A year ago to the month, I received a very exciting email asking whether I would like to come in for an interview at Random House of Canada. Of course, I was thrilled and like any good interviewee, I decided to do some research on RHC and all the work they do.

During my investigation, I stumbled upon the video below. In it Anne Collins, VP, Publisher Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, talks about a brand new book acquisition.

I was totally mesmerized by the story. It was something right up my alley since narrative non-fiction is one of my favourite genres, if not my absolute favourite. I even talked about my excitement to read Into the Abyss in my interview.

However, as Anne points out in the video, it would be some time before there would be a book to read. I kept scouting our internal system for the manuscript and eventually one day, there it was!

I couldn’t wait to read it!

The story was as fantastic and gripping as one would imagine but Carol Shaben also does a skilled job of bringing other elements surrounding the crash into the story. We find out not only about the plane crash and the night those four brave men survived but also about the circumstances that drove the pilot to fly in such bad weather, where Carol Shaben was when she found out about the accident, and what happened to the four men many years after the tragedy.

Into the Abyss is the amazing story of how these four men were found, rescued and survived but it’s also a look at flying practices in northern Canada during the ’80s, a glimpse into the Canadian political climate of the time and many other facets of Canadian history.

If you love a good story but believe it’s even better when it’s true, then Into the Abyss is definitely for you.

Into the Abyss: How a Deadly Plane Crash Changed the Lives of a Pilot, a Politician, a Criminal and a Cop by Carol Shaben

Published: Oct 16, 2012 by Random House Canada
ISBN: 9780307360229
Price: $29.95
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