Into the Abyss: An Extraordinary True Story by Shaben, Carol (2014) Paperback

The true story of four men forever changed by the tragedy of a preventable small commuter airplane disaster in the Canadian wilderness. Given the sheer volume and raw power of the facts surrounding this incredible true story, Shaben's book narrative didn't deliver quite the literary punch of other

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accomplished nonfiction disaster writers like Krakauer, Egan, or Laskin, but she does manage to balance good research regarding airline transportation safety shortfalls with an obvious respect and affection for the survivors (one of which was her father). A definite recommend for anyone involved with small aircraft and the people who utilize them for travel/recreation.

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On October, 1984, a Piper Navajo commuter plane crashed into the forest near High Prairie, Alberta. Four men survived that crash and this is their story about why they were on the plane, what happened to them during the accident, how they survived the extreme cold until rescued and how that

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experienced changed their lives. The four included the pilot, an RCMP officer, the prisoner who he was escorting to jail, and an Alberta Government cabinet minister.
Shaben is a journalist and her writing style moves the story right along. Thoroughly enjoyed this volume.

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The original headline for the book's cover ("Only four men survived the plane crash. The pilot. A politician. A cop... and the criminal he was shackled to.") was the most attention-grabbing I had ever seen. The story itself was extraordinary. The writing of the book itself, and the unreal amount of

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excellent research necessary to tell the story, was mind-blowing. This is an incredible journalistic achievement, with timelines of events lining up perfectly, and excellent insight garnered from those involved. Halfway through the book, the survivors are rescued, but the coda of their rebuilt and/or shattered lives continued to be compelling all the way to the end. To think, the author learned of the story from a newspaper article, and the entire book, with all its masterful storytelling and subsequent awards was fashioned beginning with simply that.

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I enjoyed Shaben’s book, but make no mistake: if you’re looking for a Piers Paul Read (“Alive!: the Story of the Andes Survivors”)—type book, this isn’t it. For one thing, this story is about a group of people involved in a small commuter plane crash, like the Alive! group, but the Into

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the Abyss group is only stranded for about 12 hours. So don’t look for any talk of cannibalism or anything like that. Without giving too much away, this isn’t so much a plane crash story as it is a story of human nature and heroism. The plane crash part of the book is only about half of it. The other half is about how the crash affected the rest of the lives of the survivors, and that story is just as interesting. I applaud Shaben for her efforts. She’s written a good book, just not a Krakauer, Junger, or Grann book. Still worth the read.

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