Plano Reads: The Day the World Came to Town

The Brown Bag Book Club will meet in person at Parr Library on Thursday, September 28, at noon, to discuss The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede.

Available as: Print | eBook | eAudiobook

On September 11, 2001, 38 jetliners bound for the U.S. were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland after American airspace was closed. The planes carried 6,595 passengers and crew members; Gander’s population is barely 10,000. This is the story of how the people of Gander and the surrounding smaller towns worked around the clock for the next six days to help these stranded travelers.

They prepared many meals and–in some cases–took strangers into their homes for showers and rest. They collected linens and toiletries for the passengers who had no access to their suitcases. A local brewery offered free samples of beer; animals on the planes were cared for in a vacant hanger; kosher meals were provided for a rabbi, and a volunteer taxi service helped passengers get around town.   

During this time many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they now expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools.    

“When you read this book, I predict tears in your eyes almost from the beginning…tears of joy and pride for the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland, who bravely stood up and said to the world ‘Today, we are all Americans.’” — Homer Hickam, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys 

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. In 2006, he joined CBS News Miami as an investigative reporter.  In 2021 and 2022, DeFede produced three hour-long specials on the Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people. 

The Brown Bag Book Club will meet in person at Parr Library on Thursday, September 28, at noon, to discuss The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede.