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Book: The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
Author: Jim DeFede
Review by: Trevor Williams, managing editor of Global Atlanta and publisher, Grounded Global Media LLC
Experience has taught me to value serendipity around the gifting and borrowing of books, and this year’s pick offered yet more evidence that they often choose us at the right time.
DeFede’s The Day the World Came to Town, published 20 years ago in 2022, was one of the 130 titles my sister-in-law plowed through this year, and I borrowed it during our annual family beach trip in May.
I’d heard about the Newfoundland town of Gander (pop. 10,000) and its brief stint as the unrivaled nexus of transatlantic aviation on the 99% Invisible podcast. The show describes how the British, who controlled the easternmost island in North America during the 1930s, built a large airport in Gander that would eventually become a launching point for planes being sent across the pond to aid the war effort, making use of extended fuel bladders that allowed them to soar beyond the threat of German submarines.
Civilian aviation would not be far behind, and the fascinating podcast episode outlines how Gander’s airport, its main concourse now an exquisite mid-century time capsule, enjoyed a brief stint as an unlikely crossroads for world leaders and celebrities that may not have otherwise shared space (The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Fidel Castro, to name a few). Wide-body jets and their longer ranges eventually dimmed Gander’s prospects, helping airports like Atlanta’s shine.
Broadway aficionados will know about Gander from Come From Away, the musical that shows how the city welcomed 38 planes carrying nearly 6,600 people whose flights were diverted there after the U.S. abruptly closed its airspace in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. That story, whose title comes from what Newfoundlanders call visitors to their island, was based on this book.
While it does provide some historical perspective, DeFede’s book is mainly collection of interwoven stories of how the “Plane People” experienced the famed Newfoundland hospitality at a time of disruption, fear and — for one family of a New York City firefighter featured prominently in the book — devastating loss.
After being cleared by the Red Cross, most of the “Come From Aways” stayed at local houses of worship, clubs, and, of course, homes, where the more than 180 interviewees describe being made to feel like family, their needs met by people who saw hospitality not as something extraordinary, but as a simple must-do that they would repeat unquestioningly.
Lifelong friendships were born out of a time of darkness, with many coming away from the experience with a newfound faith in humanity after 19 men shook the world with their acts of hatred and violence.
Small kindnesses like putting on a show for kids who’d had a Disney trip delayed, offering hot showers and towels, providing drugs from a pharmacy at no charge, taking care of stranded animals, and many more began to pile up, to the astonishment of visitors for whom the warm embrace of Newfoundlanders seemed too Mayberry-esque to believe. As a journalist, I appreciated that DeFede was able to publish the the book within a year of the events in question; documenting this so quickly meant fresh memories and no time for legend to creep in.
Some visitors were so taken with the province that they performed the rituals required to become an honorary Newfoundlander: kissing a rotting cod and drinking a shot of the local rum called “screech” while reciting a few phrases in uniquely accented English.
To me, this story of was a reminder of what drives Global Atlanta, that even the most seemingly remote places are connected in a global economy. Forces beyond our control foist this upon us, sometimes to our detriment, but we do have agency in the story, as we choose whether to productively engage with the opportunities or shrink back in fear of the threats. Gander has been celebrated the world over for meeting its moment with courage.
Georgia, a place that also prides itself on its hospitality, got a chance to host Newfoundland and other Canadian provinces in June, the month after I picked up the book, for the SEUS Canadian Provinces Alliance conference in the “hostess city” of Savannah.
In a stroke of literary luck for me, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador was featured, and Premier Andrew Furey told another story of welcome that showed how the civil rights movement in Georgia was aided by Newfoundlanders stepping up for Americans in crisis. I described it in an article I wrote after interviewing Mr. Furey about Newfoundland’s scenic icebergs and critical minerals:
Lanier Phillips, a Black U.S. Navy seaman from Lithonia, was among the few to survive a shipwreck off the coast of Newfoundland in 1942, Mr. Furey said. After making it to shore, he was taken in by Newfoundlanders, who when bathing him kept scrubbing his dark skin to remove what they thought was oil. Their welcome, devoid of the harsh racism he experienced even in the military during segregation, gave Mr. Phillips faith in white people and inspired him to join the effort led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Georgians will have a chance to experience the Newfoundland and Labrador hospitality this July, when the provincial capital of St. John hosts the SEUS/CP conference. Georgia always leads a delegation of companies to participate in business matchmaking as one of the six states and six Canadian provinces involved in the alliance.
Mr. Furey stands ready to back up his home province’s renowned reputation:
“I welcome all of you to come. I can’t wait to show you the whales breaching of our shores, the million-year-old icebergs drifting by our shorelines, and of course the hospitality for which we are known around the world. I can assure you the dialect will be somewhat unique, the icebergs will be breathtaking, but the welcome — the welcome will be legendary. And as we say at home, it’ll be a good time had by all.”
See some of my previous reviews here:
Books 2021: A White Journalist Crosses the Racial Divide
Books 2020: Struggling for Sincere Faith in Japan’s Crucible of Persecution
Books 2019: Rethinking the European Origins of American Tolerance
Books 2018: India’s Indictment of Unbridled Capitalism
Books 2017: A Journey Into Haiti’s Cultural Heart
Books 2016: A Colombian View on the Pioneering Human Spirit
Books 2015: Is China a Partner or Imperialist in Africa?
Books 2014: Mumbai Thriller Shows Perils of Growing Too Fast
Books 2013: Covering Atlanta’s Airport City Aspirations
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Editor’s notes: Global Atlanta will receive a 10 percent commission on any purchase of this book through the links on this page.
Each year, Global Atlanta asks influential readers and community leaders to review the most impactful book they read during the course of the year. This endeavor has continued annually since 2010.
See last year’s full list of books on BookShop here, and all 2021 reader picks here.
All books were chosen and reviews written independently, with only mild editing from our staff.