95-year-old Roger Brucker tells the tragic tale of Kentucky caver Floyd Collins

08/03/2025 16 min
95-year-old Roger Brucker tells the tragic tale of Kentucky caver Floyd Collins

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Episode Synopsis

Author and renowned caver Roger Brucker tells the tragic story of Floyd Collins, trapped in a Kentucky cave in 1925. News updates mesmerized people around the world. Even after Collins' death, the media circus continued. Mr. Brucker co-authored TRAPPED! The Story of Floyd Collins. The book is being reissued in April around the same time as the Broadway play opens in New York.-----book description: When Floyd Collins became trapped in a cave in southern Kentucky in early 1925, the sensationalism and hysteria of the rescue attempt generated America's first true media spectacle, making Collins's story one of the seminal events of the century. The crowds that gathered outside Sand Cave turned the rescue site into a carnival. Collins's situation was front-page news throughout the country, hourly bulletins interrupted radio programs, and Congress recessed to hear the latest word. Trapped! is both a tense adventure and a brilliant historical recreation of the past. This new edition includes a new epilogue revealing information about the Floyd Collins story that has come to light since the book was first published.

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