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  • Alive

  • The Story of the Andes Survivors
  • Written by: Piers Paul Read
  • Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
  • Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (95 ratings)

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Alive

Written by: Piers Paul Read
Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
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Publisher's Summary

On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the 45 original passengers and crew, only 16 made it off the mountain alive. For 10 excruciating weeks, they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, these men and women not only had to keep their faith; they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends?

A remarkable story of endurance and determination, Alive is the dramatic best-selling account of one of the most harrowing quests for survival in modern times.

©2002 Piers Paul Read (P)2017 Dreamscape Media, LLC
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What listeners say about Alive

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

what would you do?

excellent crafter story. i really enjoyed how it built both stories up from the crash and family. hard at times to listen at the more gruesome parts but definitely makes you wonder what would you do?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down

Don't bother with the movie! This audiobook is so much better!! Loved it... incredible story made relatable by great writing and narration. I rarely listen to an audiobook twice, but this is one of those rare gems!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Screenplay-like Reconstruction

This true-life tragedy is harrowing. Piers Paul Reid pens a heavily dramatized description of what happened to the survivors of a 1972 plane crash in the Andes mountains. I have never seen the film interpretation of the story, but I imagine it must be very much like this book. The scenes are mind's-eye vivid and the occurrences that Reid relates are straight out of a Hollywood storyboard. That said, there are episodes of dialogue that are *clearly* fictional, but are written to give readers impressions of the personalities involved. Hence, the narrative feels a little disengenuous.. this book is best characterized as "Based on a True Story" rather than being considered a documentary.

Regardless, the amazing challenges these kids faced (they were mostly teenagers) are nearly unbelievable, the frustration at near-miss rescue events is palpable, and the personalities involved are described with exquisite detail - I felt immersed in this jawdropping scenario. Reid generates a mind's-eye vivid setting.. readers can easily place themselves among the survivors and imagine what it must have been like. This is a viscerally-affecting narrative. The matter-of-fact descriptions of eating raw, rotting human bodies (and harvesting every edible piece) are genuinely gruesome.

By far the weakest aspect of this audiobook is the reading by Paul Ansdell. He exhibits professional diction, timbre, and cadence, but his pacing is off (setting playback at 1.15X makes up for some deficiencies), and his tone is far too matter-of-fact. Dreamscape Media should have hired someone else to read the book.

Despite taking a striking amount of artistic license, I rate 'Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors' 7.5/10 stars. Even with slightly subpar delivery, it absolutely merits a Credit. This incredible story would be great for a long drive or a lonely night shift.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The feeling about 3/4 through is tear jerking

The book can be hard to follow due to lots of character names and the narration but it is a very compelling tale of people surviving at all costs.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing true account.

Loved this book! The author gifted readers with insight into the heads and hearts of everyone involved. The story is riveting...loved the timeline and details. As good as the movie was, so glad I read this amazing book first.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing story

Inspirational, moving. A story of remarkable survival that everyone should know. A must read / listen.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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A must listen!!

I have always been fascinated by the story. I have seen the movie countless times , documentaries and I read the book by Nando. Yet there was still detail in this audio , particularly from the families perspective that I had not yet heard. It is a fantastic listen and I highly recommend it

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Great!

Couldn’t stop listening! Love the narration found it soothing and enjoyable and the story is insane.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The narrator is absolutely terrible

Feels like I’m watching national geographic. He completely lack any humanity or performative emotion. Great story if told by someone who emulated even the slightest bit.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story but spoiled by the narration

I read the print version of this book when it was first published and wanted to hear it as an audiobook. I managed to finish it but was groaning at the ridiculous mispronunciations of the narrator which seemed to be intentional to me. Is there anyone who thinks that the name Jose is pronounced Joe-say, or Juan, Joo-Ann or on another occasion Hoo-Ann? He was even doing this with English words, eg, colon as co-lone and I think I heard helicopter as hel-ee-copter about fifty times. It's a good book and worth reading but I'd recommend you skip the audio book and opt for the print version this time.

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2 people found this helpful