Why read Alive?

Book cover of Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

Book description

On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the mountain alive. For ten excruciating weeks they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most…

Explore

Topics

Genres

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked Alive as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Brian Dickinson

Author

This is the ultimate survival book, which made me wonder what I would do if my plane crashed in the unforgiving Andes. It’s been made into a couple of movies, but the book details the psychology and leadership of keeping the survivors motivated to survive, even when it meant eating the bodies of the dead passengers.

I’ve always been fascinated with this true story and have used it as a baseline of survival when things have been rough on some of my solo mountaineering experiences.

From Brian's list on The best mountaineering books from a Mount Everest solo summiteer and survivor.

Vanessa Lee

Author

I first heard about this story of extraordinary heroism while listening to a podcast interview with one of the survivors of a plane crash in 1972.

The plane was carrying an entire football team and their families between Uruguay and Chile. A search party could not find them in the icy ridges of the Andes, and it came down to two of the survivors who, despite malnutrition and the extreme weather and terrain, made a days-long trek to find help. Thanks to them, the remaining survivors could be located and rescued.

While many readers might shudder at the lengths the…

From Vanessa's list on The best books for celebrating the bravery of everyday heroes.