Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

Rating:
Summary: You can tell it's Joe's first book
Review: Twenty years ago in the Peruvian Andes two men set out to conquer a seemingly unconquerable foe. The West Face of Siula Grande had never before been climbed; Joe Simpson and Simon Yates planned to rectify that. The details of their adventure are well documented in Joe's book, Touching the Void. As its cliché title implies, Joe Simpson found himself in a hopeless death trap, the belly of a glacier chasm starving and injured. What follows you will have to find out for yourself.

The main problem with books of survival stories is that the protagonists are not experienced writers. So the survivor has two options: either learn how to write or hire a biographer. Joe decided to learn how to write. It is obvious that Touching the Void is Simpson's first book-with simple sentences, clichés and forced character development. But emotional connection is the advantage of having an author-protagonist writing autobiographical events. Joe is able to relate his passion and fear better than a hired author would. Emotionally realistic and rough around the edges, that is what Joe's first book became.

One more inherently difficult task that Joe faced was to express in words the very technical, sticky predicaments he crawled out of. It is hard to explain how traversing one cornice was extraordinary difficult or why a particular 15-foot section of ice climbing taxed his body more than any others. It takes way too many words to properly describe the terrain; the reader has a hard time following what really is happening. I found this problem when I wrote a miniature survival story of my own (a 17-year old climbing quandary with a young friend). It took me hours to accurately describe the climb and why one particular rock face was more perilous than the others-and then in the revision I took it out because others told me the description was too confusing and superfluous. Joe had a hard task.

It is this intrinsic pitfall that leads me to recommend the movie over the book. The documentary from IFC with the same name reenacts most of the scenes with complicated climbing dangers, and leaves you gasping for breath at the end.


Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review:
What an incredible story this is. I love Non Fiction and this is truly excellent writing. The style is unique, the words keep you turning the page. The courage and determination is astounding. Highly recommended read.
Also recommended: Nightmares Echo, Running With Scissors



Rating:
Summary: much ado about nothing
Review: Despite all of Simpson's contemplation about the meaning of life and the ongoing description of his excruciating suffering, one would think this event would have had a profound and lasting impact. His subsequent actions do not support his epiphanies on this journey. He was proudly off climbing again shortly after this incident. Is this just a spoiled wealthy guy looking for his next new set of thrills? Perhaps for his next book, Simpson should forget travel to exotic locations to play and instead walk through Cabrini Green with a red or blue bandana on his head. Now that's real danger. Afterwards, Simpson may wish he were still in that crevasse.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring!
Review: This book was incredible! A great story that had me from page 1. I bought it for my wife (with a friend's recommendation) and we wound up fighting over it! We broke down and read it together. It was relatable to problems and hardships in life to anyone and so inspiring. We both plan to reread it. It'll stay in our collection.

Rating:
Summary: One of MY TWO FAVORITE BOOKS!!
Review: This book and The Bamboo Chest: An Adventure In Healing the Trauma of War by Frederick Graham are my two favorite books on Adventure!

While Graham's adventure memoir revolved around his childhood in Vietnam during the war, a hunt for Capt. Kidd's treasure on an island off the coast of Vietnam (I know, I still can't believe that story though it is really true) he covered as a journalist for the Associated Press, and ultimately his experience as the first American political prisoner held by the Socialist Rep. of Vietnam since the end of the war (pretty wild, huh?), detailed in a rich, and compelling style I found equally as good this book by Joe Simpson. In Simpson's book the main character is taken by the adventure of the Andes and goes from adventure to adventure in holding by the edge of their nails pace! For the same reason I greatly enjoyed Graham's book, I found Simpson's book compelling: excellent detail, attractive style and just great over all non-fiction story!

Two stories of TRULY MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL!

Rating:
Summary: Truly Unbelievable
Review: What a gripping true life story. The single most extraordinary tale of individual survival I have ever read. Inspiring in the shear will to live.