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Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the mountain alive. For ten excruciating weeks they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, they were forced to do what would have once been unthinkable...
This is their story—one of the most astonishing true adventures of the twentieth century.
This is their story—one of the most astonishing true adventures of the twentieth century.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Piers Paul Read
61 books128 followersBritish novelist and non-fiction writer. Educated at the Benedictines' Ampleforth College, and subsequently entered St John's College, University of Cambridge where he received his BA and MA (history). Artist-in-Residence at the Ford Foundation in Berlin (1963-4), Harkness Fellow, Commonwealth Fund, New York (1967-8), member of the Council of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (1971-5), member of the Literature Panel at the Arts Council, (1975-7), and Adjunct Professor of Writing, Columbia University, New York (1980). From 1992-7 he was Chairman of the Catholic Writers' Guild. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).
His most well-known work is the non-fiction Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974), an account of the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes, later adapted as a film.
His most well-known work is the non-fiction Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974), an account of the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes, later adapted as a film.
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October 12, 2022
Miracle in the Andes.
In 1972, a plane full of rugby players and their families crashed in The Andes Mountains. The story is well known. Scarcely with any food or water, suffering sub-zero temperatures, only sixteen of forty-five made it out alive. After nearly three months struggling to survive, injured, famished, freezing, against all possible odds a couple of them finally managed to climb across The Andes without any mountain gear and reach a nearby town to call for help. Their survival was legendary. News about it traveled the world, it was called the “Miracle of the Andes.”
In this book Piers Paul Read documents in precise detail how everything unfolded for the survivors, from the airplane crash on October 13, until they were rescued, 72 days later. This was a gruesome story, reading about every little thing that transpired within the crash site. This survival story is not entirely a tale of loving brotherhood or a united fight for survival. Piers Paul Read depicts a lot of the darker side of that battle, like how they just basically divided themselves into strong and weak classes, constant bickering and fighting over many issues, constipation and other unpleasant declining health issues, and many other chilling things. Nothing is left out. Not even cannibalism. The survivors did far more than just slice a piece of meat from a couple of dead people. Not an easy reading to digest, but a great story of survival nonetheless. And the most precious thing I rescue from this book is Liliana, and how she was like a mother to them all.
The movie (1993) is a lovely adaptation of the book. Not entirely faithful to the original work, but very worth it. A considerably lighter version, with much of the darker side of the ordeal left out. Beautiful pacing, and highly inspiring. A stellar cast including actors like Ethan Hawke, Illeana Douglas and an exquisite introduction and ending by John Malkovich. Not the greatest movie per se, but a highly memorable one.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1974] [318p] [Non-fiction] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Milagro en los Andes.
En 1972, un avión lleno de jugadores de rugby y sus familias se estrella en la Cordillera de los Andes. La historia es bien conocida. Escasamente con nada de comida o agua, sufriendo temperaturas bajo cero, sólo dieciséis de cuarenta y cinco sobrevivieron. Después de casi tres meses luchando por sobrevivir, lesionados, famélicos, congelados, contra todas las posibilidades un par de ellos finalmente lograron cruzar a través de los Andes sin equipo de montaña y llegar a un pueblo cercano donde pudieron pedir por ayuda. Su supervivencia fue legendaria. Noticias sobre ella recorrieron el mundo, fue llamado el “Milagro de los Andes.”
En este libro Piers Paul Read documenta con precisos detalles cómo todo se desenvolvió para los sobrevivientes, desde el choque de avión del 13 de October, hasta que fueron rescatados, 72 días después. Esta fue una historia sangrienta, leer sobre cada pequeña cosa que sucedió en el lugar del accidente. Esta historia de supervivencia no es enteramente sobre una amorosa hermandad o una lucha en unidad para sobrevivir. Piers Paul Read detalla un montón de los lados más oscuros de esa batalla, cómo básicamente dividirse entre ellos en fuertes y débiles, constantes peleas y discusiones sobre muchos asuntos, constipación y otros desagradables asuntos de una salud declinante, y muchas otas escalofriantes cosas. Nada es dejado afuera. Ni siquiera el canibalismo. Los sobrevivientes hicieron mucho más que solo cortar un pedazo de carne de un par de muertos. No es una lectura fácil de digerir, pero sin embargo una gran historia de supervivencia. Y lo más preciado que rescato de este libro es Liliana, y cómo era como una madre para todos.
La película (1993) es una adorable adaptación del libro. No enteramente fiel a la obra original, pero muy valiosa. Una versión considerablemente más ligera, con mucho de los lados más oscuros de la lucha dejados afuera. Hermoso ritmo, y altamente inspiradora. Un elenco estelar incluyendo figuras como Ethan Hawke, Illeana Douglas y una exquisita introducción y final por John Malkovich. No es una de las más grandes películas, pero sí una muy memorable.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1974] [318p] [No Ficción] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
In 1972, a plane full of rugby players and their families crashed in The Andes Mountains. The story is well known. Scarcely with any food or water, suffering sub-zero temperatures, only sixteen of forty-five made it out alive. After nearly three months struggling to survive, injured, famished, freezing, against all possible odds a couple of them finally managed to climb across The Andes without any mountain gear and reach a nearby town to call for help. Their survival was legendary. News about it traveled the world, it was called the “Miracle of the Andes.”
In this book Piers Paul Read documents in precise detail how everything unfolded for the survivors, from the airplane crash on October 13, until they were rescued, 72 days later. This was a gruesome story, reading about every little thing that transpired within the crash site. This survival story is not entirely a tale of loving brotherhood or a united fight for survival. Piers Paul Read depicts a lot of the darker side of that battle, like how they just basically divided themselves into strong and weak classes, constant bickering and fighting over many issues, constipation and other unpleasant declining health issues, and many other chilling things. Nothing is left out. Not even cannibalism. The survivors did far more than just slice a piece of meat from a couple of dead people. Not an easy reading to digest, but a great story of survival nonetheless. And the most precious thing I rescue from this book is Liliana, and how she was like a mother to them all.
The movie (1993) is a lovely adaptation of the book. Not entirely faithful to the original work, but very worth it. A considerably lighter version, with much of the darker side of the ordeal left out. Beautiful pacing, and highly inspiring. A stellar cast including actors like Ethan Hawke, Illeana Douglas and an exquisite introduction and ending by John Malkovich. Not the greatest movie per se, but a highly memorable one.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1974] [318p] [Non-fiction] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Milagro en los Andes.
En 1972, un avión lleno de jugadores de rugby y sus familias se estrella en la Cordillera de los Andes. La historia es bien conocida. Escasamente con nada de comida o agua, sufriendo temperaturas bajo cero, sólo dieciséis de cuarenta y cinco sobrevivieron. Después de casi tres meses luchando por sobrevivir, lesionados, famélicos, congelados, contra todas las posibilidades un par de ellos finalmente lograron cruzar a través de los Andes sin equipo de montaña y llegar a un pueblo cercano donde pudieron pedir por ayuda. Su supervivencia fue legendaria. Noticias sobre ella recorrieron el mundo, fue llamado el “Milagro de los Andes.”
En este libro Piers Paul Read documenta con precisos detalles cómo todo se desenvolvió para los sobrevivientes, desde el choque de avión del 13 de October, hasta que fueron rescatados, 72 días después. Esta fue una historia sangrienta, leer sobre cada pequeña cosa que sucedió en el lugar del accidente. Esta historia de supervivencia no es enteramente sobre una amorosa hermandad o una lucha en unidad para sobrevivir. Piers Paul Read detalla un montón de los lados más oscuros de esa batalla, cómo básicamente dividirse entre ellos en fuertes y débiles, constantes peleas y discusiones sobre muchos asuntos, constipación y otros desagradables asuntos de una salud declinante, y muchas otas escalofriantes cosas. Nada es dejado afuera. Ni siquiera el canibalismo. Los sobrevivientes hicieron mucho más que solo cortar un pedazo de carne de un par de muertos. No es una lectura fácil de digerir, pero sin embargo una gran historia de supervivencia. Y lo más preciado que rescato de este libro es Liliana, y cómo era como una madre para todos.
La película (1993) es una adorable adaptación del libro. No enteramente fiel a la obra original, pero muy valiosa. Una versión considerablemente más ligera, con mucho de los lados más oscuros de la lucha dejados afuera. Hermoso ritmo, y altamente inspiradora. Un elenco estelar incluyendo figuras como Ethan Hawke, Illeana Douglas y una exquisita introducción y final por John Malkovich. No es una de las más grandes películas, pero sí una muy memorable.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1974] [318p] [No Ficción] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
August 16, 2014
i read this when i was 14. totally scandalized.
three months later i still couldn't sit in a chair without wondering what my own asscheeks would taste like if i ate them sashimi-style.
three months later i still couldn't sit in a chair without wondering what my own asscheeks would taste like if i ate them sashimi-style.
November 17, 2014
"[The survivors] had neither sensationalized nor sentimentalized their own experience and it seemed important for me to tell the reader what they had told me in the same 'matter-of-fact' manner." –Piers Paul Read
I remember watching the film adaptation of this book when I was quite young, and being so impressed with the resilience of the human spirit, and the desire to live. This book surpassed the film, because Read did such a great job of involving the reader in the whole ordeal, including the plane crash survivors, their families, and the efforts others made to keep searching for the victims even when the odds of survival were dismal.
This edition had interviews with the author and two survivors thirty years after the publication of the book. It's really hard for me to believe that Read was only thirty-one years old when he was selected for this great project, even though he'd previously only written fictional novels. I also love that it was extremely fact based. Nowhere in this book is the reader told what they should feel about sensitive subject matter, and yet it was told in such a way that I felt involved–a spectator and visitor to the stranded fuselage that served as home to the survivors. I'm glad I read this before I read Nando Parrado's personal memoir about the ordeal, Miracle in The Andes, although it will probably be some time before I can recircle this event. It really moved me to the core. Definitely a compelling read. Inspirational and gut wrenching.
"We all have our own mountains, and it's important to remember that no matter how bad things are, one can always overcome them and more so, one must never forget that they can always be worse. It's important to value the small things in life." –Alvaro Mangino, one of the sixteen survivors
January 22, 2024
La verdadera historia de los supervivientes de los Andes, protagonistas de La sociedad de la nieve, la nueva y aclamada película de J. A. Bayona.
La historia de supervivencia más brutal de la historia. Un equipo y una meta.
"¡Viven!" El triunfo del espíritu humano relata esta horrible y escalofriante peripecia y la de los familiares de sus protagonistas, que nunca dejaron de buscarlos.
En 1972, partió de Montevideo, con destino a Santiago de Chile, un avión Fairchild Hiller FH-227 de las fuerzas aéreas uruguayas en el que viajaba el equipo de rugby Old Christians y sus acompañantes. Sin embargo, les aguardaba un destino muy distinto del que habían proyectado. Las infernales condiciones climatológicas determinaron la catástrofe y el aparato se estrelló con los Andes.
Solo dieciséis de los cuarenta y cinco pasajeros que viajaban en el avión sobrevivieron al accidente y a los casi tres meses de indescriptibles rigores que sufrieron a consecuencia del hambre, el frío y el dolor. Sin otras provisiones, se vieron obligados a enfrentarse al horror de alimentarse con la carne de sus compañeros muertos, en un acto desesperado por conservar la vida...
Libro necesario que todos deberíamos leer para aprender lecciones de vida, una historia que te deja sin palabras por tantas cosas, tantas..
El libro «¡Viven!», del escritor y biógrafo británico Piers Paul Read fue publicado por primera vez en abril de 1974, muy poco tiempo después del llamado por muchos.. Milagro de los Andes.
El libro se publicó con la autorización y colaboración de los propios supervivientes de la tragedia, que deseaban publicar una versión oficial de todo lo que sucedió durante aquellos 72 días en la que el avión uruguayo estuvo desaparecido en la cordillera de los Andes.
Oír los testimonios de los supervivientes te deja helado y embelesado por sus palabras. Sea libro o en las cientos de conferencias.
El libro es una cronolog��a detallada de todo lo ocurrido desde la mañana 12 de octubre hasta el día 28 de diciembre de 1972 en Montevideo.
«¡Viven!» también relata las vivencias de las familias de los pasajeros del Fairchild 571 y de la búsqueda que llevaron a cabo durante esos dos meses.
El libro de Piers Paul Read ha servido de insipiración a la película «¡Viven!», estrenada en el año 1993. Y este año 2023 ha salido una nueva versión que también te deja impresionado y sin palabras.
Debo decir que la nueva película me ha gustado más ya que refleja muy bien el aspecto humano.
Los supervivientes han dado su opinión sobre este libro en diversas ocasiones. Reconocen que todo lo que expone el libro es cierto y se corresponde con los hechos reales, pero falta el toque humano tan importante y esencial en esta historia.
Un trabajo en equipo, determinación y el más absoluto deseo de sobrevivir.
IMPRESCINDIBLE.. ✍️🎩
La historia de supervivencia más brutal de la historia. Un equipo y una meta.
"¡Viven!" El triunfo del espíritu humano relata esta horrible y escalofriante peripecia y la de los familiares de sus protagonistas, que nunca dejaron de buscarlos.
En 1972, partió de Montevideo, con destino a Santiago de Chile, un avión Fairchild Hiller FH-227 de las fuerzas aéreas uruguayas en el que viajaba el equipo de rugby Old Christians y sus acompañantes. Sin embargo, les aguardaba un destino muy distinto del que habían proyectado. Las infernales condiciones climatológicas determinaron la catástrofe y el aparato se estrelló con los Andes.
Solo dieciséis de los cuarenta y cinco pasajeros que viajaban en el avión sobrevivieron al accidente y a los casi tres meses de indescriptibles rigores que sufrieron a consecuencia del hambre, el frío y el dolor. Sin otras provisiones, se vieron obligados a enfrentarse al horror de alimentarse con la carne de sus compañeros muertos, en un acto desesperado por conservar la vida...
Libro necesario que todos deberíamos leer para aprender lecciones de vida, una historia que te deja sin palabras por tantas cosas, tantas..
El libro «¡Viven!», del escritor y biógrafo británico Piers Paul Read fue publicado por primera vez en abril de 1974, muy poco tiempo después del llamado por muchos.. Milagro de los Andes.
El libro se publicó con la autorización y colaboración de los propios supervivientes de la tragedia, que deseaban publicar una versión oficial de todo lo que sucedió durante aquellos 72 días en la que el avión uruguayo estuvo desaparecido en la cordillera de los Andes.
Oír los testimonios de los supervivientes te deja helado y embelesado por sus palabras. Sea libro o en las cientos de conferencias.
El libro es una cronolog��a detallada de todo lo ocurrido desde la mañana 12 de octubre hasta el día 28 de diciembre de 1972 en Montevideo.
«¡Viven!» también relata las vivencias de las familias de los pasajeros del Fairchild 571 y de la búsqueda que llevaron a cabo durante esos dos meses.
El libro de Piers Paul Read ha servido de insipiración a la película «¡Viven!», estrenada en el año 1993. Y este año 2023 ha salido una nueva versión que también te deja impresionado y sin palabras.
Debo decir que la nueva película me ha gustado más ya que refleja muy bien el aspecto humano.
Los supervivientes han dado su opinión sobre este libro en diversas ocasiones. Reconocen que todo lo que expone el libro es cierto y se corresponde con los hechos reales, pero falta el toque humano tan importante y esencial en esta historia.
Un trabajo en equipo, determinación y el más absoluto deseo de sobrevivir.
IMPRESCINDIBLE.. ✍️🎩
March 5, 2011
In October of 1972, a chartered plane carrying 45 passengers and crew left Uruguay to travel to Chile. A majority of the passengers were made up of young men who were part of an amateur rugby team going to Chile for a game. Others included family and friends. Over the rugged Andes, the pilot made a fatal error, and the plane crashed into the side of a mountain, flinging parts of the tail section, fuselage, wing, rudder and even some passengers out over the desolate landscape. The survivors were, for the most part, very young men (average age around 23 years old). On average, they came from priviledged families. Most were devout Catholics. They enjoyed their cigarettes. They loved their mothers and girlfriends. They loved the game of rugby and were eager to experience a taste of the world outside their beloved Uruguay.
Over the next 70 days, the remaining survivors battled cold, avalanches, injury, fear and hunger. To survive, they prayed - alot. They devised plans for capturing water. They made forays into the vast white bleak landscape to search for supplies and a way out. They became makeshift doctors and surgeons and helped the wounded. They waited for rescue to come from the outside. And to fight off starvation, they ate their dead.
The story of the 16 remaining Andes survivors makes for riveting reading. The first time I read this book I was in my early 20s myself, and I remember the cannibalism being the overriding memory I took away from this book. Now I'm older, and it's not the cannibalism that captures my attention, but how these very young men kept their sanity, faith and courage in the face of unimaginable horrors. Of their cannibalism, they are unapologetic (which is as it should be). However, they didn't take what they did to survive lightly, and one of the survivors says it best:
"When one awakes in the morning amid the silence of the mountains and sees all around the snow-capped peaks--it is majestic, sensational, something frightening--one feels alone, alone, alone in the world but for the presence of God. For I can assure you that God is there. We all felt it, inside ourselves, and not because we were the kind of pious youths who are always praying all day long, even though we had a religious education. Not at all. But there one feels the presence of God. One feels, above all, what is called the hand of God, and allows oneself to be guided by it...And when the moment came when we did not have any more food, or anything of that kind, we thought to ourselves that if Jesus at His last supper had shared His flesh and blood with His apostles, then it was a sign to us that we should do the same--take the flesh and blood as an intimate communion between us all. It was this that helped us to survive, and now we do not want this--which was something intimate, intimate--to be hackneyed or touched or anything like that...."
Alive is much much more then a survival story. It is a glimpse of courage and faith in the midst of death, fear, and hopelessness.
Over the next 70 days, the remaining survivors battled cold, avalanches, injury, fear and hunger. To survive, they prayed - alot. They devised plans for capturing water. They made forays into the vast white bleak landscape to search for supplies and a way out. They became makeshift doctors and surgeons and helped the wounded. They waited for rescue to come from the outside. And to fight off starvation, they ate their dead.
The story of the 16 remaining Andes survivors makes for riveting reading. The first time I read this book I was in my early 20s myself, and I remember the cannibalism being the overriding memory I took away from this book. Now I'm older, and it's not the cannibalism that captures my attention, but how these very young men kept their sanity, faith and courage in the face of unimaginable horrors. Of their cannibalism, they are unapologetic (which is as it should be). However, they didn't take what they did to survive lightly, and one of the survivors says it best:
"When one awakes in the morning amid the silence of the mountains and sees all around the snow-capped peaks--it is majestic, sensational, something frightening--one feels alone, alone, alone in the world but for the presence of God. For I can assure you that God is there. We all felt it, inside ourselves, and not because we were the kind of pious youths who are always praying all day long, even though we had a religious education. Not at all. But there one feels the presence of God. One feels, above all, what is called the hand of God, and allows oneself to be guided by it...And when the moment came when we did not have any more food, or anything of that kind, we thought to ourselves that if Jesus at His last supper had shared His flesh and blood with His apostles, then it was a sign to us that we should do the same--take the flesh and blood as an intimate communion between us all. It was this that helped us to survive, and now we do not want this--which was something intimate, intimate--to be hackneyed or touched or anything like that...."
Alive is much much more then a survival story. It is a glimpse of courage and faith in the midst of death, fear, and hopelessness.
July 1, 2011
Not gonna lie--I read this book because I wanted to read about how they ate the people. That is what hooked everyone to this story, isn't it? I saw the movie to see how they ate the people. It's what everyone remembers and why we remember the Donner party all these years later. Dude, they ATE THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!
In the book, they had already eaten the first people by about page 70; the book is hundreds of pages longer. Huh, I thought. What are they going to talk about for the rest of the book?
What they talk about are the other aspects of survival and it is a very compelling read. There was an avalanche shortly after the initial crash, there are a couple of treks to find the tail and to see who is hardy enough to attempt a walk for help. There are deaths and fights and camaraderie and heartbreaks and survival and yes, they eat the people.
This of course begs the question of how far any of us would go to survive. Would I be able to take a piece of glass and cut the flesh off of a recently dead human being? I don't think there is any way to answer that without actually being in that situation which, God willing, I never will be. And speaking of God, the boys' faith in God is awe inspiring. I sometimes snap at God when I get caught in traffic and these boys were faithful throughout (although they, understandably, questioned why some lived while others died). I will have to remember this story next time I get snappy.
The only reason that I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I found the parts describing the parents' efforts to find the boys rather dull. I don't know if I just anxious to get back onto the mountain with the boys, but I found myself skimming those parts. I will say though that the reunions with the families were just amazing...I can't imagine what the families went through and how full of awe they were to see their sons again.
One other thing I would have liked is to some sort of follow up to tell me what the rest of their lives turned out like, especially the older man who had the 4 kids and the boy whose sister and mother died in the crash (or shortly thereafter). Nevertheless, this was a compelling read...I would suggest reading it in the summer though because parts of it made me feel kinda chilly!!
In the book, they had already eaten the first people by about page 70; the book is hundreds of pages longer. Huh, I thought. What are they going to talk about for the rest of the book?
What they talk about are the other aspects of survival and it is a very compelling read. There was an avalanche shortly after the initial crash, there are a couple of treks to find the tail and to see who is hardy enough to attempt a walk for help. There are deaths and fights and camaraderie and heartbreaks and survival and yes, they eat the people.
This of course begs the question of how far any of us would go to survive. Would I be able to take a piece of glass and cut the flesh off of a recently dead human being? I don't think there is any way to answer that without actually being in that situation which, God willing, I never will be. And speaking of God, the boys' faith in God is awe inspiring. I sometimes snap at God when I get caught in traffic and these boys were faithful throughout (although they, understandably, questioned why some lived while others died). I will have to remember this story next time I get snappy.
The only reason that I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I found the parts describing the parents' efforts to find the boys rather dull. I don't know if I just anxious to get back onto the mountain with the boys, but I found myself skimming those parts. I will say though that the reunions with the families were just amazing...I can't imagine what the families went through and how full of awe they were to see their sons again.
One other thing I would have liked is to some sort of follow up to tell me what the rest of their lives turned out like, especially the older man who had the 4 kids and the boy whose sister and mother died in the crash (or shortly thereafter). Nevertheless, this was a compelling read...I would suggest reading it in the summer though because parts of it made me feel kinda chilly!!
November 13, 2023
Many moons ago, when I became absolutely obsessed with hiking and mountaineering, I went to the second-hand book store and picked up old copies of Into Thin Air, High Adventure, and this book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. There is nothing quite like the persistence of human achievement, and these stories speak to my adventurous soul. I’m not quite sure why this book sat and collected dust for so long. Maybe it’s because I knew Sir Edmund and Jon had the supplies necessary to aid them in their frigid endeavors, whereas the unfortunate souls traveling on the Fairchild for Chile were terribly unprepared for their fate, which made it much more difficult to begin. Either way, this was a grim book filled with dismay, fear, and anguish, but I was not ready for the impact it would leave once the final page was turned.
** I like to be extremely vague when writing these reviews, but I feel particularly strongly about this story so I think I will add quite a bit of detail concerning the content. Please skip if you: 1.) Intend to go into this harrowing story knowing nothing; or 2.) Are squeamish. This book contains some grisly content. **
If you are not familiar with the story, it’s a non-fiction book about a Uruguayan rugby team that chartered a plane from Montevideo to Santiago. The Fairchild F-227 aircraft with the 40 passengers aboard crashed in the Andes mountains, leaving very few alive to try to survive in the frigid temperatures. For the reader, it places you in the minds of those left to survive, and you can only begin to guess the horror of how it affected them both mentally and physically.
With the help of numerous interviews, the author was able to provide a detailed account of the events that took place over the course of those few weeks along the icy mountainside. It became apparent very quickly that if the survivors were to be located, they would need to attempt to signal for assistance. Using fabric from the plane, those who were not severely hurt in the crash built a cross in the snow, while others tore up cushions to fashion crude snowshoes and gathered up clothes from those who had passed on so they could survive the fridged temperatures. Most of the passengers were farmers and athletes, but there were a few who had some basic medical training. The injuries some of the crew sustained from the crash were just heartbreaking to read about. Boils formed, organs protruded through the body, and some had frostbitten appendages. This crew suffered a lot, but they also summoned the courage to survive by telling stories about food, leading a daily prayer service, and messaging each other’s legs as they slept to keep the blood flowing. It is so incredibly hard to imagine the mindset it would take to persevere under these conditions. But just like in our world today, as long as we, as a collective, put our minds to something, anything and everything can be accomplished and overcome—even when all hope is lost.
One of the most heartbreaking aspects transpires as the group starts to run out of food. They ration a bit of chocolate after a few days, but once that dwindles, they look to their fellow passengers as sustenance. Most are completely against the idea because of their religious morals, but as time goes on, they come to the collective decision that the soul has left the body, and if Jesus gave up his body and blood for the people so that they all may live, these frozen bodies would help give them a chance for survival. The details are ultimately soul-crushing, but their fellow passengers who passed on helped a few of them survive in the end.
|| "You can make it tough God, but do not make it impossible."
Once the food is sorted, the survivors attempt to create a sort of work hierarchy. This is the point where you get more insight into their families, politics, opposing views, and backgrounds. A few write letters to be found if they do not make it, while others stare into the stars at night, knowing that a loved one is doing the same. It helps make them feel more attached and boosts their mental state. A game plan is formed, and from here on out, expeditions are planned to see if they can summit the mountain and look for a path for rescue.
A tale of two: What’s interesting is that you get quite a bit of story involving those looking for their loved ones on the other side of the mountains. The families turn to anything to help gain reprieve. They pray, concoct ideas about a plane hi-jack, and even hire clairvoyant mediums who give them locations on a map. There were desperate to come up with anything to help find them.
Eventually, an airplane and helicopter are sent out to try and locate them one last time, and that’s where I’ll leave it.
|| "I’m going to chew up the Andes. Search foot by foot until I find the boys.”
I do have a few nitpicks towards the end. The last 50 pages seemed a bit rushed and had a few too many jumbled sequences, which made it sort of hard to process. The media aftermath touched on because it had some important moments and messages, but I would have liked it to be more structured like the rest of the book, but this is just a personal preference.
The writing is done with sensitivity and compassion, even though the subject matter is quite disheartening. However, if you do plan to read it, I would suggest taking breaks. I feel like I only touched on the misfortune and struggles the crew had, but it is heartening to know that some of the brave ones returned home to be with their loved ones.
🎵| Soundtrack |🎵
❖ James Newton Howard – Finding the Tail
❖ James Newton Howard – Home
❖ James Newton Howard – The Final Climb
⭐ | Rating | ⭐
❖ 4 out of 5 ❖
** I like to be extremely vague when writing these reviews, but I feel particularly strongly about this story so I think I will add quite a bit of detail concerning the content. Please skip if you: 1.) Intend to go into this harrowing story knowing nothing; or 2.) Are squeamish. This book contains some grisly content. **
If you are not familiar with the story, it’s a non-fiction book about a Uruguayan rugby team that chartered a plane from Montevideo to Santiago. The Fairchild F-227 aircraft with the 40 passengers aboard crashed in the Andes mountains, leaving very few alive to try to survive in the frigid temperatures. For the reader, it places you in the minds of those left to survive, and you can only begin to guess the horror of how it affected them both mentally and physically.
With the help of numerous interviews, the author was able to provide a detailed account of the events that took place over the course of those few weeks along the icy mountainside. It became apparent very quickly that if the survivors were to be located, they would need to attempt to signal for assistance. Using fabric from the plane, those who were not severely hurt in the crash built a cross in the snow, while others tore up cushions to fashion crude snowshoes and gathered up clothes from those who had passed on so they could survive the fridged temperatures. Most of the passengers were farmers and athletes, but there were a few who had some basic medical training. The injuries some of the crew sustained from the crash were just heartbreaking to read about. Boils formed, organs protruded through the body, and some had frostbitten appendages. This crew suffered a lot, but they also summoned the courage to survive by telling stories about food, leading a daily prayer service, and messaging each other’s legs as they slept to keep the blood flowing. It is so incredibly hard to imagine the mindset it would take to persevere under these conditions. But just like in our world today, as long as we, as a collective, put our minds to something, anything and everything can be accomplished and overcome—even when all hope is lost.
One of the most heartbreaking aspects transpires as the group starts to run out of food. They ration a bit of chocolate after a few days, but once that dwindles, they look to their fellow passengers as sustenance. Most are completely against the idea because of their religious morals, but as time goes on, they come to the collective decision that the soul has left the body, and if Jesus gave up his body and blood for the people so that they all may live, these frozen bodies would help give them a chance for survival. The details are ultimately soul-crushing, but their fellow passengers who passed on helped a few of them survive in the end.
|| "You can make it tough God, but do not make it impossible."
Once the food is sorted, the survivors attempt to create a sort of work hierarchy. This is the point where you get more insight into their families, politics, opposing views, and backgrounds. A few write letters to be found if they do not make it, while others stare into the stars at night, knowing that a loved one is doing the same. It helps make them feel more attached and boosts their mental state. A game plan is formed, and from here on out, expeditions are planned to see if they can summit the mountain and look for a path for rescue.
A tale of two: What’s interesting is that you get quite a bit of story involving those looking for their loved ones on the other side of the mountains. The families turn to anything to help gain reprieve. They pray, concoct ideas about a plane hi-jack, and even hire clairvoyant mediums who give them locations on a map. There were desperate to come up with anything to help find them.
Eventually, an airplane and helicopter are sent out to try and locate them one last time, and that’s where I’ll leave it.
|| "I’m going to chew up the Andes. Search foot by foot until I find the boys.”
I do have a few nitpicks towards the end. The last 50 pages seemed a bit rushed and had a few too many jumbled sequences, which made it sort of hard to process. The media aftermath touched on because it had some important moments and messages, but I would have liked it to be more structured like the rest of the book, but this is just a personal preference.
The writing is done with sensitivity and compassion, even though the subject matter is quite disheartening. However, if you do plan to read it, I would suggest taking breaks. I feel like I only touched on the misfortune and struggles the crew had, but it is heartening to know that some of the brave ones returned home to be with their loved ones.
🎵| Soundtrack |🎵
❖ James Newton Howard – Finding the Tail
❖ James Newton Howard – Home
❖ James Newton Howard – The Final Climb
⭐ | Rating | ⭐
❖ 4 out of 5 ❖
Read
April 28, 2020No rating. I just couldn't..I did try though.
If I could speak to the book, I would say "It's not you, it's me".
Some things are to dark for even me.
If I could speak to the book, I would say "It's not you, it's me".
Some things are to dark for even me.
October 10, 2020
Este libro lo leí hace muchos años, pero me dejó anonadado. Imprescindible.
September 2, 2021
INCREIBLE!! Tremenda historia de supervivencia en uno de los lugares mas hostiles del planeta, los Andes a mas de 3000 m, sin apenas comida.
La historia de estos, casi todos estudiante,s me ha conmovido y emocionado cuando al final logran rescatar a unos cuantos, 16 concretamente de los 45 que iban en el avión.
Es una historia como he dicho de supervivencia, superación, compañerismo, fé, imaginación, aprovechamiento de los recursos que tenían, en fin, que es casi un milagro que sobrevivieran tantos dias, 71 DIAS!!!, en los Andes.
Nadie les daba por vivos, solamente algunos de sus padres, que querian recuperar, aunque fueran sus cuerpos,con un lucha incansable moviendo cielo y tierra, para poder encontrarlos.
# 17. Un libro basado en hecho reales. Reto literario 2021.
La historia de estos, casi todos estudiante,s me ha conmovido y emocionado cuando al final logran rescatar a unos cuantos, 16 concretamente de los 45 que iban en el avión.
Es una historia como he dicho de supervivencia, superación, compañerismo, fé, imaginación, aprovechamiento de los recursos que tenían, en fin, que es casi un milagro que sobrevivieran tantos dias, 71 DIAS!!!, en los Andes.
Nadie les daba por vivos, solamente algunos de sus padres, que querian recuperar, aunque fueran sus cuerpos,con un lucha incansable moviendo cielo y tierra, para poder encontrarlos.
# 17. Un libro basado en hecho reales. Reto literario 2021.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2022
I read this book over 3 months ago and just couldn't review it. It was that horrifying. It just felt to me as though I should not be reading this personal story of the survivors in the Andes mountains. And at times, it felt as though I was standing by, just watching. I felt, too, that this book should not have been written. Again, the reason being is that this was too private of an affair for the young boys had Turn to cannibalism in order to survive.
When I had heard of this book, I thought that it was a survival book, that the plane had crashed and everyone had survived and walked out of the Andes mountains, a perfect adventure for me.
When the plane crashed in the snows of the Andes, people were blown out of the plane. The boys who had survived listened to the cries of those who were dying. I listened too. And then 1 day they ran out of food and They were not sure what to do. 1 survivor suggested they eat the bodies of those who had died for they had been frozen in the snow.
This was very horrifying for the boys, to imagine eating their friends. Then a boy, a catholic, thought of a ritual. Before each meal, it was decided to Tell the Beads. They would think of these bodies as the blood and body of Christ.
When I had heard of this book, I thought that it was a survival book, that the plane had crashed and everyone had survived and walked out of the Andes mountains, a perfect adventure for me.
When the plane crashed in the snows of the Andes, people were blown out of the plane. The boys who had survived listened to the cries of those who were dying. I listened too. And then 1 day they ran out of food and They were not sure what to do. 1 survivor suggested they eat the bodies of those who had died for they had been frozen in the snow.
This was very horrifying for the boys, to imagine eating their friends. Then a boy, a catholic, thought of a ritual. Before each meal, it was decided to Tell the Beads. They would think of these bodies as the blood and body of Christ.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2021
SPANISH & ENGLISH!!!
Qué historia tan más asombrosa e increíble. Creo que todos hemos escuchado sobre el accidente aéreo en los Andes en octubre de 1972 y de cómo algunos pasajeros lograron sobrevivir recurriendo al canibalismo. Y este libro es una reconstrucción detallada de lo sucedido y basada en extensas entrevistas con los sobrevivientes. A mí francamente no me cabe en la cabeza cómo esos chicos lograron sobreponerse a tanto sufrimiento, miedo, dolor y adversidad; de verdad fue una proeza sin igual.
Es sumamente interesante la dinámica que surgió entre los sobrevivientes y cómo cada uno va asumiendo su rol para contribuir a la supervivencia de todos; no faltaron por supuesto las riñas y rencillas, pero en general dominó la solidaridad, la fe inquebrantable y los deseos de volver con vida al seno familiar. Y bueno, cuando deciden comerse los cadáveres de sus amigos es realmente espeluznante, sobrecogedor, si bien es completamente comprensible dada la situación tan extrema en que se encontraban.
Otra cosa que me gustó es que en capítulos alternos vamos viendo simultanéamente los esfuerzos inagotables de los padres por encontrar a sus hijos aun después de que cesa la búsqueda oficial. Desgraciadamente todos esos esfuerzos fueron en vano y los chicos se salvaron porque decidieron que los más fuertes cruzarían las montañas hasta encontrar ayuda, y así lo hicieron. La salida de ahí fue verdaderamente épica, una hazaña sobrehumana.
Esta es una de las historias de la vida real más impresionantes e impactantes que he leído en toda mi vida. Para mí, es prueba fehaciente de la inmensidad de la fortaleza humana. Es una historia muy fuerte pero que te deja mucho como lector y como ser humano. Imperdible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What an astonishing and unbelievable story this is. I reckon we all have heard about the airplane accident over the Andes in October 1972 and how some passengers managed to survive by turning to cannibalism. And this book is a detailed reconstruction of all the facts and is based on extensive interviews with the survivors. Frankly I can't get my head around how those young men managed to overcome so much suffering, fear, pain and adversity; it really was a harrowing feat of endurance.
I found very interesting the dynamics that formed amongst the survivors and how each one of them takes on his role to contribute to the survival of the group; of course there were disputes and quarrels, but in general what prevailed was solidarity, unbreakable faith, and the wish to return to their families alive. And well, the moment when they decide to eat the corpses of their friends is obviously eerie and daunting, even though it is completely understandable given the situation so extreme in which they found themselves.
Another thing I liked was that we see in alternate chapters the relentless efforts of the parents to find their children even after the official search was called off. Unfortunately all those efforts were in vain and the boys survived because they came to the conclusion that the strongest among them would have to cross the mountains and find help, and that's exactly what they did. Their getting out of there was truly epic, a superhuman exploit.
This is without a doubt one of the most impressive and haunting true life stories I've ever read. To me it is irrefutable proof of the immensity of human willpower and resilience. It's a very powerful book that gives you a lot as a reader and as a human being. Unmissable.
Qué historia tan más asombrosa e increíble. Creo que todos hemos escuchado sobre el accidente aéreo en los Andes en octubre de 1972 y de cómo algunos pasajeros lograron sobrevivir recurriendo al canibalismo. Y este libro es una reconstrucción detallada de lo sucedido y basada en extensas entrevistas con los sobrevivientes. A mí francamente no me cabe en la cabeza cómo esos chicos lograron sobreponerse a tanto sufrimiento, miedo, dolor y adversidad; de verdad fue una proeza sin igual.
Es sumamente interesante la dinámica que surgió entre los sobrevivientes y cómo cada uno va asumiendo su rol para contribuir a la supervivencia de todos; no faltaron por supuesto las riñas y rencillas, pero en general dominó la solidaridad, la fe inquebrantable y los deseos de volver con vida al seno familiar. Y bueno, cuando deciden comerse los cadáveres de sus amigos es realmente espeluznante, sobrecogedor, si bien es completamente comprensible dada la situación tan extrema en que se encontraban.
Otra cosa que me gustó es que en capítulos alternos vamos viendo simultanéamente los esfuerzos inagotables de los padres por encontrar a sus hijos aun después de que cesa la búsqueda oficial. Desgraciadamente todos esos esfuerzos fueron en vano y los chicos se salvaron porque decidieron que los más fuertes cruzarían las montañas hasta encontrar ayuda, y así lo hicieron. La salida de ahí fue verdaderamente épica, una hazaña sobrehumana.
Esta es una de las historias de la vida real más impresionantes e impactantes que he leído en toda mi vida. Para mí, es prueba fehaciente de la inmensidad de la fortaleza humana. Es una historia muy fuerte pero que te deja mucho como lector y como ser humano. Imperdible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What an astonishing and unbelievable story this is. I reckon we all have heard about the airplane accident over the Andes in October 1972 and how some passengers managed to survive by turning to cannibalism. And this book is a detailed reconstruction of all the facts and is based on extensive interviews with the survivors. Frankly I can't get my head around how those young men managed to overcome so much suffering, fear, pain and adversity; it really was a harrowing feat of endurance.
I found very interesting the dynamics that formed amongst the survivors and how each one of them takes on his role to contribute to the survival of the group; of course there were disputes and quarrels, but in general what prevailed was solidarity, unbreakable faith, and the wish to return to their families alive. And well, the moment when they decide to eat the corpses of their friends is obviously eerie and daunting, even though it is completely understandable given the situation so extreme in which they found themselves.
Another thing I liked was that we see in alternate chapters the relentless efforts of the parents to find their children even after the official search was called off. Unfortunately all those efforts were in vain and the boys survived because they came to the conclusion that the strongest among them would have to cross the mountains and find help, and that's exactly what they did. Their getting out of there was truly epic, a superhuman exploit.
This is without a doubt one of the most impressive and haunting true life stories I've ever read. To me it is irrefutable proof of the immensity of human willpower and resilience. It's a very powerful book that gives you a lot as a reader and as a human being. Unmissable.
January 20, 2021
This is the greatest survival story every told. Nothing even comes close to it. Stuck in the Andes for 10 weeks, no food, no winter gear, and no hope for rescue. What these young men did was amazing and beyond comprehension.
I've been on a sort of quest for the ultimate book. The book that will be my go to reread anytime I find myself without another book handy. The book I will recommend to anyone who asks. The book that will make me think about my life and be a better person for having red it. This book is the closest I've come so far. It will be a hard book to beat and I highly recommend it to anyone. It will make you think about your life and contemplate on everything from family, friends, nature, and God.
Lots of reviews talk about the gruesomeness of the cutting up of the bodies but it wasn't bad at all not to descriptive while also not to vague.
Overall amazing book and an unbelievable accomplishment by these young men. How anyone can rate it less then 5 stars is beyond me.
I've been on a sort of quest for the ultimate book. The book that will be my go to reread anytime I find myself without another book handy. The book I will recommend to anyone who asks. The book that will make me think about my life and be a better person for having red it. This book is the closest I've come so far. It will be a hard book to beat and I highly recommend it to anyone. It will make you think about your life and contemplate on everything from family, friends, nature, and God.
Lots of reviews talk about the gruesomeness of the cutting up of the bodies but it wasn't bad at all not to descriptive while also not to vague.
Overall amazing book and an unbelievable accomplishment by these young men. How anyone can rate it less then 5 stars is beyond me.
April 29, 2019
vaya por dios. qué historia tan más fuerte me tocó leer. una gran tragedia ocurrida en 1972 en la coordillera de los Andes. es un libro que te hace sentir todo tipo de emociones desde que ocurre el accidente y todo lo que tienen que hacer para sobrevivir mientras se encuentran atrapados. la superrvivencia humana es fascinante; hay que ver la capacidad que tenemos de llegar hasta las últimas consecuencias para mantenernos con vida, desafiar todo aquello que no imaginamos, vencer prejuicios e ideologías para estar aquí, y sobre todo contar con la suficiente fuerza para superarlo.
Yo y seguro que muchos de nosotros no nos imaginamos por ejemplo, comer carne humana cruda, incluso nos repugna la idea, pero si estuviéramos en una situación como los tripulantes del equipo de rugby no dudaríamos si la desesperación llega a ser tanta. Es sin duda asqueroso, pero mi mamá dice: "el hambre es canija". es un dicho que se dice comúnmente, pero va más allá. es el hambre, la sed, frío, lidiar con la naturaleza propia de las montañas.
fue valiente lo que hizo parrado porque gracias a él pudieron encontrarlos. al mismo tiempo era interesante ver la perspectiva de todos que hacían el intento por enviar rescate para los 16 que quedaron de los 45. 15 partes en las que fuimos viendo todo el panorama.
Sin duda, uno de los libros más crudos que llegué a leer, pero más impacto y mérito tiene saber que fue un hecho real. Paul Piers lo retrató perfectamente desde todos los puntos posibles. si te gustan estos libros, no puedes perdértelo, pero prepárate para este viaje. es probable que no seas el mismo después de leerlo.
Yo y seguro que muchos de nosotros no nos imaginamos por ejemplo, comer carne humana cruda, incluso nos repugna la idea, pero si estuviéramos en una situación como los tripulantes del equipo de rugby no dudaríamos si la desesperación llega a ser tanta. Es sin duda asqueroso, pero mi mamá dice: "el hambre es canija". es un dicho que se dice comúnmente, pero va más allá. es el hambre, la sed, frío, lidiar con la naturaleza propia de las montañas.
fue valiente lo que hizo parrado porque gracias a él pudieron encontrarlos. al mismo tiempo era interesante ver la perspectiva de todos que hacían el intento por enviar rescate para los 16 que quedaron de los 45. 15 partes en las que fuimos viendo todo el panorama.
Sin duda, uno de los libros más crudos que llegué a leer, pero más impacto y mérito tiene saber que fue un hecho real. Paul Piers lo retrató perfectamente desde todos los puntos posibles. si te gustan estos libros, no puedes perdértelo, pero prepárate para este viaje. es probable que no seas el mismo después de leerlo.
January 16, 2022
I enjoyed it very much although real life survival stories are not my usual thing.
December 21, 2017
I was a little obsessed with the movie Survive!, the first version of this story when I was a young girl while my younger brother was appalled. I’ve also seen documentaries and the newer version of the movie Alive in the 90s. Now, finally I've read the book! I'm glad I did! What a shocking story of survival, courage, endurance, and spirituality. This book is tragic but uplifting in many ways as ".... the ordeal in the mountain had changed their attitude towards life...left only with what they truly cared for, their families, their novias, their faith in God, and their homeland."
July 8, 2015
Haunting, haunting book. I read this too long ago to give a proper review but the account itself has stayed with me for years. Amazing story of survival against incredible odds. Not for the faint hearted but truly gripping.
CONTENT WARNING:
Some strong language and traumatic events. (And by that I mean, plane crash, avalanche, death and cannibalism)
CONTENT WARNING:
Some strong language and traumatic events. (And by that I mean, plane crash, avalanche, death and cannibalism)
January 8, 2024
No sé cuantas veces he leído este libro pero mínimo cinco o seis y ahora, con la llegada de La sociedad de la nieve, pues quería comparar un poco (sé que no son comparables, keep calm).
He ido combinando ambos libros para tener una visión más amplia de lo que ocurrió en los Andes: la que narra los hechos de una forma más objetiva y las voces de los que sobrevivieron que, por supuesto, no son objetivas y nadie pide que lo sean porque entiendo que cada uno vivió lo suyo y lo interiorizó de una forma distinta. Quizá es por eso que, en realidad, prefiero el relato de Piers Paul Read aunque los supervivientes crean que no captó del todo lo que sintieron en los Andes.
Quizá es porque cuando, se trata de un relato de un hecho real, yo prefiero los hechos descarnados y directos, sin florituras ni discursos espirituales, quiero lo bueno y lo malo y lo peor y lo quiero narrado desde una voz lo más distante posible. Esto es solo mi opinión y mis preferencias, claro, pero Viven cumple con todo eso y precisamente por ese motivo creo que es un libro sobresaliente en todos los sentidos: no solo por lo que cuenta si no por como lo cuenta. Y sin caer en el amarillismo.
Seguro que en unos años lo volveré a releer.
He ido combinando ambos libros para tener una visión más amplia de lo que ocurrió en los Andes: la que narra los hechos de una forma más objetiva y las voces de los que sobrevivieron que, por supuesto, no son objetivas y nadie pide que lo sean porque entiendo que cada uno vivió lo suyo y lo interiorizó de una forma distinta. Quizá es por eso que, en realidad, prefiero el relato de Piers Paul Read aunque los supervivientes crean que no captó del todo lo que sintieron en los Andes.
Quizá es porque cuando, se trata de un relato de un hecho real, yo prefiero los hechos descarnados y directos, sin florituras ni discursos espirituales, quiero lo bueno y lo malo y lo peor y lo quiero narrado desde una voz lo más distante posible. Esto es solo mi opinión y mis preferencias, claro, pero Viven cumple con todo eso y precisamente por ese motivo creo que es un libro sobresaliente en todos los sentidos: no solo por lo que cuenta si no por como lo cuenta. Y sin caer en el amarillismo.
Seguro que en unos años lo volveré a releer.
March 7, 2009
In 1972, a plane carrying members of the Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes Mountains. The survivors endured tremendous hardships before realizing that the search for their plane had been suspended. The amazing story that follows is truly miraculous. This unforgettable book reads like a novel, and you have to keep reminding yourself that it actually happened.
January 2, 2015
If you could read just 10 books in rest of your life,this book is worthy of being one of them!
This is a book based on reality that shook the conscience of the world in 1970s and even after almost 40 years past the incident,the book makes such a compelling reading!
A football team hires a chartered Plane to play a friendly match across the Andes,due to co-piolt's mistake the plane crashes and our story begins,
how they managed to survive is one of the all time great stories of them all!
They don't have enough food for 72 days obviously,what will they do to survive?
Of course our primary instinct as mammals is to survive and the fans and football players alike face this dilemma,
before you judge them for what they did to survive,just ask yourself,what would you do if you were facing the same situation?It's such a controversial question and topic but for anyone who loves reality based or mountain hiking adventure type of books,this is a must read..
I didn't write much coz in case you haven't read/heard about this real life story,I don't want to give away spoilers,but I guarantee you,you won't be able to keep this book away,you wont be able to put this book down once you start!
Once you start you won't stop and that's the bottom line coz Stone Cold said so(Uhh okay,Jenny Jacobs said so!),
55555555555555555 out of 5 stars:)
This is a book based on reality that shook the conscience of the world in 1970s and even after almost 40 years past the incident,the book makes such a compelling reading!
A football team hires a chartered Plane to play a friendly match across the Andes,due to co-piolt's mistake the plane crashes and our story begins,
how they managed to survive is one of the all time great stories of them all!
They don't have enough food for 72 days obviously,what will they do to survive?
Of course our primary instinct as mammals is to survive and the fans and football players alike face this dilemma,
before you judge them for what they did to survive,just ask yourself,what would you do if you were facing the same situation?It's such a controversial question and topic but for anyone who loves reality based or mountain hiking adventure type of books,this is a must read..
I didn't write much coz in case you haven't read/heard about this real life story,I don't want to give away spoilers,but I guarantee you,you won't be able to keep this book away,you wont be able to put this book down once you start!
Once you start you won't stop and that's the bottom line coz Stone Cold said so(Uhh okay,Jenny Jacobs said so!),
55555555555555555 out of 5 stars:)
January 17, 2013
I purchased this book looking for the facts and an account of the Fairchild Andes crash. What I got was an account, religiously biased, lacking certain facts when needed.
Most of the passengers on the plane were related by being part of or supporting the football team of a religious institution. So of course prayer and the talk of miracles would turn up. But when selecting a writing to tell the story they selected a fellow catholic.
I do not believe the author intentionally hid any facts, however where there should have been an exploration of the caloric intake of the survivors and a thorough discussion on geographic locations of the wreckage and that of the attempted rescue, there was a bit too much page space given over to discussion on how religion helped the survivors.
The facts that I was after I found on wikipedia.
One piece that was especially gratiing was that of the end justification of the use of psychics.
I would only recommend this book to a reader who was intensely interested in the events and who was christian. Anyone else, look for a more non-biased account of events.
Most of the passengers on the plane were related by being part of or supporting the football team of a religious institution. So of course prayer and the talk of miracles would turn up. But when selecting a writing to tell the story they selected a fellow catholic.
I do not believe the author intentionally hid any facts, however where there should have been an exploration of the caloric intake of the survivors and a thorough discussion on geographic locations of the wreckage and that of the attempted rescue, there was a bit too much page space given over to discussion on how religion helped the survivors.
The facts that I was after I found on wikipedia.
One piece that was especially gratiing was that of the end justification of the use of psychics.
I would only recommend this book to a reader who was intensely interested in the events and who was christian. Anyone else, look for a more non-biased account of events.
December 13, 2010
The story itself is rather astounding - after a plane crash high in the Andes, which killed most on board (and a subsequent avalanche which killed more), the remaining survivors lived for ten weeks on melted snow, human flesh and organs of the deceased (and bone marrow and even intestinal contents, squeezed out) and almost certainly would have died had not two of them climbed out of the Andes and found a neighboring valley and other humans, a trip which itself took ten days. Read competed with other, more well known writers, including Gay Talese, for the story; he thinks his youth, his Englishness, and above all his Roman Catholic faith was what got him the job. (Most of the survivors were deeply Catholic and had overcome their resistance to anthropophagy by comparing it to the sacrament of Communion.) There are fascinating details sprinkled throughout, such as what such a diet will do to you (a bad combination of severe constipation and diarrhea), and the survivors wondering whether they ought to hide the partly eaten human remains scattered around the crash site so that their rescuers wouldn't think badly of them. The eventual contact with outside human life and rescuers is quite moving; several of the survivors were so overjoyed at seeing plant life that they began eating flowers and grass. Still, the writing lacks some of the verve of other adventure stories like The Perfect Storm and Into Thin Air.
November 11, 2018
Famous story of the Uruguayan rugby team that survived ten weeks in the Andes, largely because they ate the dead passengers.
This is not a subtle book, nor does it bother with nuance. It's a fast, vivid, and compelling read. It shows its age mostly in its sexism. Women are nurturing and irrational and must be humored and coddled; men are brave and active, and when they're irrational, they know better; probably it's part of this same gender definition that Read always refers to the survivors as "boys," even though the youngest of them was 19, this giving them room to be irrational and weak without compromising their manhood. In a book with more nuance, there might have been some discussion about gender performance and the fulcrum between the young men's athleticism ("manly" and active) and their religious beliefs (irrational and emotional and therefore "feminine," and the only locus where it was acceptable in the microculture of the survivors to show weakness), but this is not that book. Since all of the survivors frame their experience as a religious one, and since Read says the thing he had in common with them was their Roman Catholic beliefs, this is really not a book that's going to pick apart the survivors' practice and experience of religion--even if it were a book that had that kind of intellectual apparatus at all.
This is not a subtle book, nor does it bother with nuance. It's a fast, vivid, and compelling read. It shows its age mostly in its sexism. Women are nurturing and irrational and must be humored and coddled; men are brave and active, and when they're irrational, they know better; probably it's part of this same gender definition that Read always refers to the survivors as "boys," even though the youngest of them was 19, this giving them room to be irrational and weak without compromising their manhood. In a book with more nuance, there might have been some discussion about gender performance and the fulcrum between the young men's athleticism ("manly" and active) and their religious beliefs (irrational and emotional and therefore "feminine," and the only locus where it was acceptable in the microculture of the survivors to show weakness), but this is not that book. Since all of the survivors frame their experience as a religious one, and since Read says the thing he had in common with them was their Roman Catholic beliefs, this is really not a book that's going to pick apart the survivors' practice and experience of religion--even if it were a book that had that kind of intellectual apparatus at all.
January 24, 2013
I read this when it first came out in PB, so many years ago, mid-70's. I'd give it 5 stars because I still remember it so clearly, but I never wanted to re-read it. It was well done, but pretty gruesome. Stranded for 10 weeks with not much else to eat but dead passengers (some of them team mates) injured, & cold. They tried a number of things, but finally 2 of them managed to walk out & get help. It's one of the most incredible stories of survival I've ever read.
I wondered what happened to the kids afterward. One of them, Nando Parrado, wrote Miracle in The Andes. I wonder if it sheds more light on what the rest did. I'm not really sure I want to know. That experience had to scar many of them badly. I hope the press was a bit easier on them in those days. Likely not...
There's a pretty good summary on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_And...
I wondered what happened to the kids afterward. One of them, Nando Parrado, wrote Miracle in The Andes. I wonder if it sheds more light on what the rest did. I'm not really sure I want to know. That experience had to scar many of them badly. I hope the press was a bit easier on them in those days. Likely not...
There's a pretty good summary on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_And...
January 24, 2024
I’m not sure why I love this book so dearly. I know the prose isn’t spectacular, and I know that I’m a sucker for adventure stories - but I honestly think this story has more heart than do most. I dunno; maybe I’m wrong, and maybe this book isn’t well-written, and maybe I’ve just fallen for a story so incredible it’s nigh unbelievable - but this book has always stayed with me as a helluva tale well told.
Read
January 9, 2024Quiero que mis amigos me coman si alguna vez terminamos en una situación de vida o muerte y despues le cuenten al mundo que estaba riquisima
January 1, 2024
This dragged on a LOT.
I had seen the movie and should have known the book would move quite slow too.
I think this could have been a lot better if there had been a giant edit cutting more pages.
Sooo many unnecessary pages, likely 150 could have been cut and the book would have been better for it.
I had seen the movie and should have known the book would move quite slow too.
I think this could have been a lot better if there had been a giant edit cutting more pages.
Sooo many unnecessary pages, likely 150 could have been cut and the book would have been better for it.
March 21, 2022
Surprisingly unemotional account of the tragedy of the Uruguayan soccer team that crashed in the Andes in 1972.
The number one issue that comes to mine if you know the story is the cannibalism. The book goes into failrly graphic detail of the dynamics of what the survivors did, but it also goes into the intense discussion and self-revelation they went through in deciding to eat their friends and family as well as the fallout when they got home. Cannibalism is such a taboo subject that just writing the words is difficult without feeling macabre or downright silly.
The fact that the majority of the group were fairly devout Catholics was a mainstay in their physical and emotional survival, and eating the flesh of the others was seen as more than necessary but almost as if it was a sacrifice that any of them would have made for the other.
The author adds at the end that the survivors were disappointed with how little Read emphasized their spirituality and connection to God.
Hate to say this, but the delivery of the story didn’t work for me. Seeing the movieAlive reasonates more because you see how young these men were and the constant struggle to survive and keep their humanity. Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa's hike for their lives is an incredible feat by itself.
The number one issue that comes to mine if you know the story is the cannibalism. The book goes into failrly graphic detail of the dynamics of what the survivors did, but it also goes into the intense discussion and self-revelation they went through in deciding to eat their friends and family as well as the fallout when they got home. Cannibalism is such a taboo subject that just writing the words is difficult without feeling macabre or downright silly.
The fact that the majority of the group were fairly devout Catholics was a mainstay in their physical and emotional survival, and eating the flesh of the others was seen as more than necessary but almost as if it was a sacrifice that any of them would have made for the other.
The author adds at the end that the survivors were disappointed with how little Read emphasized their spirituality and connection to God.
Hate to say this, but the delivery of the story didn’t work for me. Seeing the movieAlive reasonates more because you see how young these men were and the constant struggle to survive and keep their humanity. Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa's hike for their lives is an incredible feat by itself.
April 29, 2022
A harrowing and inspiring read, though sometimes I had trouble keeping the cast straight.
January 4, 2024
In 1972 a team of Uruguayan rugby players headed toward Chile crashed into a remote region in the Andes. Out of 40 players, many people lost their lives in the crash. Several others died agonized and drawn deaths of internal injuries. Poverty stricken Chile canceled their search after ten days. A couple of weeks after the crash, an avalanche buried the remaining survivors as they slept. Only one survivor managed to lift his hand up before the snow covered him and he managed to save many of the other survivors. Some additional survivors died as a result of the avalanche. Eventually, two of the most physically and mentally fit climbed a 13,500 foot mountain and climbed down the other side to get help for the survivors. 16 people survived the crash.
This book has been sitting on my shelf for many years and I think I put it off because it was written in the 1970s and I didn’t know if I’d like the writing style. This is one of my few pulp paperbacks on my shelf, which I don’t prefer to read. Also, I’m not geared to picking up nonfiction over fiction. I’m sorry it took me so long to read because it was compulsively readable.
This book has been sitting on my shelf for many years and I think I put it off because it was written in the 1970s and I didn’t know if I’d like the writing style. This is one of my few pulp paperbacks on my shelf, which I don’t prefer to read. Also, I’m not geared to picking up nonfiction over fiction. I’m sorry it took me so long to read because it was compulsively readable.
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