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Touching the Void (Paperback)

by Joe Simpson (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £5.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Price For All Three: £15.87

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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (1 Jan 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099771012
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099771012
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 12.6 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #3 in  Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Climbing & Mountaineering > Mountaineering History & Biography

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Review

'A truly astonishing account of suffering and fortitude...the narrative acquires an irresistible force, carrying all before it' Peter Gillman, Sunday Times 'A quite extraordinary and moving book...touches the Great Questions in an understated yet utterly compelling way' David Rose, Guardian 'An outstanding literary achievement' Jim Perrin, Independent 'A brilliant, vivid, gripping, heart-stopping account of their terrifying adventure...superbly written' Graham Lord, Sunday Express --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.


Product Description

An account of the ascent of the 21,000ft Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes. Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had achieved the summit before the first disaster struck. What happened and how they dealt with the psychological traumas that resulted is the subject of this book.
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Customer Reviews

101 Reviews
5 star:
 (75)
4 star:
 (19)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (101 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The remarkable true story of a mountaineering accident, 25 Jan 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Touching the Void (Hardcover)
In 1985 two English climbers set out to climb the remote western face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. The face had repulsed several previous attempts, and despite the odds the two experienced Alpinists made the summit. It was during the descent that the author fell down a small ice cliff and broke his leg. The few paragraphs describing what happens when his climbing partner reaches him, and the descriptions of what is going through their minds and what is said and what is not said is perhaps one of the most tense things in the book. What follows is perhaps one of the most outstanding and dramatic accounts of the human will to survive ever written. Simpson wrote the book whilst recovering from his injuries and has admitted that he found reliving the ordeal painfull. Consequently he wrote the book in a very succinct fashion; he does not use ten words if he can use one, and he always chooses the words well. This book is real edge of the seat stuff, and I read it through in one night, dosed up on coffee, and turned up at work the next day babbling about the book. My advice is don't start reading it if you have work the next day. I have spoken to several other people who have read it and without exception they have found it memorable. A truly remarkable book, one you will remember for a long time. Now move the mouse to the order button !
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story told well., 27 Mar 2000
This review is from: Touching the Void (Hardcover)
Sometime in the early 90s I read a brief article that described the awful decision that was forced on Simon Yates one night on a mountain in the Peruvian Andes. The image of that situation stayed with me although I had long forgotten the names of those involved and the title of the book that chronicled their ill-fated climb. Eventually I got around to searching the 'Mountaineering' section of a bookstore and found the book. I have no interest in climbing mountains but from the first page I was held by Joe Simpson's excellent and effective descriptions of their ascent and his subsequent accident. The life or death situation that faced Simon Yates may be the most sensational aspect of this book but there is much more there for the reader. Joe Simpson gives armchair adventurers like myself the ability to taste some of the fear and elation that the real adventurers experience but he does so with humility and humour. Most of us can only imagine how it feels to climb a mountain but we can all empathise with his reluctance to get out of his warm sleeping bag to make the first cup of tea of the day. Like most other readers I couldn't put this book down and I read it from cover to cover in one sitting.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Menace on the Mountain, 19 Aug 2005
By Hemogoblin (North Yorks) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Touching the Void (Paperback)
This book is addictive. You just can't leave it alone once you start it.

Although I have no head for heights, Mountains & those who pit themselves against such awesome and spectacular obstacles hold a deep fascination for me.

When Joe Simpson fell and injured himself, he was a dead man.
In such an extreme environment as the Peruvian Andes, if you can't help yourself you are doomed. Yet Joe's partner, Simon Yates, took the first of some very courageous decisions & set about extricating himself & Joe from a very precarious situation...

Such determination & the sheer guts displayed by these two men in the face of such overwhelming difficulties makes your heart soar, when set against the normal world in which most of us live.

If Gallantry, Humanity, determination to survive against and defeat an implacable foe, the indomitability of the human spirit despite the frailty of it's physical shell are the qualities that inspire you then read this and be uplifted.

Joe Simpson & Simon Yates faced their demons together and alone, fought them and defeated them. I wish them well.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational
This is a book I had long been meaning to read. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely. Quite simply this is one of the most amazing tales of sheer bloody mindedness and fortitude that... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. G. Goodeve-Ballard

1.0 out of 5 stars Touching the Void
No stars! This book certainly didn't live up to its hype - "brilliant, vivid, gripping - Superbly written" (Sunday Times) etc. I found it tedious, repetitive and very boring. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gertrude Stein

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping!
Not being remotely connected to climbing in any way, I chose this book because I remembered an interesting interview, with Joe Simpson,on T.V. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Snowhite.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a literary masterpiece but an incredible story nevertheless
This book is a page turner. A fascinating read made into a fascinating film. Anyone even remotely interested in mountaineering or travelling would get an adrenaline high from this... Read more
Published 4 months ago by London girl

5.0 out of 5 stars A little over exposed?
If you are coming new to Touching the Void you are in for a real treat - this is as about a remarkable story as you are ever likely to read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by SCM

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story
This is a great book with a story of real character. It's amazing to read an account of what this guy went through and what a person is capable of doing through their own... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Halesy

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching the Void and Touching Cloth
A fast moving non nonsense account of Joe Simpson's hell in Peru. Skillfully penned and remarkably forthcoming about the demons he faced then and now as a result of his... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. S. Dunne

4.0 out of 5 stars A suggestion for the publishers...
... that to aid the inexpert reader they add a glossary of the very many mountaineering terms (necessarily) used. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Josquine

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece
Putting aside the storyline of `Touching the Void' my reason for submitting this review is to pay homage to a masterpiece of writing. Read more
Published 13 months ago by D. Elliott

5.0 out of 5 stars A very special book
Reading `Touching the Void` for the first time, now in 2008, it is so good to be reminded that human beings can have much more to them than the base forms of entertainment... Read more
Published 14 months ago by D. A. Camac

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