Product Description

On October 12, 1972, an Uruguayan Air Force plane carrying a team of rugby players crashed in the remote snowy peaks of the Andes. Ten weeks later, only sixteen of the forty-five passengers were found alive. This is the story of those ten weeks spent in the shelter of the plane's fuselage without food and with scarcely any hope of a rescue. The survivors protected and helped one another, and came to the difficult conclusion that to live meant doing the unimaginable. Confronting nature at its most furious, two brave young men risked their lives to hike through the mountains looking for help -- and ultimately found it.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40452 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-01
• Released on: 2005-07-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 398 pages

-- Philadelphia Inquirer
"A GREAT BOOK ... AN INCREDIBLE SAGA. Read's accomplishment in recording a struggle both physical and spiritual is superb."

-- John Barkham Reviews
"THIS BOOK WILL EXCITE YOU, shock you, at times revolt you, but you are not likely to forget it."

-- Newsweek
"A classic in the literature of survival."

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Customer Reviews

A horrifyingly true story of triumph and tragedy
It's become a bit of trivial fodder: In 1972, a plane carrying a Uraguayan rugby team and their friends crashed in the Andes. They survived there for over 70 days, doing whatever was necessary to survive, sustained on their faith, and the hope that they could one day break beyond the prison of the mountains and reach civilization.

Since the story HAS become a piece of trivia, it's important that we read something that makes us understand the underlying humanity of the situation. To that end, Read's book is almost a necessity. It details day-to-day life in the crashed plane, and attempts of the Uraguayan families to find their missing loved ones.

The great thing about "Alive" is that it chronicles the event in a somewhat detached manner. At first, this might seem odd; after all, such a tragic event is an emotionally-charged topic, especially once you get down to the human element. However, to tell the tale with emotion is to get LOST in the tale. To overcome this, read uses a scientific, detached description of events, which ultimately leads the reader to ponder the horrific reality these people went through. It is a very successful storytelling mode, which only hits a few snags (he insists upon calling cannibalism "anthropophagy," and admits in the introduction that some of the survivors felt the book didn't go into enough detail about the friendship they felt for each other). Also, there is the fact that this book dates back to 1974, only two years after the events; it would be nice to know how the survivors faced the rest of their lives.

Still, the book is thorough, and it's dry, almost dead-pan style is the only real way of describing the events that unfolded, without getting lost within the maze of emotions (actually, the dry delivery almost makes things even more horrible; don't read this book if you are squeamish). "Alive" is a tale of horrific events that tested the limits of humanity. It is a must-read for anyone interested in what being human really means.

Alive
This is a very interesting book. My wife and I were living in Uruguay when this occured and I recall all the anxiety until they were found. Also, recently, our son was in a conference in California where Nando Parrado, one of the survivors, spoke. Nando has also written a book about the crash and survival.
The book Alive is a bit gruesome at points, but realistic about the guys' survival. There was shown a great deal of determination and desire to live on their part.
In general, very good.

A Bit Hard to Read
Once I finally got into the book, this was a good story of survival. The men and women who crashed in the Andes had to overcome horrible situations -- injuries from the crash, an avalanche, and then the lack of food. What they did to survive was admirable, even if some may judge them harshly over their decision to eat the flesh of their dead friends.

That being said, though, the story moves so slowly, and the author's writing style is so staid, that it took me forever to actually feel like I was reading something worthwhile.

A good story, but it's a journey to plod through it.