Blood on the CoalBlood on the Coal

"The riveting true story of one of Canada's worst mining disaster, told in the voices of the men who survived. They said it was the world's deepest and most dangerous coal mine. In October 1958, the people who made that claim probably were correct. What can be said for certain is that the Dominion Steel and Coal Company's No. 2 colliery at Springhill was a leading candidate for both those dubious distinctions. The No. 2 mine at Springhill, Nova Scotia, was literally a disaster waiting to happen--and it did. On the night of October 23, 1958, a "bump" in the mine--literally a small earthquake--shook the entire structure crushing the weight of the world down on the miners below. Seventy-five miners would lose their lives in what remains one of Canada's worst disasters. Ken Cuthbertson, author of The Halifax Explosion: Canada's Worst Disaster, tells us the stories of the miners and their families in riveting detail, based on historical documents and interviews but also new interviews with one of the surviving miners. Anne Murray was a girl living in the town of Springfield, home to the mine, when the bump happened, and her father was a doctor who helped treat the wounded and identify the lost, and there were many. This is a story of heroism and sacrifice. As for the miners, what do you do when suddenly there's no escape, no light, no food, no water, and your comrades are dying around you? But this is also a story of hope, as some of the miners were rescued, becoming international celebrities in the process. And it's a story about how one disaster can change an entire industry forever."--