In October 1958 in Springhill, Nova Scotia, the deepest mine on the planet collapsed, killing hundreds of coal miners. Long after hope was gone, diggers found a dozen men walled-in, alive, and, two days later, six more. The fantastic rescue received global coverage, the first of the television era. 

 

In Georgia, a fantastic PR plan was hatched to invite the survivors to recuperate on Jekyll Island, thereby advertising the sea island as a new tourist destination. The invitation was accepted before the last men were excavated. 

 

​The last man out, a hero within the group, was Afro-Canadian miner Maurice Ruddick. He was Black, Georgia was segregated, the Georgia governor tried to avoid shaking his hand, and the clever PR idea turned into an internationally reported American insult of a Canadian hero.

 

“Last Man Out, by a natural-born storyteller from the American South, is as good a book about a Canadian disaster as you’re ever likely to find … by combing all the interviews with her own vivid prose and high sensitivity to human anguish, Greene has created a book that’s … deep, moving and timeless.'—Harry Bruce, The Toronto Globe and Mail

 

A New York Times Notable Book • Chicago Tribune’s Favorite Nonfiction Books, 2003 • Toronto Globe Best Books of 2003 • Cox News Best Books of 2003 • A New York Public Library Best Book, 2004

 

Includes an interview with author Melissa Fay Greene