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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » Trapped: The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster

Trapped: The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster

1 rating: 5.0

2003 non-fiction book by Karen Tinton

One of the Chicago Tribune's Favorite Books of 2002, Trapped is the story of the worst coal mine fire in U.S. history, and still stands as that country's third worst coal mine disaster. It is a story of heroism and cowardice, faith and despair, … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Nonfiction, American History, Industrial Disasters

Author: Karen Tinton

Genre: Nonfiction, Disasters

Publisher: Atria

Date Published: September 1, 2003

1 review about Trapped: The 1909 Cherry Mine Disaster

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Absolutely riveting.....you won't put this one down!!!

Dec 3, 2008

by drifter51

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Karen Tintori's account of the Cherry, Ill. mining disaster quite unexpectedly turns out to be one of the best books I have read this year. Because the author's grandfather worked at that mine (he was home nursing a hangover the day of the disaster), Tintori was a woman on a mission. Her meticulously researched book takes you back nearly a century and recreates the scene so very well. We learn about the town and the imigrant miners who risked their lives each day to eke out a living. Tintori then recalls the unlikely set of tragic events that caused the fire at the mine and the heroic actions of the dozen men who time and time again went back into the inferno attempting to rescue those who were trapped. Fortunately, their efforts did not go unrewarded!!! The shocking part is that the mine continued normal operations for a couple of hours after the fire broke out, causing considerably more casualties than would have otherwise occurred. As a result of this tragedy, significant changes were made to existing Workmen's Compensation and coal mining safety laws. The town of Cherry maintains a small archive of the mine fire in the local town library. I believe it is open only one day a week. I was so moved by Karen Tintori's account of these tragic events that I really do want to visit that library someday. Don't miss this one!!!

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