Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
Encyclopedia
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors is a 1974 book by the British writer Piers Paul Read
documenting the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
.
Alive tells the story of the Uruguay
an Rugby
team (who were alumni of Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
) and their friends and family who were involved in the airplane crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
which crashed into the Andes mountains on Friday, October 13, 1972. Of the 45 people on the flight, only 16 survived, resorting to Survival cannibalism to live. The book was published two years after survivors of the crash were rescued.
Read interviewed the survivors and their families for an extensive period of time before writing the book. He comments on this process in the Acknowledgments section:
D. Keith Mano, of The New York Times Book Review gave the book a "rave" review, stating that "Read's style is savage: unliterary, undecorated as a prosecutor's brief." He also described the book as an important one:
Michael A. Rogers concurs, stating that "Read has risen above the sensational and managed a book of real and lasting value."
was released. A companion documentary, Alive: 20 Years Later
was made at the same time.
and Vince Rause published Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home
which returns to Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, but is told from Parrado's point of view thirty-four years later.
Piers Paul Read
Piers Paul Read, FRSL is a British novelist and non-fiction writer.-Background:Read was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire...
documenting the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, also known as the Andes flight disaster, and in South America as Miracle in the Andes was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby team, their friends, family and associates that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972...
.
Story
- See main article: The crash and rescue
Alive tells the story of the Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an Rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
team (who were alumni of Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
The Stella Maris College of Montevideo, commonly referred as Christian Brothers College – Stella Maris or just Christian, is a private, co-educational, not-for-profit Catholic school run by the Christian Brothers of Ireland...
) and their friends and family who were involved in the airplane crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, also known as the Andes flight disaster, and in South America as Miracle in the Andes was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby team, their friends, family and associates that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972...
which crashed into the Andes mountains on Friday, October 13, 1972. Of the 45 people on the flight, only 16 survived, resorting to Survival cannibalism to live. The book was published two years after survivors of the crash were rescued.
Read interviewed the survivors and their families for an extensive period of time before writing the book. He comments on this process in the Acknowledgments section:
I was given a free hand in writing this book by both the publisher and the sixteen survivors. At times I was tempted to fictionalize certain parts of the story because this might have added to their dramatic impact but in the end I decided that the bare facts were sufficient to sustain the narrative...when I returned in October 1973 to show them the manuscript of this book, some of them were disappointed by my presentation of their story. They felt that the faith and friendship which inspired them in the cordillera do not emerge from these pages. It was never my intention to underestimate these qualities, but perhaps it would be beyond the skill of any writer to express their own appreciation of what they lived through.
Reception
The book was a critical success. Walter Clemons declared that it "will become a classic in the literature of survival."D. Keith Mano, of The New York Times Book Review gave the book a "rave" review, stating that "Read's style is savage: unliterary, undecorated as a prosecutor's brief." He also described the book as an important one:
Cowardice, selfishness, whatever: their essential heroism can weather Read's objectivity. He has made them human. 'Alive' is thunderous entertainment: I know the events by rote, nonetheless I found it electric. And important. 'Alive' should be read by sociologists, educators, the Joint Chief of Staff. By anyone, in fact, whose business it is to prepare men for adversity.
Michael A. Rogers concurs, stating that "Read has risen above the sensational and managed a book of real and lasting value."
Editions
The first edition was released in 1974. A paperback which referenced the film Alive: The Miracle of the Andes, was released in 1993. A new softcover edition, with a revised introduction and additional interviews with Piers Paul Read, Coche Inciarte, and Alvaro Mangino, was released by Harper in 2005. This edition also has a new subtitle: "Sixteen Men, Seventy-two Days, and Insurmountable Odds -- The Classic Adventure of Survival in the Andes."Films
In 1993, Alive: The Miracle of the Andes, by Frank MarshallFrank Marshall (movie producer)
Frank Wilton Marshall is an American film producer and director. Often working in collaboration with his wife, Kathleen Kennedy. With Kennedy and Steven Spielberg, he was one of the founders of Amblin Entertainment...
was released. A companion documentary, Alive: 20 Years Later
Alive: 20 Years Later
Alive: 20 Years Later is a 1993 documentary film produced, directed and written by Jill Fullerton-Smith and narrated by Martin Sheen.-Content:...
was made at the same time.
Miracle in the Andes
In 2006, Nando ParradoNando Parrado
Fernando "Nando" Seler Parrado Dolgay is one of the sixteen Uruguayan survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972. After spending two months trapped in the mountains with the other crash survivors, he, along with Roberto Canessa, climbed...
and Vince Rause published Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home
Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home
Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home is a 2006 book by Nando Parrado and Vince Rause.-Story:Parrado co-wrote the 2006 book Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home, with Vince Rause...
which returns to Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, but is told from Parrado's point of view thirty-four years later.
External links
- Read, Piers Paul. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors - google books