''Big Miracle'' is a book that tells the true story of three gray whales trapped beneath

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

ice in the fall of 1988, and of

Operation Breakthrough Operation Breakthrough was a US-Soviet effort to free three gray whales from pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska in 1988. The whales' plight generated media attention that led to the collaboration of mult ...

, the collaborative efforts to free them by oil company executives, activists, Inupiat people, the U.S. military, and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

ice-breaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

s. Written by journalist Tom Rose (who covered the event for a Japanese news channel at the time), the book was originally published in 1989, titled ''Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event''. It was re-released under its current title by St. Martin's Press in 2011. A film adaption of ''

Big Miracle ''Big Miracle'' is a 2012 drama film directed by Ken Kwapis, and stars Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski. The film is based on Tom Rose's 1989 book '' Freeing the Whales'', which covers Operation Breakthrough, the 1988 international effort to ...

'' directed by Ken Kwapis, starring Drew Barrymore,

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He ...

, Kristen Bell, among other stars, was released in 2012.

References

2011 non-fiction books American history books Wayward cetaceans 1989 non-fiction books St. Martin's Press books Non-fiction books adapted into films {{US-hist-book-stub