Customer Reviews

The Deep Dark: Disaster and Redemption in America's Richest Silver Mine

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Sunshine Mine fire robbed me of a Grandfather and an Uncle before I was born. Luckly, my Uncle Delmar survive this tragic event. I couldn't amagine my life with out him in it.

My Mother would often talk about days they stood out side the mine waiting to hear but so much of the rest had not been told. And asking my Uncle was just too painful for him, even after all those years.

Gregg Olsen's book gave me a real insight into what my family had gone through. His "real time" story telling put you right in the moment. I read the book in two days, but I spent many days after comprehending the pain and suffering they all had endured.

I know the Kitchen family is very thankful that he wrote this book.

Dear Amazon,

I just finished The Deep Dark by Gregg Olsen and found it to be riveting from the first page to the last. I was that 1st Lietenant mentioned in the book and have wondered about many details of the disaster since it happened. Greg Olsen was able to bring some of my old friends from that period back to life for me and allowed me to be re-acquainted with them through his book.

I felt some of the closeness and love that I had for many of the men come back to me while reading the book, and for that I am very grateful.

I would recommend Greg's book to anyone who would like a deeper understanding of mining and how incredible common everday people can be, when the chips are down and it really counts.

A stellar work by an incredible writer.

Regards,

Lee Haynes
Smelterville, Idaho

Turn up your speakers, you can hear the applause. Gregg Olsen has hit the bull's eye with The Deep Dark.

Gregg has skillfully recounted the events leading to and following the horrific Sunshine Mine Fire of 1972. The insight he provides into the humanity that feeds it and danger that is lurking in mining is compelling. I couldn't put the book down until I finished every word. His work not only provides us with a historic record, he's given us a text-book for mine safety.

There were 3 tragic events that were most responsible in the development of the mine safety laws in America today, the Farmington mine explosion in West Virginia, the Scotia mine explosions in Kentucky, and the Sunshine mine fire in Idaho. This book should be required reading for mine managers, rescuers and regulators.

I was a resident of the Silver Valley at the time of the fire. The accuracy of the book took me back to 1972. The extensive research definitely paid off in an amazingly real portrayal of this mining community. This book is a wonderful homage to the miners of Sunshine and the strength of the Silver Valley in May of 1972.

From the moment you read the first page,you are on shift. Mr. Olsen loads you into the man cage and drops you 5,000 feet into the ebony darkness of a mine shaft. You will be soon struggling for your very life. This isn't fiction, it is real! Whether you choose to try and solve the mystery to safety, be topside in a prayer vigil, on a rescue team encountering shear horror, or whether you choose to give your life to save others you will not be able to escape the grip of this book. When you have finished the last page your hands will remain clenched, and you will be exhausted with sweat on your brow.

This is more than a rescue journey into the depths of a mine on fire. It is an emotional journey into the minds and hearts of those who survived, those involved in the rescue efforts...and of those left behind. As one who was personally involved, and witnessed this catastrophe, I can say that Gregg has not only accurately documented the events as they unfolded, he has managed to persoanlize it for us as well. One can no longer look a piece of jewelery without reflecting for a moment, about the sacrifices often made in getting it into our hands. This is a must read.

Miners in the Kellogg, Idaho Sunshine mine are tough hombres. Airborne silica in the mines turns lungs into wheeezing dust bags and corneas are regularly scratched by gritty dust belching through the gigantic ventilation fans. In many ways the Sunshine miners are the Marines of the underground. They are strong, rugged and fearless.

"The Deep Dark," by Gregg Olson is the tragic story of Wall Street corporate owners who squeeze managers to improve quarterly results with a general disregard for safety. Obviously there are accidents in all mines...the earth is unstable and men take chances. However, Sunshine was one of the richest and deepest mines in the world...capable of producing for years. And the rush for profits that created the May 1972 fire killed nearly 100 Idaho miners...making it the worst mine disaster of the century.

The author does an impressive examination of the miner life. He explores the region and defines why men (there are no women down under) are attracted to the dangerous life underground. Certainly, the opportunity to make big bucks is a major attraction. But Olson explaines how the thrill of hitting a vein pushed many men to force muscles pass normal limits. Amazingly the fatal flaw of the fire is a polyurethane foam used to plug leaks that is highly flamable. Ironically, the government urged mine owners and engineers to use it. Another factor in the disaster is a management team that is afraid to shut down production of the mine for fear of retaliation from the corporate owners in New York. This book is well written and a wonderful read. Recommended.

Bert Ruiz

I have read many books on the disaster, afterall this is my hometown. I am a miner's daughter. I have felt the fear involved with the danger of mining. My grandfathers worked for the Bunker and the Coeur at the time of this fire. Many of their friends were among the dead. This book seemed to put me right into the middle of it. It gave a true and honest picture of life in the valley when mining was great and plentiful. This is a story that still lives on today in the valley, people have never forgotten those who died or those who survived. Life did change after the fire, miners were more careful, more aware, but they still go down day after day with the thought in the back of their minds that they may never see daylight again. This book allows the outside world, those not from the valley, to see the life these men lived. Thank you.

...way down in the mine, and Gregg Olsen puts us there with this terrible tale of a disaster that few people outside of Idaho even know about. But then, few people known the deep dark world of hard-rock mining. Before you finish "The Deep Dark," you'll have entered that secret and shadowy world because Olsen walks you through it, inch by inch and tunnel by tunnel. He shines a light, not only on the industry as a whole but the people who lived through the Sunshine Mine disaster...and those who did not. Clear the decks because you not only won't put this down, you'll read it twice. Once to find out what happened, and twice to understand how.

I was born and raised in the Silver Valley and worked at Sunshine mine after the disaster with many of the people who survived. This book really put things together for me that some of the survivors were not willing to share or did not know. A compendium of many lives and one disaster. I work in a mine and am part of an active mine rescue team in the United States this book has helped me visualize the worst modern disaster in mining in America in a way that I could understand as a rescuer.