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Touching the Void

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Touching the Void

By: Joe Simpson
Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Daniel Weyman
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About this listen

Joe Simpson, with just his partner, Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in June of 1985. But before they reached the summit, disaster struck.

A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell their non-climbing companion that Joe was dead. For three days he wrestled with guilt as they prepared to return home. Then a cry in the night took them out with torches, where they found Joe, badly injured, crawling through the snowstorm in a delirium.

Far from causing Joe's death, Simon had paradoxically saved his friend's life. What happened, and how they dealt with the psychological traumas that resulted when Simon was forced into the appalling decision to cut the rope, makes not only an epic of survival but a compelling testament of friendship.

©1988 Joe Simpson (P)2012 Random House Audiobooks Adventure Travel Climbing & Mountaineering Outdoors & Nature Sports Travel Writing & Commentary Adventure
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I actually gave up on this book for a while. It seemed to go now where. Though, without giving anything away, there is a critically point where that all changes. From then on I was almost hanging on every word.

A really slow start

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An incredible recounting.
Astounding that one can endure such events, that the will to survive can triumph against such odds.

Had me hooked at every moment and offered powerful life lessons throughout.

Excellent

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I had seen the documentary years ago but never brought myself to read the book. This audiobook is by far the most gripping story I have listened to so far

I struggled to stop listening

Best yet

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It’s amazing what the human spirit will do to survive! Bugger being a mountaineer though!!

Captivating read

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This book takes awhile to get into if your not normally an 'outdoorsy' kind of person, but then the intensity comes.
I don't want to spoil it, the story had my family looking at each other open mouthed and in silence for the long car trip we had this playing. No one wanted to speak to interrupt the fact we were all conpletely reliving this story in our minds eye.

astounding!

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An amazing story! The fight for survival and reflection on the psychological strain both men were under throughout their ordeal is equally gripping and heart rending.
My only problem was for someone who doesn't know what different pieces of climbing kit are for, or what different rock/ice formations look like and feature, certain aspects were hard to imagine.

Harrowing and Amazing

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Very entertaining survival story. Well read and well performed. Makes me want to watch the documentary again.

Great tale of survival against the odds

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amazing story from start to finish. highly recommend. overcoming ridiculous odds in order to survive is incredible

touching the void. just incredible

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A really good listen! i enjoyed the way both the readers interacted and the story telling / writing from Joe is top notch!

Pure thriller

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i would listen to it for no reason other than it's true, but there definitely are more reasons than that. a captivating story of survival.

true stories are often the best stories

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