Gary T. reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Once started, this is difficult book to put down. At certain points I found myself pausing to look into the distance to ponder the incredible struggle for survival that these people went through. I can't help but wonder what I would have done in these life trying circumstances. Nando Parrado tells his story with clarity and full honesty about himself those who suffered with him. The story conveys the importance of nevering giving up, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Corey B. (coreyann) reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 34 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I had never heard of the story of the rugby players that survived in the Andes, despite all odds, for 70 days until the movie came out in the 90's. For some reason I was fascinated with the story and convinced my friends to go with me and see the movie on opening night. The movie was so crowded that we had to sit in the aisle of the theater because there were no more seats left. For the next 2 hours though, I was transfixed and amazed at the story being told on the screen and when I got home I still could not wrap my mind around the fact that the story was true.
Shortly after, I found and read Alive by Piers Paul Read and was more impressed with their story than I was after the movie. How these men survived was even more unimaginable after reading the book. The movie made things seem like they happened in minutes, days when in reality it was hours and weeks. I had no idea how long it took Canessa and Nando to reach the valley and what they really had to endure to get there. Even still, in Alive everything still wasn't fully hashed.
Miracle in the Andes is an astonishing book. I read it in just over a day - it would have been done in less than one but New Years Eve isn't a day typically to sit and read an entire novel.
Nando's story has been heard before, but never in this detail. In the previous telling of their tale, one had to use a little imagination to put themselves into the minds of the men. In this novel, there is no imagination needed, you simply are there. You are Nando, holding your beloved sister as she slowly slips away before you. You are the man that almost dies in an avalanche. You are the man that conquered a mountain, to despair at the sight at the summit and you are the man that finally found salvation by way of a farmer in the middle of nowhere. The story itself is gripping and intense, even with the most rudimentary writing, the story would have power. However, the writing in this novel is far beyond rudimentary and the story literally explodes off the pages.
In the end, this story is about how an ordinary man was able to go to extraordinary lengths with the simple power of love.
Shortly after, I found and read Alive by Piers Paul Read and was more impressed with their story than I was after the movie. How these men survived was even more unimaginable after reading the book. The movie made things seem like they happened in minutes, days when in reality it was hours and weeks. I had no idea how long it took Canessa and Nando to reach the valley and what they really had to endure to get there. Even still, in Alive everything still wasn't fully hashed.
Miracle in the Andes is an astonishing book. I read it in just over a day - it would have been done in less than one but New Years Eve isn't a day typically to sit and read an entire novel.
Nando's story has been heard before, but never in this detail. In the previous telling of their tale, one had to use a little imagination to put themselves into the minds of the men. In this novel, there is no imagination needed, you simply are there. You are Nando, holding your beloved sister as she slowly slips away before you. You are the man that almost dies in an avalanche. You are the man that conquered a mountain, to despair at the sight at the summit and you are the man that finally found salvation by way of a farmer in the middle of nowhere. The story itself is gripping and intense, even with the most rudimentary writing, the story would have power. However, the writing in this novel is far beyond rudimentary and the story literally explodes off the pages.
In the end, this story is about how an ordinary man was able to go to extraordinary lengths with the simple power of love.
Julie E. reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 213 more book reviews
One of the best books i have read this year. I couldnt put it down. I just loved it!
Patricia K. (keppat) reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 27 more book reviews
This is a remarkable book. I could not put down. This is a true story.
Kate M. (Kinare) reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 6 more book reviews
This is probably the best first-person narrative I've ever read. What a wonderful, inspirational story.
Lorraine F. reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 23 more book reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"In October 1972, a plane carrying an Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes. Not immediately rescued, the survivors turned to cannibalism to survive and after 72 days were saved. Rugby team member Parrado has written a beautiful story of friendship, tragedy and perseverance. High in the Andes, with a fractured skull, eating the flesh of his teammates and friends, Parrado calmly ponders the cruelties of fate, the power of the natural world and the possibility of continued existence. "I would live from moment to moment and from breath to breath, until I had used up all the life I had." Parrado, who for the past 10 years has been giving inspirational talks based on his experiences, lost his mother and sister in the crash. Struggling to stay alive, his guide becomes his beloved father: "each [stride] brought me closer to my father... each step I took was a step stolen back from death." More than a companion to the 1970s bestselling chronicle of the disaster, Alive, this is a fresh, gripping page-turner that will satisfy adventure readers, and a complex reflection on camaraderie, family and love. Photos."
"In October 1972, a plane carrying an Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes. Not immediately rescued, the survivors turned to cannibalism to survive and after 72 days were saved. Rugby team member Parrado has written a beautiful story of friendship, tragedy and perseverance. High in the Andes, with a fractured skull, eating the flesh of his teammates and friends, Parrado calmly ponders the cruelties of fate, the power of the natural world and the possibility of continued existence. "I would live from moment to moment and from breath to breath, until I had used up all the life I had." Parrado, who for the past 10 years has been giving inspirational talks based on his experiences, lost his mother and sister in the crash. Struggling to stay alive, his guide becomes his beloved father: "each [stride] brought me closer to my father... each step I took was a step stolen back from death." More than a companion to the 1970s bestselling chronicle of the disaster, Alive, this is a fresh, gripping page-turner that will satisfy adventure readers, and a complex reflection on camaraderie, family and love. Photos."
Malinda C. (Malindak2) reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on
This book was hard to put down. It was amazing to read the book written by someone who was there and went through it all.
Barbara M. reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 147 more book reviews
It took me several months to read this book. I was in my 20s when the plane crash happened and remembered hearing about the rescue of the survivors and the fact that they resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. The writing in this book is decent. Early in the book, the author spent a lot of time on his background as well as the other folks on the plane. I became impatient that the author was spending so much time on this. I'm not convinced that it was relevant or added that much to the story--at least not the amount of time the author spent on it. So, I set the book aside for a few months. Once I got past that section, the story moved much more quickly.
I've read the reviews here on paperbackswap now that I've finished the book. Some of the readers had read "Alive" by Piers Paul Read prior to "Alive" and stated it was a better book. I haven't read that book but just requested it from a paperbackswap member. Will be interesting to see how it compares to this first-person narrative.
I've read the reviews here on paperbackswap now that I've finished the book. Some of the readers had read "Alive" by Piers Paul Read prior to "Alive" and stated it was a better book. I haven't read that book but just requested it from a paperbackswap member. Will be interesting to see how it compares to this first-person narrative.
Janet D. (Jay-d) reviewed Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home on + 181 more book reviews
A moving story of love and courage- hard to put down.
