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When I Fell From the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival [Paperback]

Juliane Koepcke , Ross Benjamin (translator)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Book Description

19 Mar 2012
THE TRUE STORY OF ONE WOMAN S MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL

On December 24th 1971, the teenage Juliane boarded the packed flight in Peru to meet her father for Christmas. She and her mother fought to get some of the last seats available and felt thankful to have made the flight. The LANSA airplane flew into a heavy thunderstorm and went down in dense Amazon jungle hundreds of miles from civilization.

She fell two miles from the sky, still strapped to her plane seat, into the jungle. She was the sole survivor among the 92 passengers, which included her mother, and Juliane s unexplainable survival has been called a modern-day miracle.

With incredible courage, instinct and ingenuity, she crawled and walked alone for eleven days in the green hell of the Amazon. She survived using the skills she d learned in assisting her parents on their research trips into the jungle before coming across a loggers hut, and, with it, safety. Now she tells her fascinating story for the first time and on its 40th anniversary she shares not only the private moments of her survival and rescue but her inspiring life in the wake of the disaster.


Product details

  • Paperback: 264 pages
  • Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (19 Mar 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 185788583X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857885835
  • Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 21.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 56,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

She did not leave the airplane, the airplane left her
Werner Herzog, director of Grizzly Man

Juliane Koepcke writes compellingly of the crash and her unusual childhood
Financial Times (DE)

Exhilaratingly written
Express (DE)

Her memoir is a gripping account of a harrowing adventure and an inspiring life
Publishers Weekly

Her account of the 11-day trek is enthralling. In shock and suffering from injuries, she made it to a river s edge without her eyeglasses, wearing just a minidress and one sandal. It was rainy season, so there was no fruit to eat. She was either freezing or boiling, set upon by bugs. She contended with stingrays, snakes, king vultures and caimans. Eventually, local woodcutters found her and mistook her for a water goddess. Brought to safety, she became an international icon of hope.
Maclean's Magazine

--...

About the Author

Juliane Koepcke whose married name is Diller was born in 1954 and grew up in Lima and the rain forest, where her parents founded the Panguana research station. She earned a doctoral degree in biology and works for the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich. She returns to Peru every year. Her incredible story was documented in the film Wings of Hope, directed by Werner Herzog.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, but not for the obvious reasons 30 May 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found this book absolutely absorbing and very hard to put down, despite some shortcomings.

I bought it because I wanted to know how it was possible for fall out of an aeroplane at 17,000 feet and survive. To know how it felt, one moment to be sitting in a plane, a teenager beside your mother, thinking about Christmas, and almost the next to find yourself alone on the ground, in dense rain forest, the sole survivor of a crash yet practically unhurt.

It never gave me a satisfactory answer to the first question, mainly because the disaster was never properly investigated from a technical point of view. A series of dignitaries, including a government minister, appear and quickly disappear, desperately keen to gloss over the fact that the airline was a shambles and the plane a flying deathtrap. Julianne herself does not appear to have become too engrossed in exactly how it happened. She throws out a suggestion that some commentator produced that because she was still strapped in to the end seat of an otherwise empty detached three-seat section, that part may have achieved the same kind of twirling 'flight' as a sycamore seed, slowing what should have been a headlong plunge to disaster -- but she doesn't say whether she believes it. Possibly it appeals to her as a naturalist.

Julianne does explain how she managed to survive, alone, as a 17-year-old, in the uninhabited rainforest. It was entirely due to having grown up as the only child of two naturalists, from her earliest days spending part of her year in a camp on the Amazon. This unusual upbringing made her physically very able and very attuned to her surroundings. But at the same time it made her unworldly and, though very bright, young for her years.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars not an easy read 5 Sep 2012
By MnM
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
A lengthy and tedious read with a very small amount of information about the main topic of the book. For me it was more about the writers relationship with the Peruvian jungle and the setting up of a research station there rather than the event of a plane crash and the author's survival experience. Although interesting to read of the fauna and creatures in the jungle, that is not what inspired me to purchase the book and I skipped a lot of the content (which is something I very rarely do) as I found it repetitive and far too detailed. At times I felt like I was reading a text book rather than an account of a survival event and if like me that ia what you are expecting to read, like me you will be disappointed. If on the other hand you want to learn about what is involved in setting up and sustaining a research centre in a remote part of Peru and the associated ecological issues of that part of the world then it will be right up your street. Generally a disappointing purchase for me.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic story 3 May 2012
By alun
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a really well crafted and written story about a remarkable lady who survived, as a teenager, an aeroplane crash in the Andes. It is much more than the reporting of the initial events and the trek back into civilization, giving you a real feel for life in the rainforest in Peru, the work being carried out there, and the consequences of what's gone on before. A thought provoker and a really interesting story.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars INSPIRING 9 May 2012
By Anju
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was a very hard read but only becuase it contained alot of facts/figures and wealth of information not only about the plane crash but also about the rainforest, its plants and everthing that lives within it.
The book flicks between Juliana now and Juliana then at the time of the crash. At first I found this annoying as I had to keep switching to her various stories. However as the book continues, its clear this was the best way to write it.
I am sure that not only was it a miracle that Juliana survived in the first place but further to this she survived only becuase of her knowledge, skills and fearless attitude.
I have learnt so much from this book, some tips of how to survival in a jungle, knowlegde of new plants and creatures and a story of an inspiring lady and her love of the jungle. Her monther would have been so proud of her.
This is a great read.
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I was nine years old I read Juliane's story in a women's magazine - it was world news back then - and was very impressed. Forty years later I stumbled onto this book and just knew I had to read it. It is a thriller, but above all a story of confidence and hope. The best parts are of the actual crash and her ordeals in the jungle. It is not literature but it makes most interesting reading.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Book review 19 Mar 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many people alive at the time will remember Juliane's story. She writes well and honestly.My objection is that the book is sold through its title, but nearly all it book is either about Juliane's life BEFORE the accident or her RECENT return trip to South America. In short I think the title is a bit of a con.
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1.0 out of 5 stars When I Fell from the Sky 11 Mar 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
What an amazing story but sadly this was not reflected in the style of writing. This might have been due to the translation but it was repetitive, laborious and rather child like. I did finish it, but skipped chunks of the book. Very disappointing.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing 6 Mar 2013
By hohum
Format:Kindle Edition
I was disappointed in this book as there was only a small part which actually followed her journey out of the jungle and it dealt more with her life before and after. The jumping from different times in her life was also confusing and I found it really took a lot of pleasure away from the read. There was also too much about her courses etc on butterflies, bats and whatever.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars a true story
A friend recommended it and it was well worth reading. It wasn't a page turner and I left it a few times to read other books in between but was pleased I managed to finish it.
Published 4 months ago by savvy nana
4.0 out of 5 stars When I Fell From the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous...
I bought this because I had read a brief excerpt in the Telegraph Magazine, I was hooked. There is more to the book than i had imagined which is good.
Published 4 months ago by Eveta Hubbardibus
3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
There are 4 fascinating stories here: the early life of Juliane Koepcke's parents and in particular her father's epic journey to Peru immediately after the 2nd World War; Juliane's... Read more
Published 8 months ago by CMickell
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not really about the jungle experiences
I found this an interesting book - after all, it tells the true story of a girl who fell from a plane at an astounding altitude of 2 miles and survived! Read more
Published 9 months ago by Debs
1.0 out of 5 stars I fell from the sky
Great start, but unfortunately lost my interest further into the book. Bit less exciting reading about her up bringing in the jungle. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Searle
2.0 out of 5 stars When I Fell From the Sky
Many years ago I watched a film based on Juliane Koepke's miraculous escape from the Peruvian jungle after a plain crash. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kalaharicowboy
5.0 out of 5 stars When I fell from the sky.
I really enjoyed this it was very different and there is a lot to learn about the Amazon Rain Forest and that part of the world.
Published 12 months ago by pam howlett
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