About this title: 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 ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First edition. Illustrated.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780380003211ISBN:038000321X
Description: Poor. No dust jacket as issued. 1st avon paperback printing may 1975, pages discolored from age, reading creases on front & back cover as well as spine. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 416 p. Contains: Illustrations. Avon Nonfiction. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover on this edition is different. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 416 p. Contains: Illustrations. Avon Nonfiction. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780380003211ISBN:038000321X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Light edge and corner wear. No marks. Tight binding. Light damage to back cover from sticker removal. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 416 p. Contains: Illustrations. Avon Nonfiction. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780380003211ISBN:038000321X
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Has some wear, spine creased and slanted, writing along edge of pages (doesn't interfere with print) All pages intact and tight. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 416 p. Contains: Illustrations. Avon Nonfiction. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Morrow/Avon, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780380003211ISBN:038000321X
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Cover is creased at spine & worn & chipped at edges. Scuff mark from sticker removal. Pages tanned with no creases, tears or dogears. SYNOPSIS: Illustrated with B&W photos. Their plane crashed high in the Andes. Their only shelter was the plane's shattered fuselage, their only supplies a little wine and some bits of candy. In the beginning, there were thirty-two survivors. Then, only twenty-seven; then nineteen...and, in the end, sixteen. This is their story-a ... read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Morrow/Avon, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780380003211ISBN:038000321X
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Cover is creased at spine & worn edges. Pages tanned with no creases, tears or dogears. SYNOPSIS: Illustrated with B&W photos. Their plane crashed high in the Andes. Their only shelter was the plane's shattered fuselage, their only supplies a little wine and some bits of candy. In the beginning, there were thirty-two survivors. Then, only twenty-seven; then nineteen...and, in the end, sixteen. This is their story-a modern epic of catastrophe and human endurance. read more
"Read this with my hubby, who loves non-fiction adventures. I would caution to any thinking of reading it that a main focus of the book was how they turned to cannibalism in their struggle to survive. If you can stomach the details, you'll probably love this book. It's written in a matter-of-fact style, which I felt gave freedom to receive the detailed stories, conversations and accounts without elaboration. The way they came to know God and their ingenious methods of survival were fascinating to me. Oh, and you'll never believe we chose to read this across 12 airplane rides!!!"
"An incredibly gripping account of the plight of the survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes in 1972. A total of 45 were on board, but after 72 days in the harsh conditions of the cordillera, in sub-zero temperatures, and with only the flesh of their dead companions for food, only 16 survived. This is truly an epic tale.
The author, Piers Paul Read, pulls together an incredibly detailed, yet highly readable account of the ordeal, drawing on the extensive interviews he conducted with the survivors. His writing is almost entirely devoid of sensationalism, restrained instead by brute fact, rather than imagination or extrapolation. However, his delivery is anything but stale, and through his attention to detail, it is possible to gain a deep insight into the harrowed state of mind of the survivors. A tragic, but inspiring story, of the strength of the human spirit, of ingenuity, team work, and the will to survive. It will haunt you for a very long time."
"What an incredible story of survival and love!!! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, being a little leery of the cannibalism in it and how it may have been presented. What the survivors had to eat to live was a small part of the the story, a couple times going into a little too much detail. For me though, book was about courageous young men that chose to rise to the occasion and live through the most horrific physical and mental situation.
The underlying love story caught me and held my attention the whole time. It wasn't the love story between a man and woman, but instead the love between the parents and their children. The parents deep belief in the survival of their kids and the steps they went through to find them were very moving.
My major complaint is the poor editing or author's writing style. I don't know how it happened, but more than once the author would refer to one person by several different names on the same page or in the same story. He first would use their last name, switch to the first, and finish with their nickname. More than once I had to go back and double check who I was reading about. Quite annoying!!!
I am interested to see the different conversations that this book generates at book club."
"This book tells the story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes in the Andes Mountains. They are faced with a critical situation that results in them taking drastic steps to survive -- eating the bodies of their dead teammates. This is an agonizing account of what they went through and what people will do to survive. Although it might sound gruesome, you follow the survivors through their initial repulsion, denial and finally to acceptance that this is what is needed to survive. I read this book years ago but never forgot about it. It was also made into a movie starring Ethan Hawke. I liked the movie too but the book (as is almost always the case) was superior."
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