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In 1943, a coal mine explosion devastated a tiny Montana mining town. The disaster killed 74 men and forever changed the lives of their familes and the destiny of their charming all-American home, Bearcreek.

The Smith Coal Mine disaster was one of the nation's worst coal-mining accidents, but because it occurred during World War II, it was quickly forgotten by all, except those who lived through it.

Now, author Susan Kushner Resnick recounts the story in Goodbye Wifes and Daughters: The Explosion of An American Town. Her book, which will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2009, will explore the heroes who fought to save lives, the villians who may have caused their deaths and the families who lost almost everything on one sunny February morning.

Though the Smith disaster occurred nearly 65 years ago, the same dangerous circumstances still exist and eerily similar tragedies are still happening in the coal industry today. Goodbye Wifes and Daughters is not only a heartbreaking story, it is also a cautionary tale.

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