'It was all so sudden. Twenty seconds and then silence. I started calling out, 'Can anyone hear me?' - nothing but silence. Over the next few hours I heard hysterical sobbing and people clapping as others were rescued. I could hear engines, drilling and what sounded like sledgehammers ...when the sounds went away I worried they weren't coming back.' Ann Bodkin, trapped for 25 hours. The Canterbury earthquake of February 2011 altered landscape, history, and most importantly, human lives. Many perished and the lives of thousands were upended. In Trapped, Martin van Beynen documents with sensitivity and unerring detail the personal experiences of more than thirty quake survivors - before, during and after the event - in their own words. At once poignant, dramatic and enthralling, their stories record a defining moment in Canterbury's history and testify to the courage and heroism of everyday people.

About the Author

Martin van Beynen is an award-winning journalist for The Press. In the 2010 Qantas Media Awards he won the Story of the Year award for his feature on the trial and acquittal of David Bain and in September 2011 was announced Fairfax Media Journalist of the Year 2010-2011. Van Beynen lives in Christchurch.