Miracle in the Andes

72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home

By: Nando Parrado, Vince Rause

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

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

“Nando Parrado’s haunting experience in the Andes—grippingly, honestly, and insightfully told—ranks with the most dramatic survival stories of the last two centuries.” —Peter Stark, author of Last Breath: The Limits of Adventure

“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

“Given up for dead after an air crash in the Andes in 1972, Nando Parrado not only survived but showed the strength and determination that saved his own life and that of his fifteen friends. Now he gives his own account of his ordeal—enthralling, enlightening, modest, and moving. An impressive testimony to what love can achieve.” —Piers Paul Read, author of Alive

Leadership

Real life example of what it takes to be a leader - courage, perseverance, compassion, dedication. An inspiring story for all leaders.

Best audiobook I’ve listened to so far

This book will have you in tears within the first hour. Incredible first-hand account of a harrowing story.

Outstanding Story of Bravery

If you like survival stories, such as Unbroken, you'll like this one. It's a legit 5-star book, and I highly recommend it. I had seen the movie Alive, but that movie left me with so many questions, especially about Nando and Roberto's big climb. If you want more of those details, this book has them. I will say that the last 2 hours are unnecessary, though the last ~20 minutes where Nando is interviewed is interesting. I would almost dock the book a star for the last 2 hours (1/5 of the book!), but the story up until then is so incredible, that I'll keep it at 5 stars.

Riveting personal story

Tale of human endurance that is incredible and uplifting. A story of how people survive anything.

incredible story

I loved the authors honesty. he didn't hide or gloss over his experience. it was so raw and personal.