Rating: 
Summary: Amazing that either of them survived.
Review: Simpson brings the reader into the depths of despair with him, and then slowly, brings them back from the brink of death. His story and writing are superb and the book reads very quickly. Even though you know he survived the ordeal, every fall leaves the reader with a sense of dread and anticipation for what will happen next. Great story. Read it.Update: I saw the documentary that they made from this book. I am even more amazed after seeing the actual terrain that Joe is still with us.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: Darlene Smith, A reviewer,
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: a great book, and now a great movie
Review: I read this book several months ago, unaware that the story was soon to be the subject of a motion picture release. The book is relatively short but full of adventure, and a truly amazing story of survival. After reading this book it's very unlikely you'll ever again feel sorry for yourself when confronted with the typical hardships that outdoor enthusiasts are bound to experience sooner or later. Upon seeing the now released motion picture, I was pleased to learn that the film remains very true to the book, but it should not be a substitute for reading the story. To increase your appreciation of the movie read the book first.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!
Review: This is the true story of one man's survival against incredible odds. It is a short book (less than 200 pages) but not what I would call an "easy read". I found the first 3/4 of the book interesting but slow moving (too many technical terms; I had a hard time visualizing where they were on the mountain). The last quarter of the book the pace quickens and it becomes a very compelling read. I found that it ended a bit abruptly and could have used a longer epilogue. It is more the story than the writing that makes this a 4 star rating.
Rating:
Summary: The Bandwagon Rope-Trick
Review: This might not apply to American readers (or it may, I don't know) but there's a huge misconception in the UK as to what this book is about. I work in a bookshop and we're selling this by the dozen, which infuriates me not because I do not believe it should sell well and be widely read, but because people are buying it for the wrong reason. Touching the Void is, simply put, the story of the human spirit's ability for survival against all the odds. There are many occasions where both Joe and Simon could have given up; many moments when it could all have been for naught; but they kept going, and both lived to tell the tale. Simpson's writing is, as ever, vivid and visceral, putting you up on Siula Grande with him. We vicariously experience his time in the crevasse, his efforts on the glacier, and then his crawl back towards the camp, wondering if there will be anybody there even if he does make it. You know all along that he survives, but when he reaches safety you want to cry out because he describes it so painfully well. This is what the book is about. With the impending release of the movie, and widespread radio coverage in the UK featuring interviews and editorials, a terrible misconception has crept in. Almost everyone who has come into the shop and asked me about the book has said, "I heard about this book on the radio. It's about a climber who cuts the rope on his friend. Do you have it?" By focussing on Simon Yates' cutting of the rope, it seems that everyone is missing the point. Far from a cold-hearted act, everybody fails to acknowledge that had Yates not lowered Simpson down several thousand feet of the mountain, a non-stop feat of incredible courage and fortitude, Simpson would not have survived, period. Simpson himself does not blame Yates for his actions, and this is the lead we should be taking. All these people who have never been on a mountain in their lives saying, "Ooh, he broke the code, he shouldn't have done that," just have no idea. I'm glad the book is selling well, and deservedly so, but I wish it could sell for the right reasons and not because people want the inside story on The-Man-Who-Cut-The-Rope.
Rating:
Summary: Human Spirit
Review: "Touching the Void" is an account of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates's ascent and descent of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Disaster struck on the descent, with Simpson being left for dead - how he survived and how the ordeal affected both climbers is told in this book. It's an uplifting, exciting and moving story of the robustness of the human spirit, but told in a candid and realistic way by both Simpson and Yates. How both reacted to incredibly harrowing circumstances and how they dealt with near impossible choices is astonishing. This is not a romanticised version of events - both men ran a full gamut of emotions, both noble and ignoble. A truly great tale, one worthy of a read even if you're not interested in mountaneering. G Rodgers
Rating:
Summary: Touching the Void
Review: Expressive account of what it's like to be in the high mtns, as well as a look into facing death. Incredible.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Story of the Triumph of the Human Spirit
Review: Wonderful story of what one (two in this story) can accomplish when he is determined that he must. To me the climbing of the glacier is secondary to the main point of the book which is getting down alive. Wonderful read.
Rating:
Summary: What happens to a man when he is left for dead?
Review: Imagine yourself at 20,000 feet in a remote mountain in the Andes with a shattered leg. Your body is succumbing to frost bite and hypothermia. There is no help for days around except for your climbing partner with whom you trust your life to. Then the one man, the only man you can count on for any hope of survival, does the unthinkable. Exhasuted and unable to hold you any longer, he cuts the rope by which your precarious life hangs and sentences you to death. A death that is sure to come as you hurtle down the cliff face in the dark of night into a crevasse that is too far below to be seen. But the unthinkable happens...you survive. Left for dead, with no food, water, or shelter, and exposed to the crystalline cold of snow and ice, your fingers useless blocks of frozed wood, your leg a pulpy mass of searing pain, what becomes of you? Simpson's story makes one realize the incredible extents of pain and suffering man is willing to go through in order to ensure his survival. This is the story of a defeated man who refused to believe so and rewrote his fate. The book is technical at times and it is hard to understand exactly what him and his climbing partner Simon are doing unless you're familiar with climbing terminology. But the narrative force comes into full strength after Simpson's first fall and the tale of survival begins.
Rating:
Summary: A rare first person account that completely captivates
Review: While I wouldn't exactly put this in the inspirational category, it is a true story of epic determination and courage that begins like so many typical muntaineering trips and turns tragic after a small mistake not out of the realm of any of us.
Set in the Andes, the narrative follows a pair of climbers up an underestimated route to the summit of a peak then after ruggling down a horrifying ridge the plot thickens. For fear of wrecking the story I will only mention that left for dead 50 feet down in a crevasse with a completely useless leg, the only thing that gives you any hope for this guy is that there are just too many pages unread for the story to end simply. The story is put forth in such detail that you're body aches sympathetically and you just want Joe to give it up. Even the mental torture expressed by Joe's partner, Simon, forced to give up any hope of Joe's survival will tear you apart. It's rivetting reading and you shouldn't start it unless you have time to finish it.
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