Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
by Joe Simpson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joe SimpsonBrand: Liberty Mountain
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-01
ISBN: 0060730552
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: It Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780060730550
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Book Reviews of Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
Book Review: Gripping narration: you feel the terror and the pain and the heroism as if you were there
Summary: 5 Stars
Told in first person, this story of Joe's survival on an inhospitable mountain after breaking his leg, his determination to get off that beastly mountain, and his future decision to continue climbing - all are a source of great inspiration.
Joe and Simon choose to climb in the wilderness of the Andes where there is no emergency help system (such as available in the Alps). They want to pitch themselves against this formidable mountain without any backups - just the two humans and the mountain. The mountain almost defeats them, but not quite - a little bit of luck even amidst the disastrous situations, and Joe's overwhelming determination to live, makes this survivor's tale extraordinary. The mountain, the crevasse, the snow storm, the dark nights of terror - all take on a life of their own, as if they are evil monsters playing with two puny humans, could crush them with a casual stroke of their paw.
The adventure spans 7 days - the first 3 are about normal climbing and conquering the Siula Grande peak and starting the descent. The remaining 4 days are fraught with mishap, drama, emotional and physical endurance. The rescue effort by Simon happens as a matter of course, without deliberate discussions, exploration of all possibilities and consequences. At the point where Simon has to cut the rope the reader is completely in sync with him, knowing he has no choice.
I liked the parts narrated in the first person of Simon (written by Joe - he acknowledges Simon's trust in allowing him to write those parts in his own words) - describing Simon's dilemma, guilt, and giving him a fair assessment for his role in the rescue. The emotional drama when Joe discovers his leg is broken, and the non-verbal exchange of thoughts between the two - is so totally honest and poignant. Joe comes across as someone with a deep understanding of human nature.
Great book, I've read it twice over.
Summary of Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.
The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching base camp hours before Yates had planned to leave.
How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival, and a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship.
Concise and yet packed with detail, Touching the Void, Joe Simpson's harrowing account of near-death in the Peruvian Andes, is a compact tour de force that wrestles with issues of bravery, friendship, physical endurance, the code of the mountains, and the will to live. Simpson dedicates the book to his climbing partner, Simon Yates, and to "those friends who have gone to the mountains and have not returned." What is it that compels certain individuals to willingly seek out the most inhospitable climate on earth? To risk their lives in an attempt to leave footprints where few or none have gone before? Simpson's vivid narrative of a dangerous climbing expedition will convince even the most die-hard couch potato that such pursuits fall within the realm of the sane. As the author struggles ever higher, readers learn of the mountain's awesome power, the beautiful--and sometimes deadly--sheets of blue glacial ice, and the accomplishment of a successful ascent. And then catastrophe: the second half of Touching the Void sees Simpson at his darkest moment. With a smashed, useless leg, he and his partner must struggle down a near-vertical face--and that's only the beginning of their troubles.
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