Imagine the ages of these young men: late teens, early 20's. They survived at the top of the Andes prepared only with the clothes on their back...and it was lightweight clothing as they were headed to Chile for a rugby match! Their resilience, intelligence, and a profound faith brought 16 of them home. This book made me want to read "Alive!" by Piers Paul Read the factual account of the story written within a year of the rescue.

1974's Alive by Piers Paul Reid is one of my all-time favorite books. The tone in that one had just the right amount of everything in order to convey the scope and aftermath of that fateful 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains. So when I learned that Nando Parrado himself, one of the heroic survivors, was writing a memoir, I was skeptical but still curious. Would his retelling offer a profound new insight to the tragedy? Or would this be another instance of should've left well-enough alone? Fortunately, it's the former.

If you're a fan of the Piers Paul Reid book, or heck, even the 1992 movie, then I recommend this one.

If you enjoyed the classic Alive - about the 1972 plane crash in the Andes, you'll love this story told from the perspective of one of the survivors. Feels like you're right there!

Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Incredible.

Fascinating book! Inspiring story...

In October 1972 Parrado, his rugby teammates, and their fans from Uruguay were flying to Chile to play a match against the Chilean national team when the aircraft carrying the 45 people, crashed on a remote high-altitude glaciated slope in the Andes Mountains.
Thirty years after the disaster Parrado, one of the leaders during the disaster, decided that he had to set the record straight about what some of the survivors said about others when they were interviewed as young men by Piers Paul Read for his book Alive.
A thought provoking story about the will to survive and the power of love.

Wow!