The Day the World Came to Town cover art

The Day the World Came to Town

9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Day the World Came to Town

By: Jim DeFede
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £10.76

Buy Now for £10.76

About this listen

Perfect for fans of the musical Come From Away!

When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill. As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.

 21st Century Americas Canada Freedom & Security Modern Politics & Government War & Crisis Aviation
All stars
Most relevant
interesting piece of history idk about told with style and humour of a difficult subject. only issue was the very many obvious edits in narration, sometimes 2 or 3 sessions in one paragraph... minor gripe

well read well written

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely loved this book. It is very well written and read.

I would recommend this book to anyone.

A lovely heart warming read.

Heart warming

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a Canadian and huge fan of Come From Away, I found this book extremely interesting. As in the musical, the book reiterates the power of human kindness. In this very scary world, it gives you hope that good people are still out there. The only thing is reading this in 2025, I find it very hard to feel the same about USA pride displayed in the narrative. It feels a very different place today.

The kindness of strangers

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I definitely recommend listening to this audiobook. It is a fantastic story of the wonderful people in Newfoundland and provides hope for the future of humankind!

Fantastic listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
After watching the musical ‘ Come from Away’ it prompted me to want to know more about the awesome people of Newfoundland. This book shows how fantastic the people of Gander were in opening up their town to all those stranded passengers. Going above and beyond a truly uplifting story from such a horrible time in history.

Awesome story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews