Miracle in the Andes

72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home

By: Nando Parrado, Vince Rause

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A harrowing, moving memoir of the 1972 plane crash that left its survivors stranded on a glacier in the Andes—and one man’s quest to lead them all home

“In straightforward, staggeringly honest prose, Nando Parrado tells us what it took—and what it actually felt like—to survive high in the Andes for seventy-two days after having been given up for dead.”—Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild

“In the first hours there was nothing, no fear or sadness, just a black and perfect silence.”

Nando Parrado was unconscious for three days before he woke to discover that the plane carrying his rugby team to Chile had crashed deep in the Andes, killing many of his teammates, his mother, and his sister. Stranded with the few remaining survivors on a lifeless glacier and thinking constantly of his father’s grief, Parrado resolved that he could not simply wait to die. So Parrado, an ordinary young man with no particular disposition for leadership or heroism, led an expedition up the treacherous slopes of a snowcapped mountain and across forty-five miles of frozen wilderness in an attempt to save his friends’ lives as well as his own.

Decades after the disaster, Parrado tells his story with remarkable candor and depth of feeling. Miracle in the Andes, a first-person account of the crash and its aftermath, is more than a riveting tale of true-life adventure; it is a revealing look at life at the edge of death and a meditation on the limitless redemptive power of love.

©2006 Nando Parrado (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Miracle in the Andes is an astonishing account of an unimaginable ordeal. In straightforward, staggeringly honest prose, Nando Parrado tells us what it took—and what it actually felt like—to survive high in the Andes for 72 days after having been given up for dead. If you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down.” —Jon Krakauer, author of Under the Banner of Heaven, Into Thin Air, and Into the Wild

“Unlike the cloud that obscured the mountainside, there is no haze enshrouding the meaning of life for Nando Parrado. It was in the love for his father that Nando found the motivation to survive for over two months on a Chilean glacier. As he makes his unbelievable traverse of the Andes, Nando also demonstrates the depth of his courage, faith, and perseverance that help him later transform his losses into a source of inspiration for others. Connecting our struggles to his, we readers can use Nando as our beacon and see that there is a way out of our ‘own personal Andes.’” —Aron Ralston, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“Miracle in the Andes is an extraordinary book. Everybody’s philosophical hypotheticals were Nando Parrado’s real life experiences. Would I survive an aircrash? Could I eat human flesh? Would a horrific and life-threatening event affect my religious beliefs? In the end, this account benefits enormously from the maturity that time allows. It is a beautifully written and moving story.” —Peter Hillary, author of In the Ghost Country: A Lifetime Spent on the Edge

Awesome

What an inspirational story - wow. "We all have our personal Andes" loved this story and his version brings a person touca

If you like survival stories, this is a good read.

What other book might you compare Miracle in the Andes to and why?

Any additional comments?

My favorite books are true stories of people that overcome difficult circumstances: Running for My Life, Skeletons in the Zahara, Into Thin Air, Endurance, et al.
Miracle in the Andes is a book where you feel good about spending your time reading it. When I brag on my reading, I will brag on this one.

Let me know if you have others that are in the same genre, and send titles.

The single most impactful Audible book I've read

I have read 100+ books on Audible, and this is the one I have re-listened to the most. I keep it permanently on my iPod, and regularly listen to favourite passages, and especially to the interview with Nando Parrado where he explains the story of how he came to write the book after all these years.

The best fiction authors can't come close to matching this real-life story of survival and the life-long journey of self-discovery that results.

Trust all these 5-star reviews -- read the book! I promise you won't be disappointed.

Amazing Story!

Loved the movie growing up, the book was better! The story of after the crash was nice to know everyone lived fulfilling lives.

life changing!

This is probably one of the best audios that I have listened to this year :-) it will change your perspective on life in a great way.

A stunning story

This is an absolutely incredible story, with more emotion and feeling than the account written by Read. It was amazing to hear Parrado’s voice when telling parts of his story and the interview after the epilogue.

An Incredible must read

This is an incredible account of the survivors experience on the Andes. Not just a retelling if the story, but the author takes you into his mind and thoughts during and after his ordeal. Truly inspirational!

LOVED IT.

INCREDIBLE AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING. I WAS Surprised, amazed, inspired, in disbelief, emotional at the end wondering when they would be rescued, who would survive. There's even more to look forward to in the epilogue.

Excellent

I remember reading ALIVE so many years ago and always being fascinated by this story. Nando Parrado was one of the survivors and has written a deeply personal book that tells the story without sensationalism. The author reads the prologue and epilogue and as other reviewers mentioned, his accent is heavy. That was not distracting to me at all. There is also an interview with Nando at the end and that was a real treat. This is an excellent listen and highly recommended.

THE AUDIO SAMPLE IS NOT THE NARRATOR

Any additional comments?

Great book & an incredible true story, it is truly amazing, but one may be put off by the heavy accented audio sample that accompanies this book. That is in fact not the narrator but the author who at the very start of the book introduces himself before handing over to the actual narrator. If you do enjoy this also have a look at Unbreakable, that is also truly amazing & I feel a better book.