – just over a page. Warn students that Chapters Two and Three are background information about this mine and the history of mines. While I find value in these chapters, for the purposes of getting kids into books they can’t put down – they might reread Chapter One and then skip to Chapter Four.

[Monica Edinger]

While I completely appreciate all the positives others have voiced about this book, there's something missing in it for me. That is, I'd have liked more from and about the miners themselves. They are all listed at the end by name and age and a few are featured within the text, but they simply don't come alive as much as their rescue and seem, in fact, a bit buried in this story. To some degree that is understandable give the book's subtitle, "How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet below the Chilean Desert," but I would have liked somehow for them to come out more strongly in the book than they do. Some of the distancing is, I suspect, a result of Aronson's having to rely on secondary sources when writing about the miners whereas for the rescue effort he interviewed some of the key players, such Jeff Hart and Brandon Fisher, and the tone is different when he writes about their experiences. No doubt it is also because there is indeed a lot to say about the rescue effort, but I still would have liked young readers to come away with a better sense of the miners themselves as agents of their own rescue along with all the others.

[Ricki · Rating 4 out of 5]

With perspectives from above and below ground, TRAPPED is a nonfictional account of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground at the end of August, 2010. I found the book to be intriguing, and I found it to be both informative and engaging. After I read it, I was eager to share some of my new knowledge with others, which is a hallmark of a great book. My one complaint is that it didn't offer very much information about the miners after they emerged above-ground. I watched a documentary on TV that interviewed some of the miners this year. Many are suffering from depression and PTSD. I was eager to read about this, but I think Aronson may have left it out because that wasn't the focus of his book. Additionally, his book may have been in publication before this information was released.

I highly recommend this book, particularly to readers who want to check out a great work of nonfiction.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I loved the topic, and thought it was a great way to introduce young people to a wide variety of topics. It is true that this book touched upon many interconnecting bits of information in order to study the disaster and rescue efforts of this mining disaster. I liked the many photographs and disparate information. However, I feel that the book was too scattered, especially for children. My students will most likely not even know where Chile is, and the those that understand the reasons for the dangers in mining would be limited. I believe there needed to be more connections between the various subjects; more "hand-holding" to explain both the disaster and the complex efforts of rescue by various parties.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this is a 3-star book. But I am not the target audience and teens might give this four stars. Although I found it a quick and interesting read, I expected a bit more meat in terms of the science used to get these guys out. I would have liked some diagrams of the different types of drills, for instance, along with the explanations of the pros and cons of each approach. I just found it a little thin on details. It felt a little rushed.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marc Aronson writes reliably excellent historical nonfiction. His crack research skills, gift for narrative, and ability to explore every aspect of his topics produce comprehensive and engaging texts. In this book, Aronson applies his talents to describe the events during the recent Chilean mining accident. Includes information about plate tectonics and the mining industry, too.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best parts of the book were obviously the descriptions of the men down below and how they worked together. Some of the material seemed too technical for this age group. I think this would have a lot of appeal to kids who like reading about natural disasters. I felt it needed more photos to make it more real for the readers.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished in just a few hours, this quick read definitely captures your attention. I remember following this news story and hoping for survival. This book gives great detail on the logistics of the rescue and all that was put into the miners wellbeing.

[Patti Sabik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Perfect length (& chapter lengths) for MS NF readers and writing is very engaging. This would work really well as a read aloud.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

8 October 2011 TRAPPED: HOW THE WORLD RESCUED 33 MINERS FROM 2,000 FEET BELOW THE CHILEAN DESERT by Marc Aronson, Atheneum, August 2011, 144 p., ISBN: 978-1-4169-1397-9

"Can I go buddy
Can I go down
Take your shift at the mine?
-- Hunter, Garcia, & Lesh, "Cumberland Blues"

"Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a ductile, semi-precious metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish. It is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys."
-- Wikipedia

"But then, at the end of the 1800s, the world went electric. First telegraphs, then telephones -- talk ran on copper wires. Just at the moment when the world suddenly needed more copper, a new process was invented that made it easier to separate the metal from other rocks. So even as metalsmiths crafted the Bronze Age, coppersmiths made possible the Age of Electricity. Today, the average American uses sixteen pounds of copper a year -- at home, work, and at school. Five pounds of that is recycled, but that means for every American, eleven new pounds of copper must be found, mined, processed, and shipped."
-- TRAPPED, p.20

I've not had much opportunity to read or write about books over the past month or so, as I've been deep in the midst of repairing and painting our house. In the process, I've frequently had my hands on copper pipe (which is around ten bucks for a length of the half-inch diameter stuff at Home Depot) and on copper electrical wiring (which snakes its way behind all of the walls in the house). I know my way around these essential construction materials pretty well, having grown up helping install plumbing in new homes and repairing it in older homes. I was using a pipe cutter before I could read, cutting away used fittings and solder from old pieces of copper pipe which could then be sold at a good price to the scrap metal place for recycling.

So, I've known about the chemical properties and practical uses of copper, and I knew that it was mined and refined. But I never really thought about the mining process, the work -- and danger -- going into retrieving the ore that eventually becomes a run of pipe or a stretch of wire behind a wall in a house.

"'We all agreed that we should all share the food that was there. You just had to rough it. Every twenty-four hours eat a small piece of tuna. Nothing else.'
"'Small' meant as little as possible -- about half a soda-bottle-cap-full -- twice every forty-eight hours, along with a sip of milk, which was turning sour, a bite of canned peach, and a cracker. Oily water, perhaps taken from the ground, or drained from the machines, soon joined the milk."

TRAPPED by Marc Aronson alternately drops us a nearly unimaginable distance into the ground, where we spend time with 33 miners in Chile who were trapped last year when 1.4 billion pounds of rock suddenly closed up their one route home, and sets us alongside those, aboveground, who were desperately trying to reach the miners before they died. In a departure from his books about what happened a long time ago, Marc Aronson steps into the role of a journalist to tell a current story about the race to save the lives of these 33 miners, and how the miners, themselves, were first and foremost responsible for coming out of that half-mile-deep hole alive.

"Alejandro Olave is an expert at figuring out where a drill is going underground and when it is shifting away from the proper path. He knew why they were having so much trouble. The maps they were using 'had not been updated.' Brown was told that the shelter [the miners were, hopefully, alive in] might be anywhere within eighteen feet of where they were aiming. But the target itself was only about seven and a half feet wide. They were digging blind through thousands of feet of rock to find a small target, which was not where it was supposed to be. That is way too much room for error."

But thanks to an international outpouring of assistance, including everyone from NASA and submarine commanders to drilling experts and psychologists, the miners were found to be alive and were able to be furnished with food and supplies for the months that it required to safely dig an escape route and build them an escape capsule.

It has to bolster one's faith in humanity to see how, in times of need, people of so many nations can actually come together to solve a crisis.

If there is one amusing aspect of this true survival story, it is the outpouring of assistance from companies such as Sony, Apple, and Samsung who provided consumer products to help keep the miners occupied for the time between when they were discovered alive and when their rescue was completed. (What would you want at hand for recreation if you were going to be trapped in your basement for the next couple of months?)

Author Marc Aronson concludes the story by sharing his research process for the book -- a not-to-be-missed lesson in information literacy for young researchers..Given that it takes increasing effort and energy to extract valuable metal ores -- like copper -- on which we depend, I am hoping this book inspires readers to think about what they are doing before tossing in the garbage any recyclable metal products that -- after the finding, mining, processing, and shipping -- have only been used once.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_...
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[Julietta M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and quick read. I liked how there were tips to writing something like this at the end of the book too. I learned about a rescue that occurred while I was young. It is really interesting to see how much technology has changed from then to now. This was a great book.

[Maximus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book with new and exciting things on each page.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am satisfied with my choice to read Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert by Marc Aronson. The straightforward text made understanding the situation quite clear. While the information was highly concise, it was also highly effective. The mine collapse happened in the beginning of August in the year 2010 when the main ramp leading into the San Jose Mine crumbled, leaving 33 men stranded with no way to escape and only enough food and water rations to last a few days. Emergency officials begin the rescue process immediately. After 17 days of being trapped underground, the miners manage to use a probe to send a message to the outside world saying, ‘We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us.’ This puts a glimmer of hope into the families’ lives that their loved ones will be all right. On August 23, a second probe manages to reach the men. These probes became the means of communication and a way for food and water to be transported between the men and the rescue officials. It is not until August 27, 22 days after the cave in, that the miners are informed on the lengthy process that will be used to free them (referred to as Plan B). For approximately six days, the Plan B drilling goes according to plan. However, things come to an abrupt halt when a drill bit is damaged on September 6. The bit is quickly fixed and on September 17, the Plan B borehole reaches the miners. There is a complication; the hole is only 12 inches wide and will need to be widened with a second pass. Plan C is then thrown into action right away. By October 5, the rescuers were within 160 feet of the trapped miners. The rescue mission moved at a much faster pace than what was originally expected. Officials’ earlier predictions were that the rescue date would be as far away as November or even Christmas! Finally, on October 9, the Plan B drill breaks through the roof of the mine. The families of the 33 men are ecstatic knowing that their loved ones are close to being in their arms once again. At 12:11am on October 13, the first miner is rescued. One by one, the survivors are brought back to the outside world. It is not for another 22 and a half hours after the rescue operation begins that the 33rd man is brought to the surface. Embraced by the hugs of their families, the men prayed and thanked the Lord that they were safe.
The only criticism that I would give the book is that there was not very much background information on each of the miners themselves and their story of how they dealt with the underground struggles. Those topics were briefly covered, but not in depth. I would recommend this book to middle and high school students. The book shows how wonderful humanity can be when others fall into an unwanted situation and I hope that others can become as enlightened as I was.

[Judy Jacobsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hope - it is such a frail word. Hope offers nothing concrete, no plan, no schedule, just a wish, a prayer, a belief - it flickers on, and then flickers off. And when it goes, the blank darkness, the icy silence is easily filled with rage - that is what was happening around the bonfire above ground." p 26

"But hope was like a dancing wind - one moment the campsite brought people together, helping one another, the next someone started sobbing, another yelling, and the hillside was a cauldron of angry emotions about to boil over." p 29

"Faith can be seen a a stronger version of hope. It is hope plus - hope and belief, hope and trust." p 31

"Cannibalism is the nightmare choice that arises in people's minds whenever they are cut off from food. People without food have been known to eat the bark off wooden posts. They have chewed on leather belts and shoes. They have quietyed their bellies with grass, dirt, mud - anything to stop their bodies from demanding food, anything to put off that moment when they must make the terrible decision about human flesh." p 43

" 'When you turn off the lights in an underground mine,' Dr. Chavez explains, 'if you open your eyes wide and stare, you seem to see wavy lines, like heat in the darkness.' Fon Mishkin agrees, 'in the pitch black you see colored lights.' There you are, in thick blackness, seeing strangte sights. And then something goes wrong - you slip where you shouldn't have slipped, or a rock falls where you were sure there were no loose rocks. You know you are far away from the land of kids and trees and homes and friendly faces. It is very easy to believe you are in someone else's kingdon, the land of a spirit you need to win over or pay off or distract."
"There are many legends about the nasty creatures that live in the depths of mines.In Germany, mischievous mine spirits were called kobolds. The element cobalt, as in cobalt blue, owes its name to the mythical creatures because it gives off noxious fumes when burned, as if a sprite wre punishing you for touching it. In Cornwall, England, on of the oldest areas of tin mining in the workld, it was believed that little, hideous demons lived in the tin and copper mines and hated miners. If miner heard knocking on the rock walls they knew they had better start running, because a cave in was about to start. To this day, these demons are known as Tommyknockers." p 34

An incredibly well told and well researched story about 33 men isolated in a mine and how they pulled together and worked toward their rescue; a well told and well researched story about how men and women outside that mine pulled together and worked to find a rescue.

[Natalie Seaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because I did not know anything about mining. I wanted to learn about the trapped miners of the San Jose mine. I think it is important to increase my knowledge of things that have happened, and this book was a great way to do. What I liked most about this book was how the story was told. It is written in such a way that is interesting and almost makes the story feel fictional. While the story is true, I found it incredible how they were able to get the miners out. I was astounded that people from all around the world were apart of the rescue. The fact that the miners were sent play stations and music was crazy to me. It truly is an incredible story which shows how our world can come together and how advanced our technology is.

The most effective part to this informational text was stating the date and time before each chapter. This made is very easy to keep up with the sequence of events. Also, Aronson stated at the beginning of each chapter if it was about the unground miners or the topside crowd. In doing so I knew which story the chapter was going to tell. The least effective part of the book was when Aronson would talk about things from history that were only slightly related. Aronson talked about greek mythology and medieval metalsmiths. While it was about mining and metals, I found myself bored while reading these parts. I thought they were unnecessary and made me wonder why they were in the book. I would have enjoyed the book more had it just been about the San Jose mine. However, I did like learning about some of the mining history and terminology. I do think that a little bit of history is important to understanding the story.

I did enjoy the book and I learned a lot. However, I do not want to learn more about mining or saving trapped miners. I am glad that I read this book, but mining is not something I am interested in.

The most important thing I learned is how resilient humans can be and how they can come together to help others. This book would be a great one to use in the classroom. I think fourth and fifth graders could benefit from this book. You can use the book to teach about mining, but also about human compassion. It would be a great to show students how people from all around the world can come together. They didn't all speak the same language, they weren't from the same country, they weren't the same ages or genders, and they didn't have the same knowledge. Still, people came together to save the miners lives. This book can teach that no matter peoples differences, they can come together to do amazing things.

[Hannah]

"Trapped" by Marc Aronson, is about the event that had everyone watching, the collapsed mine in Chile that trapped several miners and turned into a lengthy and treacherous rescue mission. I chose this book because I remember this event. I was still very young, but I remember watching it in the news and reeving updates on the rescue attempts. It was a historical event that will always remember. I had some schema of the topic before hand. As a said I watched it on the news and I watched as they worked day in and day out to rescue these miners.
The author of the book Marc Aronson writes in a specific way that makes the book flow. He uses descriptions of the event and the geological information needed to understand what had happened. He also includes eye witness accounts to draw the reader in and put you in the place and shoes of the people who experienced the event first hand. I did not know how little I actually understood of the event before reading the book and now I can really comprehend the intensity of the whole situation. The author also includes things like photos and diagrams to continue to further the readers understanding and knowledge of what happened.
I would use this book for grades 5 and higher. The book is about a scary event that rattled many and so I would save it for students that are a little older so that they can understand what happened and why it happened without getting traumatized by it all. The story does have a happy ending however with a successful rescue mission. I would use this book to discuss the historical event that happened not to long ago, and delve into the geography of it all with the use of the diagrams included in the book. I was surprised by the intense effort and daily struggle of everyone involved in the rescue mission and the book really makes you appreciate life. I would recommend the book for older elementary grades to explore the rescue mission of 33 miners in Chile.

[Hailey Moss-Stokey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this particular topic because I was familiar with it, and the retelling was very captivating to me. I didn't know much about the topic itself, however I am in a geophysics class, so a lot of the geography and CO2 explanations made a lot of sense to me. Including where he discusses how the miners became trapped. I did find there to be some over explanation in some areas, and other sections needed more. Aronson was VERY thorough in his retelling of events, and included many reasons as to WHY the events occurred as they did. What I found particularly interesting was that he spent a large junk of the book retelling how the people reacted, and the culture of the people, miners, and town. I love these kinds of subjects, so a lot of the book I had known previously on the science side. I believe this text was a great reinforcer to my previous knowledge, and I do believe it would be a good start for someone who already has some basic knowledge. I believe that having a student read this book without a lot of background information would be very overwhelming and I don't know how much of the information they would retain. However, with the right initial information, this would be an excellent book to use in a classroom. It was a quick read, Aronson does a great job of explaining a lot of the science and cultural side of things, and the path of the story is very logical. I would use this in a 4th/5th grade classroom, and it would most likely be paired with a project! I believe this would be a really fun way to learn science, and it be something they can resonate with. The most surprising information I learned was that the workers in these mines HAVE to be there. If they don't, they can't pay their bills. The only jobs are dangerous mining jobs that they have no idea if they'll make it out from. Overall, a very interesting book and would recommend.

[Stefanie Mahugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Copanio Chile, a mine collapsed trapping 33 miners two thousand feet below the earth’s surface and the author explains what happened in the mine and the details regarding the rescue. This nonfiction novel is thrilling and compelling due to the way the author shares different perspectives and storytelling elements on what happened in the mine. The book takes you through the miners journey of pain, struggle, and the fight for their lives. However, the book did lack details regarding the miners past and background which would have made the book even more compelling. The book also lacked details on each rescuing approach as it was very broad. But I believe this book can teach teenagers to have empathy and respect for those adults in the mining industry as the story shows the dangers of it. The author explains the miners were trapped for 69 days which I can only imagine the toll that took on their minds as Arson explains the psychological strain and physical challenges each miner faced. Aronson uses interviews, unique photos, and historical background to tell this profound story and I think it made the story even more interesting. I loved the way he incorporated all of those story telling elements to make the book more dynamic and it allowed me to better understand the mass of this event. The book is defiantly targeted towards teenagers as while it is informational it could be scary due to the situation. The information is also scattered and they would have to read the entire book to understand the whole picture.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marc Aronson makes history, even recent history, come alive in his books. In this one, he takes readers back to last summer when 33 miners were trapped beneath tons of rock 2,300 feet below the surface. Although he describes some of the men's personalities and the fears of the family members who kept vigils for them from above as well as the media circus that swirled around the rescue efforts, the focus in the book is the rescue. In order to locate the men, expert drillers came from all over the world. There is an immediacy and detail about the story that makes readers feel as though they are, by turns, above the surface, at first unsure if any of the miners were alive, and if they were, how to reach them, and then, shifting to the men below, hoping that their meager supplies can last until the rescue. While I'd have enjoyed knowing more about who these men were and what they were thinking, I'm certain that those element and emotions will be explored in other books. In this one, Aronson makes it clear that acts of heroism come in different guises. He also takes care to remind readers that dangerous mines exist because consumers buy products from those mines, thus, passing on some of the responsibility for the plight of the men onto all of us. Middle grade and YA readers will be intrigued with his afterword explaining how he wrote the book. This is another strong offering from a master writer.

[Teresa Scherping Moulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

In August 2010, in a mine in northern Chile, a devastating collapse left 33 men trapped beneath 2,000 feet of rock. Family members and friends waited anxiously, desperately hoping that their loved ones had somehow survived. The 33 miners had to rally and work together to survive as long as possible, not knowing if someone would be able to find them in time. Once the men were discovered alive, there was a new problem - getting them back to the surface safely. Experts flocked to Chile from around the world, bringing plans and tools for how to drill through the rock, care for the men's physical and mental well-being, and construct a capsule that would bring the men home. The story of this rescue is the story of people coming together and supporting one another in difficult circumstances - and never giving up hope.

I studied abroad in Chile two years before this occurred, so I'm automatically fascinated by what is already an amazing true story. There were definitely parts of this book that almost made me cry! I thought that this account of the mine rescue brought something extra to the table with more emotional and descriptive language, interviews with experienced miners, and tangential but interesting information about mining mythologies and the formation of geological structures. This would make a great companion read to Buried Alive!: How 33 Miners Survived 69 Days Deep Under the Chilean Desert by Elaine Scott.

[Morgan Kjellman · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was reading this book, it felt oddly familiar to me and then it clicked, I heard about it on the news. Now, I was 11 when this happened and so my mind was not really comprehending what was going on and so I mostly learned about this event through the information of my parents. I chose to read this topic of informational text because I was intrigued by the title “Trapped” because it seemed very suspenseful. When realizing I had already learned about this tragic event, I already knew that it was a mining accident that took place in Chile and the result left about 30 miners trapped thousands of feet under the Earth for 69 days. When reading this book, I felt very stressed out and scared because, even though I knew the miners ended up surviving, I felt like I I did not know the outcome because of how it was written.
Marc Aronson composed this piece of literature in a very structured and was written with emotion. What I found was helpful for me was how Aronson wrote this book with the most emotion for those miners that were trapped. He wrote it in a very graceful way and that made it easier to read. I do definitely want to be doing some more research about this topic to learn more because now I am intrigued and want to read more. Knowing that I learned this at 11, I think I would introduce this topic in the grade where they learn about Earth Science because it is informational and would be beneficial for those who want to work with something like mining.

[Cheyenne Shumway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I was younger when it happened and didn't recall hearing anything about the event, therefore I didn't have any background knowledge going into the story. It is a book about a mine collapse that happened in Chili in 2010 that had 33 miners trapped 2,000 feet below the surface. They were trapped for 69 days with little to no resources and poor air quality.

I thought the author did a great job with the flow of the story and what I found most effective was how he used eye witness accounts. This helped me gain a better understanding of what the people were experiencing and feeling. I also liked that he included photos and diagrams in the book. After finishing the story I did find myself wanting some more information so I did do some more research and read a few articles.

In the classroom I think it would be great for around middle school. I think at this age the students will be able to better understand what happened. They will also be able to research on their own as well as develop questions of their own. I would use the book to help teach about this event in history and how the miners were able to survive. What surprised me the most about this story is how the miners were able to survive on the resources they had for 69 days.

This was a very informative and factual read and I would recommend it.

[Karen Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

August 5, 2010: the earth shifts in Copiapo, Chile and 700,000 tons of rock collapse in the San Jose copper mine, trapping 33 miners 2,000 feet below the surface. Aronson tells the gripping true story of the miners in their tiny pitch dark shelter as the calls and emails went out around the world for help. And help came -- drillers from nearby, from Canada, Australia, and Pennsylvania, NASA experts, doctors, dentists, nutrition experts, political and religious leaders. Once the first contact was made through a drilled shaft only 5 1/2 inches wide, rescuers started sending down anything they could that would help the miners. Companies from around the world sent items to help, from special clothing, medications and food, to iPods, Playstations and even a video camera for messages. The world was watching this tiny desert place, waiting for a miracle made of technology, faith and perseverance. Aronson includes information about the geology of the region, and why it is such a rich place form minerals like copper, and why copper has ben so important to the development of tools and technology through history. That's the reason those men were there at that fateful moment. Excellent research, notes, photos and graphics. 7th grade and up.

[Martha Schwalbe · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a treat to read this book after Tiger's Curse! I found myself reliving various moments in the miners' lives, but also moments in my life when people were trapped underground. Because I thought of the trapped people, I've never really considered the rescue operations that go on above ground, how rescuers get involved, how rescuers cope with failure.
The book is written from above and below ground which provides a nice balance. The tenacity and ability to survive displayed by the miners is really heroic. We see daily what tough times do to people, yet these men where in the toughest time and through good leadership worked through to their survival.
I remember sitting up during the night and watching the miners be hauled up waiting on pins and needles. Although the book is straight forward, the rescuers must plan for the worst case scenario serving as a reminder that anything can go wrong. When I read the book about the Cherry Hill Mine disaster I kept waiting for the outcome to be different. I wanted those men to be rescued like the Chilean miners were. Maybe in the telling, we can change the outcome.
I'd recommend this book to reluctant readers who enjoy non-fiction. It is a short book with pictures and photographs.

[Evan G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

On August 5 2010 an explosion shook a mine in San Jose mine trapping 33 miners over 2,000 feet underground. The mine was originally abandoned but after the copper prices shot up they opened it back up. The mine should never nave opened again because it didn't have all the safety protocols that today's mines have. The explosion blocked the air vent but the 33 miners had enough air in the mines and found a shelter house. Hundreds of people rushed to help. Finally after many long nights the broke through the roof of the shelter house. They rushed medical supplies and food down. Then they got to the task of drilling a hole big enough to pull a human up. Finally after 69 days the final miner was pulled up and they were all rescued.

My thoughts


I liked this book because I liked how the author said that people all over the world came to their aid and helped with the rescue operations. I knew allot about this accident before I read the book, but one book had allot of new information that I didn't know, like that NASA designed the capsul that brought the miners up. I thought that the author could have done a better job telling about more of the miners story's and why they were working there. I liked how the author