Touching The Void

 

Touching The Void
Page Type Gear Review
Object Title Touching The Void
Manufacturer Joe Simpson
Page By Alan Ellis
Page Type Jan 26, 2007 / Jan 26, 2007
Object ID 2222
Hits 3939
Vote

Book Overview

(From the publisher)

Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.

The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching base camp hours before Yates had planned to leave.

How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival, and a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship.

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; Revised edition (January 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060730552
ISBN-13: 978-0060730550

Images

Reviews


Viewing: 1-11 of 11

lisae - Jan 26, 2007 8:48 pm - Voted 5/5

Powerful
I read this book in one sitting and have re-read it several times over the years. Even though I knew Simpson survived, I still got caught up in the drama. I think this is the best of his books; well written and nothing extraneous. In his other books, it sometimes seems as if he is re-hashing the material this book.

Koonsy - Feb 7, 2007 5:25 pm - Voted 5/5

Incredible
I just got done reading this book a few days ago and loved it. I had seen the movie before hand but I loved the book and once I got done reading the book, I had to go out and get the movie again. It is a very powerful book and a great story of survival. I would highly recommend reading this book. Joe Simpson is also a very good writer. I am looking forward to reading some of his other books.
Matt

KirtDavis - Feb 20, 2007 4:44 pm - Voted 5/5

Inspiring
I saw the movie first... Then I bought the book... What a great read! So well written, you are almost there.

Alpinist - Mar 20, 2007 8:51 pm - Voted 5/5

Amazing story
Amazing story of one person's will to survive, and how another copes with guilt and sadness. I love how the author captures what is going on through both of their minds as the story unfolds. It's riveting. I couldn't put the book down.

rufus - May 2, 2007 12:42 pm - Hasn't voted

An astonishing
story on a man's will, persistence and mental strength. Regardless if one is otherwise interested in the world of mountains or not, I really recommend this book to everyone.
The movie - I know it's never the same, but in my opinion the movie was not so gripping as the book is.

silversummit - Jan 30, 2009 4:55 pm - Voted 5/5

Excellent read!
A great story which I read a second time because I hurried so quickly through it the first time. The 'near miss' at the end had me wondering what if Simpson and Yates hadn't run into each other? What if Simpson had taken longer getting down the mountain? Lots of ifs...And I don't ever want to see the movie because it would definitely spoil the pictures I have in my mind!

stepho - Aug 14, 2009 10:16 pm - Voted 5/5

good read
this is an incredible story that puts you on the edge of you seat and keeps you flipping through the pages until you have finished the entire book.

icypeak - Aug 7, 2010 3:11 pm - Voted 5/5

Super book!
One of the few I've actually read twice.

Andrew Rankine - Jan 9, 2012 12:17 pm - Hasn't voted

A favorite
This book, and the movie, is one of my favorite mountaineering stories. The story is so powerful, it commands a lot of respect.

Josh Lewis - Feb 6, 2012 4:19 am - Voted 5/5

Two Thumbs Up
The movie and the book go great side by side. What an ordeal that must have been to have gone though.

Redwic - Nov 12, 2014 12:32 pm - Hasn't voted

A Classic
Very interesting and moving story.

Viewing: 1-11 of 11