Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home Paperback – May 15, 2007

I remember reading news accounts of the crash in 1972. I saw the movie “Alive” several times and read the book of the same name. This book is even more engaging because it was written by one of the most intriguing survivors…Nando Parrado. It was wonderful to read the Epilogue and learn of the survivors’ lives after their miraculous return home.

I read Alive by Piers Paul Read when it came out in the 70s and never forgot the terrible, life-affirming story. A few months ago when I read that Nando Parrado, one of the heroes of the book, had written his own book about the plane crash and miracle of survival, I re-read Alive, just to familiarize myself with the details.I bought this book by Nando Parrado as soon as it became available, and at times thought that it was a repeat of the Piers Paul Read book, but then began to realize that the facts are what they are, and that Nando Parrado's book is filled with much more than just facts; most of all it is filled with heart.The horror of the crash and the brotherhood of the survivors is unsurpassed in human survival accounts. I would rank Parrado up there with Shackelton and maybe a couple of other early explorers: men with grit and honor, able to see beyond the horrific facts of the unexpected circumstances they find themselves in. Because of Nando's and Roberto Cannessa's determination to not die on the mountain, and to not let even one more of the survivors perish, the miracle of the book's title occurrs when they walk out of the mountains to get help for the other survivors, who, for a variety of reasons, were unable to save themselves. Parrado's account of his very real struggle, fear and dread is bone chillingly real, but along his trek through the Andes he has fortitude and foresight, and in the realization that no human had ever climed the mountain they were on, he named the tallest mountain they traversed for his father. It is my fervent hope that the name Mt. Seler has stuck and will be printed in history books and on maps from now on.Parrado says he and the other survivors have made the unconscious decision to not let the plane crash define them, and have all moved forward with their lives for the sake of their families as well as for their own peace of mind. They are to be commended for that; however, the world would not have come to know them were it not for the accident and the miracle in the Andes. I am proud to have met these men through the pages of this remarkable book. It is truly a Masterpiece.June 22: I am editing my review above, having just finished Terri Jentz's book, Strange Piece of Paradise. Her book also tells of a horrific event that befell the writer, also in the 70s, but there is a huge difference between that book and this one: Jentz has never gotten over her trauma, in fact would appear to be stuck in it. It bothered me. Her book was overly long and exhausting in the extreme. And compared to Miracle in the Andes the event she experienced was very strange, but almost trivial in comparison. I have added the paragraph below to this review ....Once read, Miracle In The Andes will never be forgotten, not only for the courageous story that is told, but because of the man writing the book. Nando Parrado has to be the bravest and wisest man I have ever come across in the pages of a book. How he has taken the catastrophic event of the plane crash, followed by deaths, freezing weather, broken bodies, hunger, etc. and turn it into the Miracle of the title is just about beyond my comprehension. What a man he is to realize that we cannot let one event define our lives, no matter how painful or horrific that event may be. He also has somehow rallied together, every single year for 30 plus years, his fellow survivors, and they are all smiling in every photo I have ever seen of them. He is my hero. All of these men are heroes. I can't think of enough ways of stating how wonderful this book is, and how fabulous its message is. Please, please read it and recommend it to anyone who wants to be proud to be a human being.

This story is remarkable for thought and expressions of this reasons beyond the circumstances of the where and how of the plane crash that allowed these young men to survive in an environment where there was utterly no means of sustenance. The title of the book suggest that it is going to be laden with the usual panderings to a mysterious deity whose motives are unknown or capricious but almost always survivors decide that the deity needed them for some future endeavor. Not so with Mr. Parrado. He was a member of a rugby team which was traveling to an exhibition game on the other side of the Andes mountains. Teamwork he finally decides is the difference between winning and loosing. His interior monologue on this brings to the reader his rationality and logic which he can sustain under extreme duress. His straightforward acknowledgement of using the deceased as sustenance which was agreed to by the group is notable as it relates directly to a rational assessment of their predicament and the force of the desire to survive. This necessity is not simply mentioned, he refers to the obstacles and natural revulsion on several occasions. In other words he deals with it. This event was written about some few years after the event which happened in 1970. Later a movie was made about it. This book comes now 35 or so years after the event. It is a compelling rumination on joy, loss, love and life.

Nando Parrado comes across in the Piers Paul Read book, ALIVE! as impossibly heroic, the power house of strength whose destiny seems to be to lead the trek out of the Andes. He is kind, hard working and never seems to loose his cool.In this book, he tells us the story 30 years after the airplane crash in the Andes. We hear of his terror of the mountains, panic at being so trapped, impatience to escape, and horror at the death of his mother, sister, and friends. As we hear this story from his heart, a different Nando emerges.He tells us the story of the climb up the mountain, which had they only known better, was impossible. It was a technical climb at high altitude better attempted by well equipped mountaineers than by boys in street clothes and rugby boots. And yet they climbed it and walked out and have lived to tell about it.He tells us of his efforts to remain calm and not succumb to panic, such as after the avalanche kills a number of the survivors. We learn of his focus on saving energy, "tears waste salt". He uses many skills to remain focused throughout the entire ordeal in the mountains. [A study of those skills makes the book worth reading by itself.] But like everyone else there comes a time when he, too, looses his cool.He tells of the web of values and experiences that he took into the mountains, of his parents love and teaching. He tells us that when all else is lost, it is love of his father that keeps him going even though he is convinced that he will die in the attempt to trek out.He tells us of his weaknesses and the heroism of the others, both those who lived and those who did not. He tells us of the strong bonds between individuals and how they "made each other better men".He tells us of the cold so intense it burns, the thin air and the brutal magnificance of those huge mountains. What a cruel enviornment it is for people who have never seen snow before.In the end all of the victims and survivors seem more human and more heroic.As for Nando, he emerges as more complex, more compelling, more generous, and somehow more convincingly human than one would have expected. Love becomes his centralizing value and theme. And, somehow, his telling of this story becomes an act of love.That in itself is astouding and courageous and could only have been do by someone who is living his message. It is a privilege to read this story.For those not familiar with the story I would suggest reading ALIVE! 1st. But if you are interested in humanity, survival and especially, love: READ THIS BOOK!