Thursday, May 27, 2004

Book Review: 47 Down: The 1922 Argonaut Gold Mine Disaster

LARRY COX

Tucson Citizen

"47 DOWN: THE 1922 ARGONAUT GOLD MINE DISASTER" by O. Henry Mace (Wiley, $24.95)

Occasionally a news event has such an impact, it seems to cause even time itself to stop. Such an incident was the Argonaut Gold Mine disaster, one of the most tragic workplace accidents of the 20th century.

During the evening of Aug. 27, 1922, 47 men were deep underground working the night shift at the mine near Jackson, Calif. During the men's supper break, the unthinkable happened. An explosion and fire erupted inside the shaft, trapping the men more than 4,600 feet underground. As friends and family gathered, the ordeal of trying to rescue the workers began.

Mace's "47 Down" is the riveting account of this tragedy and it has the same emotional impact of the recent best-seller "The Perfect Storm." Mace writes with taut prose, grabbing his reader by the collar. Even after a passage of more than 80 years, it is a compelling story that has lost none of its drama or punch.

Drawing on newspaper accounts, diaries, government reports and official documents, Mace captures all of the drama and heartbreak of this event. This book is exceptional historical reporting and highly recommended.