Nine Alive is the story of nine Somerset County miners who showed unwavering courage and strength, waiting nearly four days for rescue while 244 feet underground. It is the story of several hundred dedicated and tireless rescue personnel who refused to quit until all nine were safely above ground once again, overcoming fatigue, equipment failure and despair.

For five days in July 2002, the world's attention was focused on the fate of nine coal miners trapped 245 feet underground in western Pennsylvania, not 13 miles from the horrific end of September 11's Flight 93. Seven hours into their afternoon shift, a machine they were operating suddenly broke through a wall, unleashing a torrent of water from an adjacent abandoned mine. With the miners out of sight and the aboveground heroics largely shielded from view, the drama that captured the public imagination was far from complete. Their desperate struggle to survive as the water continued its inexorable rise was played out in cramped darkness. The final, heart-stopping moments provided the storybook ending, but the real story was yet to be told--until now. The miners are home, the rescuers are back at their day jobs, investigations have begun, and, as the story inside All Nine Alive reveals, what really happened in those desperate hours was more breaktaking than we knew.

This is the story of nine Somerset County, PA, miners who showed unwavering courage & strength, waiting nearly four days for rescue at the Quecreek mine while trapped 244 feet underground. It is also the story of several hundred dedicated & tireless rescue personnel who refused to quit until all of the miners were safely above ground once again. ¿All nine are alive!¿ Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker reassured an exhausted & jubilant crowd just before midnight on Saturday, July 27, 2002. A few hours later, one by one, a community¿s prayers were answered. This book recounts the harrowing accounts from the trapped miners & the heroic rescue efforts that united a country in its hope for a successful outcome. Photos.

August 2010: the San Jose mine in Chile collapses trapping 33 men half a mile underground for 69 days. Faced with the possibility of starvation and even death, the miners make a pact: if they survive, they will only share their story collectively, as 'the 33'. 1 billion people watch the international rescue mission. Somehow, all 33 men make it out alive, in one of the most daring and dramatic rescue efforts even seen.