Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle that Set them Free - Softcover

A gripping narrative, taut to the point of explosion . . . An electrifying, empathetic work of journalism that makes a four-year-old story feel fresh. * Kirkus * It's almost hard to believe that Hector Tobar wasn't himself one of the trapped Chilean miners, so vivid, immediate, terrifying, emotional, and convincing is his Homeric narration of this extraordinary incident. Deep Down Dark is a literary masterpiece of narrative journalism, surgical in its reconstruction, novelistic in its explorations of human personality and nuance. In a manner that feels spiritual, Tobar puts himself at the service of his story, and his fidelity to and unquenchable curiosity about every fact and detail generates unforgettable wonderment and awe. * Francisco Goldman * In this masterful dissection of the 2010's dramatic sixty-nine day ordeal by thirty-three trapped Chilean miners, Hector Tobar weaves a suspenseful narrative that moves back and forth between the waking nightmares of the buried men, and those of their families on the earth's surface. In Deep Down Dark, Hector Tobar takes us deftly to the very cliff-edge of human survival. * Jon Lee Anderson * Hector Tobar takes us so far down into the story and lives of the Chilean miners that his reconstruction of a workplace disaster becomes a riveting meditation on universal human themes.Deep Down Dark is an extraordinary piece of work. * George Packer * ..fascinating... (The ) narrative cracks along at a suitably breathless pace * Irish Mail * Riveting... Tobar vividly narrates the miners' lives post-rescue as they come to terms with their life-changing experience and the media frenzy surrounding it. Rich in local color, this is a sensitive, suspenseful rendering of a legendary story. * Publishers Weekly, Most Anticipated Books of 2014 * Riveting . . . The best book I've read all year. * Ann Patchett * . . . an eloquent testament to the human spirit. * The Times *

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JULIETTE BINOCHE AND ANTONIO BANDERAS THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST 'Riveting ...The best book I've read all year.' Ann Patchett 'An astonishing tale of survival' Spectator THE STORY THAT GRIPPED THE GLOBE August 2010: the San Jose mine in Chile collapses trapping 33 men half a mile underground for 69 days. Faced with the possibility of starvation and even death, the miners make a pact: if they survive, they will only share their story collectively, as 'the 33'. 1 billion people watch the international rescue mission. Somehow, all 33 men make it out alive, in one of the most daring and dramatic rescue efforts even seen. Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Hector Tobar is the man they choose to tell their story. ' An eloquent testament to the human spirit' The Times 'A masterful account of exile and human longing, of triumph in the face of all odds.' Los Angeles Times