| Author: |
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Piers Paul Read
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| Title: |
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Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors |
| Moochable copies: |
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No copies available |
| Amazon suggests: |
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| Recommended: |
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| Topics: |
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| Published in: |
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English |
| Binding: |
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Hardcover |
| Pages: |
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352 |
| Date: |
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1974-04 |
| ISBN: |
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039701001X |
| Publisher: |
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Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |
| Weight: |
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1.7 pounds |
| Size: |
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6.2 x 9.3 x 1.7 inches |
| Edition: |
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1st |
Amazon prices: |
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| Description: |
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Product Description
In October 1972 an aircraft carrying a party of Uruguayan rugby players and their friends took off from Argentina to fly over the Andes to Chile. It crashed in the mountains in dense cloud, and some of the 45 passengers were killed. The survivors soon realized, by listening to their transistor radio, that the search party had been called off because nobody could be expected to survive at that altitude in so savage a climate. As the days passed, weakened by starvation and sub-zero temperatures, they had to face the inescapable truth - that, in order to survive, they must eat the flesh of their dead companions. How these young men finally sent out "expeditionaries" to brave the Andean peaks and how, after appalling hardships, they achieved rescue and returned to civilization 72 days after the crash, is recounted in this tale of human courage and triumph. The author is a novelist whose books include "The Free Frenchman" and "On the Third Day".
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| Reviews: |
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selkie (USA: IL) (2007/03/30):
When I first picked this book up, I thought that it would start slow & pick up only after long drawn-out accounts of the background of the people involved. I could not have been more wrong. Rather it moves along quickly, so much that I could hardly put it down, & the characters' lives are gradually revealed as they struggle to cope with their situation, the environment, & each other, as well as their own beliefs & consciences.
Although there are a few grisly details involving the cannibalistic habit, they were forced to adopt, the book as a whole is written in such a matter-of-fact attitudes to spare the reader disturbing mental images.
The book not only dealt with their survival & rescue, but also details the psychological & spiritual effects---something that was drastically understated, if not totally ignored in the movie.
It truly is a "heartbreaking & inspiring work" & one that is well worth reading.
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| URL: |
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http://bookmooch.com/039701001X |
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