A Darkness Lit by Heroes—Talk and book signing by Missoula author Doug Ammons. A Darkness lit by Heroes is a new novel about Butte’s 1917 Speculator Mine disaster, the deadliest hard-rock mining disaster in American history. Ammons based his novel on extensive research he conducted into six-hundred pages of eye-witness testimony that had been lost for ninety years. The story is carefully told to encompass not only the trapped miners’ point of view but also the emotions of the courageous rescuers and distraught men and women waiting above ground,

According to the book’s reviewers, A Darkness Lit by Heroes:
•It is a masterfully written story, combining great historical accuracy with exceptional insight.
•Magnificent! Beautifully written! Incredible story!
•I loved it. Especially once we’re down in the mines describing the men’s efforts to get out and the decisions the groups of men made. It really took me there, crawling in the dark, using every sense but sight, trying to hold panic at bay. Just fabulous. Congratulations again and again!