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

A Must Listen

Retold by the survivor most responsible for the group's rescue, this excellent book not only provides a spellbinding rendition of one of the great survival stories of all time, but also provides a unique view into the feelings and thoughts of the people who were there, and a perspective from three decades later on what it means to have survived. This is one audio book you will not want turn off or even pause. The epilogue spoken by the author himself, together with an interview by the publisher, provides added interest. I've listened to maybe 40 different Audible books, and none more enjoyable or thought provoking than this one. Highest recommendation.

Amazing

This book was written by one of the survivors. The author gives a foreword and afterword (the author has a heavy South American accent and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to follow easily when I head the foreword but someone else narrates the rest of the book). The narrator has a light South American accent that adds to the story's perspective. The recording is good and the pace is good. First person perspective. I'm blown away by the toughness and determination of Nando and his friends. Well told. I was riveted to this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Inspirational

What a book this is!! I could hear it 1000 times and still not be tired of it.

Gripping

I loved this! Very hard to put it down and I'm so glad I didn't return it. A pet peeve of mine with Audible is that some titles do not have chapter headers so it's hard to return to a specific place spot in the story without the need to add a clip or bookmark. Normally that warrants an instant return for me but I was always fascinated with this story so I decided to give it a chance. Glad I did since I couldn't stop listening once I started. The narration is great albeit a few mispronounced Spanish words. Three chapters are even narrated by the author so kudos there. This story is an inspirational telling of the human spirit.

Powerful work!

This was a compelling read. I read the original "Alive" many years ago as I remember living through the new story at the time. To hear Nando's rendition really was moving.

Amazing

Beautifully written and well ready. Amazing story of grit and determination! This book makes you think deeply about life without a boring moment. highly recommend and thankful for the author's courage to share!

Please make this audiobook in Spanish! So great!

This is an extraordinary book. If you really think you encountered some problems in your life, you will definitely appreciate life after listening this story. I really wish the create a Spanish version so Latin Americans (and my family from Uruguay) can listen to it as well.

Don't Leave Home Without It!

I read the original factual account of the Andes story ("Alive" by Piers Paul Read) when I was a teenager and never forgot the story. As an adult revisiting the amaziing story of the survival of the 16 young men trapped in the Andes mountain was well worth my time. The essence of this book for me is that through time and healing, Nando Parrado has reflected on everything that happened in those mountains and turned his experience into a positive message from which the entire world can benefit.

Everyone should read this!

This is by far the most amazing and unbelievable survival story I have ever heard, and I love hearing it from Nando's perspective.
If this book has any bad reviews, don't pay attention to them. Just read it.

The way his words capture their epic survival story.

I loved how i felt like I was there, in his shoes, in the cold, etc. Nando told his amazing story in an amazing way