Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am basically a cynic who utterly lacks empathy, and regards the world as a cruel, vicious, heartless, place, dominated by sadists, egomaniacs, megalomaniacs, and jumped-up eighth grade bullies, who take joy in stomping weaker people in the face. I believe that the world is not based on human rights, laws, and ethics, but on one word: power...getting it, having it, using it, getting more of it. So when I read this book, I had all my views flung into the Hudson River. Amid one of the most horrific days in human history, when 19 fanatics cold-bloodedly butchered thousands of human beings in a series of well-planned and ghastly attacks, the people of a fairly small town in a quiet and relatively obscure corner of the world displayed the highest levels of humanity, warmth, and hospitality, taking into their homes, schools, gymnasiums, and hearts thousands of innocent travelers who were caught stranded by this horror of history. "The Day the World Came to Town" tells of how ordinary Canadians and equally ordinary airline passengers coped with being trapped together in the town of Gander during the days in which the entire United States' airspace was shut down. The small airport was packed with planes from all over the world, the town with people from across the globe, of every ethnicity, faith, and type. The Canadians did everything possible to make these unsought guests as comfortable and welcome as possible. The guests in turn did everything they could to minimize their footprint on the town. And when they left, they did everything they could to thank the community -- there are scholarships established by some of the groups of then-stranded passengers to support education there: here is the website for one of them, run by the Columbus Foundation: https://tcfapp.org/SecureFolder/Scholarship/ScholarshipDetails.aspx?ScholarshipKey=175 And the passengers built warm personal relationships with the folks in Gander, going back for the 10th anniversary: http://petergreenberg.com/2011/09/08/ten-years-after-911-refugees-return-to-gander-newfoundland/ The writing is warm, close, lyrical, and focuses on people...the local Hugo Boss owner who gets to meet the big chief when his plane is stranded there...the family bringing home an adopted child from Eastern Europe...another family worried about the fate of their NYFD firefighter nephew (I won't give that ending away)...the London Rabbi who needs a special diet and wants to help others...the local residents who provide everything they have to visitors...the RSPCA inspectors who take care of the pets on the planes...the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant who gets permission to wear the "red serge" when the passengers finally leave...the famous artist's gift to a school. After reading this book, I found myself having faith in humanity again. Maybe, in spite of the endless cavalcade of bullies, bad news, sadists, terrorists, uncaring rulers, tyrants, self-serving egomaniacs, and other human monsters that seem to define, rule, and carve up the world to their benefit...human beings are not so bad after all. Maybe Anne Frank was right: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are good at heart." This book makes you believe that.