Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (Avon Nonfiction)
by Piers Paul Read
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
people who think they've got it bad
After boarding a small regional jet last week, I settled into my seat with a hearty snack and pulled out a copy of Alive! It didn't take too long for me to realize that this was an enormous mistake. Alive! is not a book for the faint of heart, nor is it a book for anyone with immediate prospects of eating or flying.
One week later, with no travel scheduled for a couple of weeks, I broke out my copy for attempt 2, and I haven't wanted to put it down since. It is an incredible story that remi...more
One week later, with no travel scheduled for a couple of weeks, I broke out my copy for attempt 2, and I haven't wanted to put it down since. It is an incredible story that remi...more
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Read in January, 1988
This book is an interesting examination of the psychological process by which humans, pressed to the absolute limits of endurance, may reach decisions and conclusions that cannot even be fathomed within the day-to-day lives of most people in modern society.
Like the Donner party and the sailors in Regina v. Dudley, the persons in this book were forced to reach the ultimate survivalist conclusion: that resorting to cannibalism was the only way to remain alive in impossible conditions. This bo...more
Like the Donner party and the sailors in Regina v. Dudley, the persons in this book were forced to reach the ultimate survivalist conclusion: that resorting to cannibalism was the only way to remain alive in impossible conditions. This bo...more
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Read in October, 2007
One of the survivors in this book is quoted as saying that his experience of surviving following a plane crash in the Andes Mountains was the greatest experience of his life. All of the survivors suffered from severe cold, lack of food, and some had injuries,or infections, The test was severe, and yet, this young man could say that it was his greatest exprience. I think whenever we prove to ourselves how much we can handle, we grow and we can look back and say that the hardship, whatever it wa...more
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Read in November, 2007
Most know the story of "Alive," a true account of astonishing survival. In 1972, a plane carrying a rugby team from Uruguay crashed in the Andes mountains. Of 45 passengers, only 16 survived the 70 days on the mountain. Their food supply quickly depleted, and rather than starve to death, they made the grisly decision to eat the bodies of their dead companions. This cannibalism has been hyped extensively as an act of bravery, but the enormous faith that they placed in God and man, enabl...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
not my grandma!
As a frequent flyer, I found this book fairly disturbing and will think twice when flying over the Rockies next time. Can planes make it over the Andes now? Surely someone would come looking for us if we were to crash in some remote part of Wyoming, right? And I don't know if I could eat another person, I mean I don't even eat pork steaks because i think they're too fatty.
Seriously, I thought the story was fascinating. Although it seemed to drag on some, I think that was necessary to g...more
Seriously, I thought the story was fascinating. Although it seemed to drag on some, I think that was necessary to g...more
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Read in January, 1974
I read "Alive" when I was a teen-ager and the events that transpired had occurred only a couple years prior to the book being published. It had such a huge impact on me that I have read the book numerous times over tha last 20 years.
I must admit that at first I was attracted to this story for the same reason one watches a horror movie- morbid fascination. I read the abridged version in Reader's Digest and was so enthralled that I immediately went out and bought the book to get more ...more
I must admit that at first I was attracted to this story for the same reason one watches a horror movie- morbid fascination. I read the abridged version in Reader's Digest and was so enthralled that I immediately went out and bought the book to get more ...more
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I remembered that I read this book something like 20 years ago when my Mom gave it to me (unfortunately when flying over the Rockies), and I definitely remember liking it. Perhaps all these survival/adventure books I've read owe their thanks to "Alive" for getting me hooked.
If you don't know (is that even possible), this is a true story about a rugby team that crashes in the Andes. Fascinating story about what happens to the survivors, and to those who are searching for them. ...more
If you don't know (is that even possible), this is a true story about a rugby team that crashes in the Andes. Fascinating story about what happens to the survivors, and to those who are searching for them. ...more
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Alive, written by Piers Paul Read, is an excellent and very suspensful book. This book is a page turner for me. Alive is about a catholic boys cricket team, that is in a terrible plane crash. They crash in the Andes and there were 32 survivors at first, but at the end there are only 16 survivors. It gets to the point in survival where the boys have to eat the others who are dead to actually survive. This book is thrilling and wants you to keep on reading till the end. It has tought me lots on ho...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
most folks. [Not the easily queasy...]
Alive is totally a page turner. The thing that made me want to read it was when Sally told us it was about the rugby team who ate each other. When you explain it like that, it seems crude and cannibalistic. But its actual not. It is very sad, and you know many families suffered very grievously to have their sons/daughters/sisters/fathers/mothers/cousins live through such rugged conditions, and also see their friends families members survive but not their own... The story was very factual, and i ...more
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Read in February, 2008
This book is a true story about 16 survivors of a plane crash in the Andes. The book gave very accurate details and was well written to give the whole story. I felt that in some parts, actually many parts that so much details were given it was boring and I found it hard to read. If I did not have to take a lit test on the book, I would have probably put the book down. Also some of the things the survivors did to survive disgusted me beyond levels and I really don't like reading about such a thin...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
adventurers.
i read alive when i was really obsessed with true life adventure books. unlike into the wild, alive doesn't really offer a larger context with which to contemplate life, death, our day to day existences, etc. instead, alive is the best resource for learning of the true limits of the human body and will to survive. if you're curious whether or not you can make boots out of human flesh, which part of the human body is most nutrient-rich, or just how cold of temperatures you can survive in in li...more
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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 ...more
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 ...more
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Read in January, 2006
I was given a first edition copy of this book for Christmas one year with original newspaper articles of the event hidden inside. The only thing I knew about this story prior to reading it was what most know; the cannibalism. This was not the the focus of the book and was dealt with as a matter of last resort, survival. These young rugby players were inspiring and handled their situation truly as a team when faced with the universal, absoluteness of death.
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Read in January, 2003
This book/movie received a bad rap I think, being described by many crtics as only a story about cannibalism. I thought it was truly inspirational. For as many people to have survived that experience as did, was a miracle. I think in the book it goes deeper into the internal struggle the survivors had with the choice before them (it also went into a little more graphic details about what "to eat and not to eat" of the bodies). Their faith in a higher power, their brotherhood, their h...more
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Read in January, 1994
This is the true story of the men who were trapped in the Andes after a plane crash in the 1970s & had to resort to cannibalism to survive. It was the basis for the movie "Alive" with Ethan Hawke.
It is a very moving book. Be prepared to be totally grossed out at certain parts :) but I don't think there is any way to address the issue of cannibalism other than completely head-on, and it really drives home the point that people will do anything to keep living.
It is a very moving book. Be prepared to be totally grossed out at certain parts :) but I don't think there is any way to address the issue of cannibalism other than completely head-on, and it really drives home the point that people will do anything to keep living.
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recommends it for:
Everyone - but pretty graphic descriptions.. Not for squeamish.
Hands down, one of my favorite books. Initially saw the movie when it first came out and read the book afterwards. The book is so much better. I do have to admit that I was drawn to this story because of the cannibalism aspect. I wanted details... but what they went through was so much more than that. The author did a great job of showing what mental, physical, and emotional strain these people went through. Great, great book.
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Read in August, 2007
This is a fantastic survival book about a rugby team who survives a plane wreck in the andes. It is a true story and absolutely incredible. It does have some cannibalism in it, but I think most can handle it. As far as survivor books go this is on the top of my list. A great book for a man, or those who don't like to read much. I did recommend it to my "second mom" and she loved it too.
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Read in January, 1983
Read this as a young teen on an extended stay with my grandparents. I remember liking it, although it was a little long and a bit more detailed than my fourteen-year-old self really wanted. While the fear-of-plane-crash / survival / cannibalism drew me in, I was affected by how powerfully important religion was to the survivors, who came to view their feeding on corpses as communion.
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Read in January, 2006
I read a good part of this true story about a plane crash while on a plane, but as we weren't flying over the Andes, I wasn't worried. It was compelling enough of a read, and I celebrated with the rugby players when they made it out alive. It is also irresitable to contemplate whether I would have survived--and chomped down on my buddies' corpses--had I been in a similar situation.
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