When thirty-eight jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, due to the closing of United States airspace, the citizens of this small community and surrounding towns were called upon to care for the thousands of distraught travelers.

Their response to this challenge was truly extraordinary.  Oz Fudge, the town constable, searched all over Gander for a flight-crew member so that he could give her a hug as a favor to her sister, who managed to reach him by phone.  Eithne Smith, an elementary-school teacher, helped the passengers sheltered at her school fax letters to loved ones all over the world.  And members of a local animal protection agency crawled into the cargo holds of the jets to feed and care for all of the animals on the flights.

These stories and hundreds more are beautifully rendered in The Day the World Came to Town, the true account of a community that exemplifies love, kindness and generosity.  

Jim Defede has been an award-winning journalist for sixteen years, first with the Spokesman Review in Spokane, Washington, and then with the Miami New Times.  His work has appeared in Talk, The New Republic, and Newsday.  He is currently a metro columnist for the Miami Herald. *

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*From the jacket 

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