Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

by Piers Paul Read

‘I’m not interested. I’m a socialist,’ said Arturo. ‘You’re not a socialist, you’re a fool,’ said Canessa. ‘Stop trying to seem so hard-boiled.’

‘You can make it tough, God,’ he prayed, ‘but don’t make it impossible.’

No angels had come down from heaven to help them. It was their own qualities of courage and endurance which had seen them through. If anything, the experience had made him less religious; he now had a stronger belief in man.

When I returned in October 1973 to show them the manuscript of this book, some of the survivors were disappointed by my presentation of their story. They felt that the faith and friendship which inspired them in the cordillera do not emerge from these pages. It was never my intention to underestimate these qualities, but perhaps it would be beyond the skill of any writer to express their own appreciation of what they lived through.

Sema Thala