438 Days

An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

By: Jonathan Franklin

Narrated by: George Newbern

Declared “the best survival book in a decade” by Outside Magazine, 438 Days is the true story of the man who survived fourteen months in a small boat drifting seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean.

On November 17, 2012, two men left the coast of Mexico for a weekend fishing trip in the open Pacific. That night, a violent storm ambushed them as they were fishing eighty miles offshore. As gale force winds and ten-foot waves pummeled their small, open boat from all sides and nearly capsized them, captain Salvador Alvarenga and his crewmate cut away a two-mile-long fishing line and began a desperate dash through crashing waves as they sought the safety of port.

Fourteen months later, on January 30, 2014, Alvarenga, now a hairy, wild-bearded and half-mad castaway, washed ashore on a nearly deserted island on the far side of the Pacific. He could barely speak and was unable to walk. He claimed to have drifted from Mexico, a journey of some seven thousand miles.

A “gripping saga,” (Daily Mail), 438 Days is the first-ever account of one of the most amazing survival stories in modern times. Based on dozens of hours of exclusive interviews with Alvarenga, his colleagues, search-and-rescue officials, the remote islanders who found him, and the medical team that saved his life, 438 Days is not only “an intense, immensely absorbing read” (Booklist) but an unforgettable study of the resilience, will, ingenuity and determination required for one man to survive more than a year lost and adrift at sea.

couldn't put it down

Quick moving and heck of a story! Close up look at the arc of an almost certain disaster. Great examples of how ingenuity and confidence can combine to seize victory out of near defeat.

If you ever found yourself in a very bad way...

Everything that could go wrong and right did for this amazing human being. What truly inspired me was the fact that he found himself forced out to sea with barely anything to ensure his survival, and yet he just went on to make a life of survival out of it. He accepted what happened, took stock in his new lot in life and just went with it. That my friends is how you get on with the business with living. If he had died enduring this chapter of his life; we’d all never known how he mastered the lesson of life; is just live to survive, endure and get on with the business of living. My spirit is touched for getting to know this mans humanity. Not just anyone would have done what he had to. A very high percentage of people just die in such life altering, life endangered situations. Many just don’t have this very rare type of will to survive. Its damn difficult for a long period of time for which the end to it is utterly unknown.
When faced with that, how do you know if you are one who can do it?

Great story of survival for a purpose

I expected an interesting story of survival. Even though everybody who starts this book knows the ending it is riveting and you're pulling for him to survive as well as realize he does have a purpose.

Great book that's hard to put down

Only quibble is that he could have identified the birds better and added a sequel to the 2016 edition to tell if Salvador really changed his life around like he promised to do while he was adrift
For this genre it is very well written imp and certainly the castaway fisherman displayed superhuman mental and physical strength!
Glad I bought it😊

Awesome

This is a great story of survival ranking right up there with a lot of the other survival books I've listened to in the past couple years. Definitely recommended.