Carly C. (ccwriter) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 186 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
I cannot tell you how much I love this book! It is on the keeper shelf forever. It moves me and makes me cry. An incredibly beautiful story of how the town of Gander, Newfoundland took in literally thousands of people on hundreds of planes diverted from the U.S. on 9/11 -- not just took them and housed them and fed them, but welcomed them with open arms and open hearts and wanted NOTHING in return.
C C. (calen) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Inspiring and uplifting, an easy read and a great escape, this book by Jim DeFede - a 2003 Christopher award winner - will remind you there is good to be found everywhere in humanity. On September 11, 2001 planes flying from Europe were diverted to Canada when the United States closed its airspace. This book centers on towns in Newfoundland, their people and how they took care of the stranded passengers. Recommended!
Bobbie L. (nascargal) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 352 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
An excellent book about the hospitality shown to stranded airline passengers by the inhabitants of Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11. I shows that out of a day of terror and hate, there was also a lot of goodness and love shown by total strangers to total stangers.
Corrina T. (cocoamomo) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 83 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Excellent book with a different viewpoint of 9/11---that of the passengers of planes forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland and the residents who live there. I laughed, I cried, and now I want to visit there!!!! A must read!!
Jan S. (jjbooker) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Heartwarming and genuine account of the hospitality shown by the inhabitants of Gander, Newfoundland, when 900+ world travelers were stranded there due to the U.S. air space being closed during the 9/11 tragedy.
Melody B. (5ducksfans) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 92 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Wow. This book is so inspiring. In the midst of the worst day of recent history, there was some good in the world. International flights that were in the air bound for the US that day were grounded on Newfoundland. There were more people on these planes than townspeople in Gander. However, these wonderful people never thought twice about dropping everything to care for these stranded and very distressed people. Absolutely inspiring. A must read. It is one book that I will keep.
Helpful Score: 1
Another author, Homer Hickham, gave a quote that fills the top of the cover - "... there will be tears ..." yep, yes, there were tears. Joy, pride, fear, sadness, all the things. This is a curated snapshot of stories that occurred when the events of 9/11/2001 caused the airspace over the United States to be closed, the planes headed across the Atlantic had to land as quickly and safely as possible. A whole lot of them ended up in Gander, Newfoundland, a whole lot of life happened in a week for those passengers, crew and Newfies. Seeing 9/11 from this perspective reminds & heals.
Janice P. (jannymarie) -
Helpful Score: 1
What an amazing world we live in sometimes. I wish every person in the entire world would read and catch the amazing spirit of the Newfoundland citizens. Their unending generosity and selfless ways of helping the passengers, crew and animals from the 38 planes that where forced to land in Gander on 9/11 was incrediable.
Christine (luvmygem) -
Helpful Score: 1
An amazing story of how the people in Gander, Newfoundland and other surrounding towns opened their hearts and homes to care for those airline passengers who were diverted to Newfoundland on September 11, 2001.
The story touches on the lives of many people involved - passengers from all over the world, pilots and flight crew, the citizens of Newfoundland. My heart warmed as I read of the unique incomparable trust and compassion of those selfless Newfies, whose one and only concern was the comfort of their guests. Some of the other characters and storylines made me laugh, some made me cry - like couple who eagerly awaited news of their son, an FDNY firefighter. Like someone else wrote, I want to visit this place and hug every person I see.
A nicely written, emotional but overall uplifting story - while I can never forget the horrific images I saw that day, I will now always think of those wonderful souls in Newfoundland whenever 9/11 crosses my mind.
The story touches on the lives of many people involved - passengers from all over the world, pilots and flight crew, the citizens of Newfoundland. My heart warmed as I read of the unique incomparable trust and compassion of those selfless Newfies, whose one and only concern was the comfort of their guests. Some of the other characters and storylines made me laugh, some made me cry - like couple who eagerly awaited news of their son, an FDNY firefighter. Like someone else wrote, I want to visit this place and hug every person I see.
A nicely written, emotional but overall uplifting story - while I can never forget the horrific images I saw that day, I will now always think of those wonderful souls in Newfoundland whenever 9/11 crosses my mind.
Helpful Score: 1
I looked for this book because I had seen a musical theater production of "From Away" which was based on this true story. It was riveting and was totally unknown to me when I first heard of it. On 9/11 so many people were impacted in ways we had no way of knowing. This book tells the story of hundreds of people who were "stranded" in a small town in Newfoundland and how the townspeople took care of them. It was a testimony to the charity of people for their fellow men/women at a moment of stress. And it was interesting on so many levels because of the many individual stories that are told in the book. It's not a literary masterpiece but it's a great human interest story. And it makes me want to visit Gander if this winter ever ends.
Kris L. (miss-info) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 386 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
One of the best books I've read this year. The true story of the town of Gander, Newfoundland and the wonderful people there who took in stranded strangers by the thousand, and did it with a smile. Heartwarming, inspiring, and wonderful don't even begin to describe it. I am definitely keeping this book - and sharing it with friends. I want to go to Gander!
June E. (junie) -
Helpful Score: 1
This book is about the amazing people of Gander Newfoundland. and the care they took of the stranded passengers when America closed it's airspace due to 9/11. It is a place I would love to visit some day.
However, as wonderful as these citizens were, the book is somewhat boring, thus the 3 stars. I read two other books while I was reading this one.
However, as wonderful as these citizens were, the book is somewhat boring, thus the 3 stars. I read two other books while I was reading this one.
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
Helpful Score: 1
A wonderful book! A testament to the kindness of strangers and the good in people. Every American remembers where they were when 9/11 events occurred and news spread. But this is the story of several lives affected from a different perspective. Americans who could not get home as American airspace was closed and many passengers diverted and afraid terrorists were on some of these planes. Many of these people with families and friends in New York fearing the worst. The people of Newfoundland took in thousands of these people and treated them like their own family. An emotional read on many levels.
Lynne J. (Doughgirl) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 138 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was definitely a story about the better part of human nature. It was heartwarming to read about the Gander locals who went above and beyond in their efforts to help the displaced passengers, and the bonds and friendships that formed between the passengers and between the passengers and locals. About the Hugo Boss CEO who, even though he had access to a private jet that would take him home to Germany, refused the trip in order to stay with his fellow passengers. And it was heartbreaking to read about the couple from Brooklyn who had a son who was an NYC fireman, gone missing after the Twin Towers fell.
This was an easy and very interesting read that also tugged at my heartstrings.
This was an easy and very interesting read that also tugged at my heartstrings.
Kris L. (miss-info) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 386 more book reviews
One of the best books I've read this year. The true story of the town of Gander, Newfoundland and the wonderful people there who took in stranded strangers by the thousand, and did it with a smile. Heartwarming, inspiring, and wonderful don't even begin to describe it. I am definitely keeping this book - and sharing it with friends. I want to go to Gander!
T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 273 more book reviews
The 126 hour period of time between when the first plane landed in Gander, a small town in Newfoundland (with a very large airport) and the last plane left, had to be one of the most remarkable in the region's storied history. Many unprecedented things happened that tragic day, but among the most profound was the closure of the entire US airspace, which meant that aircraft arriving from outside the US were all diverted elsewhere, most to Canada, if they could not turn around in flight to return to their point of departure. And so it was for dozens of full planes which ended up in Gander.
The book addresses the immense effort and the logistics involved in how this small town contended with the acute difficulties of what constituted essentially an entire town showing up on a single day, with people (and animals) from all over the world: how to care for them all? Passengers ranged from from distraught members of victims' families, including the parents of a missing firefighter, to persons who spoke no English, including multiple members of a Moldovan refugee family, resulting in numerous linguistic complications, to observant Orthodox Jews, with special dietary needs. Other immediate needs involved procuring hundreds of prescriptions for passengers from dozens of countries, and caring for the numerous animals on board the planes. This book thus tells the story of that fateful week, and the diverse population of generous townsfolk who made it all possible.
Perhaps for all these reasons, this story has evolved into many different tellings, including a made-for-TV movie, a BBC radio play, and, most strangely, to me, a Broadway musical, called "Come From Away." It is a heartening story: how so many diverse people came together to provide for nearly 7,000 people on 38 planes from dozens of countries in the most hospitable way, under unimaginably difficult circumstances.
The most moving account, for me, was the story of the elderly Holocaust survivor, who was evacuated from Poland to Britain as a child, after being relentlessly persecuted, who lost his entire family, probably in the camps. Because of his lifelong trauma, he concealed his Jewish heritage, until he learned that a rabbi from London was one of the "plane people" in Gander, and decided to meet with him, to tell him his life story. Even the man's relatives, who had only learned ten years before, that he was even of Jewish descent, urged him to continue concealing his heritage. The man simply wanted to pass on his story to another who could understand what had happened to him over the course of his entire life, so that someone would know his story, after he died. Mission accomplished.
It's not the story one usually hears in accounts of 9/11, which is a pity. This event is the other side of humanity, which demonstrates that ability of people from many different backgrounds and circumstances to pull together in the wake of a disaster.
I will have to defer to my fellow reviewers regarding some of the factual errors. It was very readable, if, admittedly, a bit dry at times. It generally did an admirable job of telling the stories of t the various individuals, if a bit selectively, and was very humanizing, but in other ways, perhaps by necessity, it was rather superficial. Each of these various sets of people, from the SPCA volunteers, to the pharmacy and medical staff, to the customs agents, could probably merit a book of their own, but this was a good overview of all that occurred during this unprecedented event.
The book addresses the immense effort and the logistics involved in how this small town contended with the acute difficulties of what constituted essentially an entire town showing up on a single day, with people (and animals) from all over the world: how to care for them all? Passengers ranged from from distraught members of victims' families, including the parents of a missing firefighter, to persons who spoke no English, including multiple members of a Moldovan refugee family, resulting in numerous linguistic complications, to observant Orthodox Jews, with special dietary needs. Other immediate needs involved procuring hundreds of prescriptions for passengers from dozens of countries, and caring for the numerous animals on board the planes. This book thus tells the story of that fateful week, and the diverse population of generous townsfolk who made it all possible.
Perhaps for all these reasons, this story has evolved into many different tellings, including a made-for-TV movie, a BBC radio play, and, most strangely, to me, a Broadway musical, called "Come From Away." It is a heartening story: how so many diverse people came together to provide for nearly 7,000 people on 38 planes from dozens of countries in the most hospitable way, under unimaginably difficult circumstances.
The most moving account, for me, was the story of the elderly Holocaust survivor, who was evacuated from Poland to Britain as a child, after being relentlessly persecuted, who lost his entire family, probably in the camps. Because of his lifelong trauma, he concealed his Jewish heritage, until he learned that a rabbi from London was one of the "plane people" in Gander, and decided to meet with him, to tell him his life story. Even the man's relatives, who had only learned ten years before, that he was even of Jewish descent, urged him to continue concealing his heritage. The man simply wanted to pass on his story to another who could understand what had happened to him over the course of his entire life, so that someone would know his story, after he died. Mission accomplished.
It's not the story one usually hears in accounts of 9/11, which is a pity. This event is the other side of humanity, which demonstrates that ability of people from many different backgrounds and circumstances to pull together in the wake of a disaster.
I will have to defer to my fellow reviewers regarding some of the factual errors. It was very readable, if, admittedly, a bit dry at times. It generally did an admirable job of telling the stories of t the various individuals, if a bit selectively, and was very humanizing, but in other ways, perhaps by necessity, it was rather superficial. Each of these various sets of people, from the SPCA volunteers, to the pharmacy and medical staff, to the customs agents, could probably merit a book of their own, but this was a good overview of all that occurred during this unprecedented event.
Jill S. (brainybibliophile) -
Much of the story of 9/11 focuses on the many heroes and heroines whose bravery shone through a horrific tragedy against so many Americans. DeFede's book sheds light on other heroes: the townspeople of Gander, Newfoundland. Finding their airport the landing strip for an abundance of airplanes turned away from closed American airspace and their tiny town filled with stranded passengers, Gander's residents opened their hearts, wallets, and homes. Their warmth and kindness fill the pages of the book.
While it is very challenging to keep track of the many people--townspeople and travelers alike--it is their needs that are intriguing. Upon landing in Gander, the travelers are not immediately allowed off of their planes, without any idea of how long they will have to stay on the planes. When they are allowed to disembark, they have no idea when or how they will get to their respective homes. DeFede points out the special challenges of smokers, patients requiring prescriptions, animals in the planes' holds, and Jews requiring kosher food.
The book intersperses its chronological narrative with funny anecdotes, like that of a man slipping into his guest room bed, unaware that it's occupied by a stranger; the "Screeching-In" ceremony, which requires initiates to kiss a dead fish; and the tribulations of a Hugo Boss executive forced to wear lesser-quality underwear. There's a hint of romance; two stranded travelers find solace in each other during their brief stay in Gander. And there's tragedy, as a couple eventually learns that their son, a fireman, was killed in New York City on 9/11.
A short, informative read about unsung heroes.
While it is very challenging to keep track of the many people--townspeople and travelers alike--it is their needs that are intriguing. Upon landing in Gander, the travelers are not immediately allowed off of their planes, without any idea of how long they will have to stay on the planes. When they are allowed to disembark, they have no idea when or how they will get to their respective homes. DeFede points out the special challenges of smokers, patients requiring prescriptions, animals in the planes' holds, and Jews requiring kosher food.
The book intersperses its chronological narrative with funny anecdotes, like that of a man slipping into his guest room bed, unaware that it's occupied by a stranger; the "Screeching-In" ceremony, which requires initiates to kiss a dead fish; and the tribulations of a Hugo Boss executive forced to wear lesser-quality underwear. There's a hint of romance; two stranded travelers find solace in each other during their brief stay in Gander. And there's tragedy, as a couple eventually learns that their son, a fireman, was killed in New York City on 9/11.
A short, informative read about unsung heroes.
BETH C. reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 13 more book reviews
An interesting book about a small piece of recent history that most of us have no knowledge about. The stories about the generous, helpful people of Newfoundland makes me want to vacation there.
Gerry H. (FrontRoyalGerry) reviewed The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on + 209 more book reviews
WONDERFUL story about the kindness of strangers after 9-11. I highly recommend this book!
