A Big Chuck Book Review: An Unusual and Gripping 9/11 Tale!

When the terrorists struck on September 11, 2001 there were 4,456 aircraft over America's skies carrying tens of thousands of passengers.  Transportation Secretary Norman Minetta said: "all planes out of the sky...NOW!"

For the first time since the dawn of flight in our nation, our skies were closed.

Hundreds of planes were coming in from the west and east, mostly from Europe.  The "sky border" to the U.S. was shut tight but they had to land immediately.  Somewhere.

This story focuses on the plight of these unlucky passengers.  38 huge airliners descended on tiny Gander, Newfoundland for almost a week.  The population of Gander was about 10,000.  More than 7,000 passengers, crew, and support people congregated at the Gander Airport.  The story of how the good people of Gander rallied to aid their distressed guests is one of the great, and little known, stories to come out of the days of 9/11.

Who would feed them?  How would they communicate to the rest of the world where they were?  How many days would they remain in Gander?  What about all the children from more than a dozen countries?  Different cultures, different religions needed to be addressed.  Different medical conditions.  Different languages.  And who was the movie star's family on one of those planes?  And one of the world's leading fashion designers?  And a top Hollywood actress?  Babies?  Animals trapped in the underground luggage compartments?

This story unfolds in a dramatic yet (somehow) gentle way.  People do what people do when faced with adversity.

I loved this book, which came out in 2002 (but I just found it).  After reading this you will want to visit Gander yourself and thank our friends from the North for their unwavering act of compassion just when we needed it most.

You can order "The Day the World Came to Town" by Jim Defede (Harper Books) at the Green Toad Book Store in Oneonta (607-433-8898) or through Amazon.

This video tells you about the events in Gander.  It is sure to give you goosebumps.

Buy this book.