Elaine Scott

Though it may seem as if it were only yesterday, it's been nearly two years since the San José mine collapse in Chile's Atacama Desert. The first collapse occurred on August 5, 2010. For two days, an escape route remained open, however, the escape ladder was only 690 feet long. The distance to the surface was 2,300 feet. A subsequent and more devastating collapse occurred two days later on August 7, effectively sealing thirty-three miners underground. It was 9:55pm, October 13, 2010, when show more the last miner, foreman Luis Urzúa, finally emerged.

Buried Alive! offers a chronological story that is contextual and multi-faceted. Using a theme of cooperation (chapters are titled "Surviving Together," "Working Together," "Planning Together," "Living Together," and "Rejoicing Together"), Elaine Scott begins with an introduction of the various factors that draw men into the mine, including poverty, tradition, and national pride. Other chapters recount the extraordinary way that the miners, under the direction of Urzúa, known affectionately as Don Lucho, organized themselves fairly and purposefully to survive the ordeal, never knowing until they surfaced if they would survive.

Not covered much in televised accounts, was the real meaningful work that the men did to help themselves. They dug sanitary trenches, aided the drillers with useful information, and dug drainage and holding pools for the 18,421 gallons of water that were necessary to cool and lubricate the drill bits as they ground down to the mens' refuge, a 14-day project.

Scott also follows the cooperative scene at Camp Hope, the makeshift town including a school and medical facility, that sprung up to house the thousands of people living in tents above the mine - family members, would-be rescuers, Chilean military members, and more - all awaiting news of "los 33." And journalists were there to provide it,

"an estimated 1,700 of them, representing thirty-three countries on five continents. The world had its eye, its ear, and most important, its heart on Camp Hope and the thirty-three men who were buried alive."

The cooperative (and, in the case of the drillers, competitive) spirit of the rescuers is chronicled as well. Rescue plans and offers of assistance arrived from around the globe. The logistics of drilling so far down into the ground without mishap is explained in fascinating detail.

Most people will be familiar with the jubilant scenes of rescue, but it does not feel as "old news," rather, Scott's writing rekindles the emotions of the day.

An afterword tells the somewhat saddening stories of what has happened in the miners' lives since the rescue, but the overarching message of Buried Alive! is one of togetherness - for 69 days, the trapped miners, their families and the rest of the world were together in hopefulness.

Buried Alive! How 33 Miners Survived 69 Days Deep Under the Chilean Desert is dedicated "To the thirty-three miners and those who worked, waited, and worried until they were finally free." I count myself among the millions of people who worried about the fate of these amazing men. This is a story that will live on for many, many years to come. Elaine Scott has done a superb job in telling it.

Extensively researched, sourced and indexed with detailed author's notes. Contains numerous photographs.
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Retelling:

There is a lot that scientists still do not know about sleep. We know that 11 days is the longest anyone has ever gone without sleep and survived. We know that sleep is necessary for all animals, but we still don't know why.

Scientists have measured the effect that a good night's sleep has on a person's ability to perform during the day. They know that a few minutes more or less of sleep each night can make a surprisingly large difference in performance.

Recent advances in show more technology have allowed scientists to measure electrical pulses (or waves) in the brain. They have discovered that the length of waves varies during sleep as opposed to during waking hours, and changes more depending on what "stage" of sleep a person is in. While a person is dreaming (in REM sleep), the type of wave (beta waves) normally associated with a very active and alert brain appear to increase (as though the person were awake again).

Thoughts and feelings: As you may have noticed if you read a lot of my reviews, I enjoy science books that identify limitations on our current understanding of the world. This book emphasizes that sleeping and dreaming are still very mysterious, despite recent advances in our understanding. I can't imagine what the scientist who first applied the EEG, the EMG, and the EOG to a sleeping person must have felt when the machine revealed so many differences between the state of being awake and the state of being asleep. This book is a fascinating read. I wonder how dreams seem to solve puzzles sometimes, or why our brains subject us to nightmares? I would highly recommend reading this book, particularly before going to sleep. Maybe the answers to our remaining sleep questions will be resolved in our dreams! show less

This book would be perfect for a supplemental reading for a middle/high school financial literacy course. It covers many major topics, like banking, debt, and budgeting, yet also throws history lessons about bartering, the Great Depression, and the Great Recession. The illustrations are very eye-catching, especially the breakdown of how to write a check. Even being a college Senior, this book taught me a few things about money that I never knew.

Quite good for people who didn't grow up in their mom's kitchen. I'd consider giving this to any school graduate heading out on his own. Not the healthiest recipes I've seen, but better than fast food for sure! And even I, who did grow up in the same generation as the author, with many of these traditional dishes and tips, found six recipes I want to try, including simple versions of cream cheese icing and baked apples, as well as Unstuffed" Cabbage Rolls."