A considerably lighter version, with much of the darker side of the ordeal left out. Not entirely faithful to the original work, but very worth it. The movie (1993) is a lovely adaptation of the book. And the most precious thing I rescue from this book is Liliana, and how she was like a mother to them all. Not an easy reading to digest, but a great story of survival nonetheless. The survivors did far more than just slice a piece of meat from a couple of dead people. Piers Paul Read depicts a lot of the darker side of that battle, like how they just basically divided themselves into strong and weak classes, constant bickering and fighting over many issues, constipation and other unpleasant declining health issues, and many other chilling things. This survival story is not entirely a tale of loving brotherhood or a united fight for survival. This was a gruesome story, reading about every little thing that transpired within the crash site. In this book Piers Paul Read documents in precise detail how everything unfolded for the survivors, from the airplane crash on October 13, until they were rescued, 72 days later. News about it traveled the world, it was called the “Miracle of the Andes.” After nearly three months struggling to survive, injured, famished, freezing, against all possible odds a couple of them finally managed to climb across The Andes without any mountain gear and reach a nearby town to call for help. Scarcely with any food or water, suffering sub-zero temperatures, only sixteen of forty-five made it out alive. In 1972, a plane full of rugby players and their families crashed in The Andes Mountains.

Alive by Piers Paul Read