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Audible sample
Touching the Void Kindle Edition
Included in the ebook and free sample is a link to a ten minute video interview with Joe, discussing the challenges and changes that have come to pass in the 25 years since original publication (Please check if your device is able to stream videos - Internet connection required).
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 12, 2012
- File size2294 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Review
"A truly astounding account of suffering and fortitude." -- The Times (London)
"Simpson touches a nerve of the mountaineering community and the hearts of others." -- --Los Angeles Times
"A gripping narrative that should excite armchair adventurers everywhere." -- --Cleveland Plain-Dealer
From the Publisher
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B00AR0DN3Y
- Publisher : DirectAuthors.com Ltd.; 2nd edition (December 12, 2012)
- Publication date : December 12, 2012
- Language : English
- File size : 2294 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 292 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #56,735 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #9 in Mountaineering (Kindle Store)
- #25 in Mountain Climbing
- #26 in Adventurer & Explorer Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the story gripping and exciting. They appreciate the author's thoughtful writing style and vivid descriptions. The events are described as true to life and real. Readers find the book informative about mountain climbing techniques and adventure. It is a quick, easy read with relaxed pacing.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book's story. They find it an engaging read with a personal and dynamic narrative. The story is told in first-person narration, immersing readers in the struggle and trauma of the two climbers. Readers appreciate the author's honest portrayal of an extreme mountain tragedy.
"...His ability to persevere and even the ability to make choices about how or where he wanted to die (which he felt he accepted was inevitable),..." Read more
"Truly amazing real story of endurance and determination. Mostly well written...." Read more
"Unbelievable story very good read!" Read more
"...It's not even that the writing's good, per se. It is - it's VERY good. But the story itself and the way he wrote it is just amazing...." Read more
Customers find the book inspiring and empowering. It helps them appreciate the human spirit and value the little things in life. The author's honest and courageous approach to the story is appreciated. Readers describe the range of emotions experienced by the climber as extreme.
"...Simpson's story is one of total perseverance, dogged determination, and hope. It touched me in a way I didn't expect...." Read more
"Truly amazing real story of endurance and determination. Mostly well written...." Read more
"...It was deeply fascinating and the only thing that made the suspense at all bearable was that I knew he must have lived, since, hello, holding his..." Read more
"...The story itself is incredible and inspiring, as well as terrifying and desperately anxiety provoking...." Read more
Customers find the writing quality good. They praise the author's thoughtful and compelling prose, vivid descriptions, and realistic depiction of the climbers' thoughts and feelings. The book provides a more acute recounting of a personal survival story.
"...Simpson's writing is engaging, it captured me completely; I had to force myself to put it down...." Read more
"...It's not even that the writing's good, per se. It is - it's VERY good. But the story itself and the way he wrote it is just amazing...." Read more
"...I’ve read a few mountaineering tragedy books, this was a much more acute recounting of a personal survival story in a place that is difficult enough..." Read more
"I got this for Grades 7 & 8 and they (and I) loved it. Well-written, lots of opportunities to learn new words and about new parts of the world...." Read more
Customers find the book honest and true to life. They describe it as an edge-of-your-seat drama with a gripping account of a mountaineering extreme. The events feel real and gripping.
"...OUCH. Painful and honest but not self-exculpatory or irrational. Augh. This is the worst review ever. But, jeez. Read it! See for yourself!" Read more
"...voice in his head that keeps him moving, really a great story and amazingly true...." Read more
"...stories go, this is one of the most painful, because of how true to life the events feel while reading it...." Read more
"...when they were separated which keeps it quite interesting and realistic -- each of them had to deal with their own impossibly challenging predicament..." Read more
Customers find the book's content engaging and informative. It provides detailed descriptions of mountain climbing techniques and adventure. Readers appreciate the gripping account of perils and the kind of men who survive it. They find the jargon appealing and mention it's one of the best comprehensive books on mountaineering.
"...were to keep him focused on forward motion, obviously vital to getting off the mountain. The clock kept his perspective balanced with reality...." Read more
"...I was also really impressed with the sections written by his climbing partner, Simon Yates. OUCH...." Read more
"...Bravery and adventure in the world of mountain climbing! I give the book five stars! Quoth the Raven…" Read more
"It is a good book with a great story. This book was used but in great shape...." Read more
Customers find the book readable. They say it's a quick read with relaxed pacing. The book is described as an adventure read that can be completed in one sitting.
"...action in this book, it keeps you ‘on the edge of your seat’ and it goes fast...." Read more
"...The pacing is much more relaxed compared with the tighter second half after the accident...." Read more
"...Maybe a little slow in the beginning, hang in there...." Read more
"...This is a very short book and very quick read. I strongly recommend this book for an exciting read...." Read more
Customers find the book's content gripping and spellbinding. They describe it as a true page-turner that draws them in.
"Great book!! Hands down one of the most gripping page-turners I have read...." Read more
"A good read, and compelling enough to keep me going to find out Joe resolved his situation...." Read more
"...No flowery proses, just a book with true grit." Read more
"One of the top five books I've ever read. Absolutely spell binding." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some find it inspiring and moving, keeping them on the edge of their seats. Others feel the background details are lacking and the story is too graphic.
"...The story itself is incredible and inspiring, as well as terrifying and desperately anxiety provoking...." Read more
"...I cannot give it five stars because it is too stressful and so graphic in its telling that I was crying and sweating and laughing and dreading until..." Read more
"...to articulate such inexpressible fears and feelings in such a vivid, moving way...." Read more
"...The author paints vivid, terrifying pictures of his experiences alone and gravely injured on the icy, snowy slopes, but this book is so much more..." Read more
Reviews with images
I took it home and couldn't stop reading.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020Survival on an entirely different level than a TV show. Survival when no one expects you to live. Simpson's story is one of total perseverance, dogged determination, and hope. It touched me in a way I didn't expect. I've read a number of hiking and survival books that had obvious, reliable endings. With this one, I kept having to remind myself that Simpson lived. And he's telling the story. It's not a fantastical yarn spun by an author who's only experience comes from research: This really happened. The fact that I had to keep reminding myself of that made me appreciate this book even more. Simpson's writing is engaging, it captured me completely; I had to force myself to put it down.
I'm an avid hiker, and I've been in positions where I've had to turn around because the situation was becoming unsafe or time was against me. Because of that, I kept expecting them to turn around at some point or for an injury to occur sooner, forcing them to accept defeat. Their "can do" attitude and their thoughtful determination allowed them to summit and make it as far down as they did. However, it was also their downfall. I read "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales prior to this, and he explores that mindset of pushing limits and reaching further (because it was a fascinating read and I think everyone should delve into it, I won't expound much further on his theory of why people do that), but at one point on the way to the summit, Simpson pauses to reflect on why he is attempting a summit no one has done before and he realizes he's going to feel a need to push for harder, more remote climbs to surpass Siula Grande and wonders if it is all worth it. That arenaline and feeling of success leads people to push and take greater risks. It was humbling to know he had those thoughts and recognized that mindset on his way up. Sumitting truly is a rush.
Simpson's reflection on his actual survival and his thought process kept me engage the entire way. I can't imagine hauling myself off a mountain with a broken leg. I've attempted moderate himes with a fractured shin, and that was miserable! His focus on patterns and repetition as a means to block out the pain, his use of his watch to force himself forward, and listening to his inner "voice" were his survival techniques. The patterns were to keep him focused on forward motion, obviously vital to getting off the mountain. The clock kept his perspective balanced with reality. The voice kept him alive. I loved his description of the voice: "A cold clinical side of me assessed everything, decided what to do and made me do it. The rest was madness - a hazy blur of images so vivid and real that I lost myself in their spell."
In addition to his recollection, he includes sections from Simon's perspective. My heart aches for Simon, who had to make the decision to save his life at the cost of another's or lose both. I can't imagine the guilt and pain he felt and hope I never have to, but a review of this book would feel incomplete if I didn't tip my hat to Simon, who's perseverance, cool headedness, and ability to see the bigger picture gave him victory with a steep price. The heartache i felt for him was alleviated in the author's note at the end, where Simon shared his thoughts on the climb and where things started to go wrong. He says, "For only by taking good care of ourselves are we able to help others. Away from the mountains, in the complexity of everyday life, the price of neglecting this responsibility might be a marriage breaking down, a disruptive child, a business failing or a house repossessed. In the mountains the penalty for neglect can often be death." Simon, you have my utmost respect.
Simpson's survival and story are so much more than just patterns and voices, though. He has a will and determination to live that I feel is unmatched, except by a few people. His ability to persevere and even the ability to make choices about how or where he wanted to die (which he felt he accepted was inevitable), spurred him forward. If this was the end, it would be on his terms, and he would get as far away from the mountain as possible. That is true grit and determination. I truly admire Simpson and would love to write more but fear my words will fall on bored ears.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023Truly amazing real story of endurance and determination. Mostly well written. I only found that frequently his attempt at describing natural features and places to be clunky and hard to understand. Perhaps due to the unworldly locales of his adventure.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2024Unbelievable story very good read!
- Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2008Touching the Void is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. I am still kind of stunned. I started it way too late at night and couldn't put it down. I went to work the next morning with only four hours of sleep.
It's not even that the writing's good, per se. It is - it's VERY good. But the story itself and the way he wrote it is just amazing.
I've read a lot about the high altitude hallucinations people have (conversations with your feet at 27000 ft or people sitting on your ice ledge telling you they have tea set up just around the corner) but his experience was not at all like that. He had what he calls a voice inside that was insistent about keeping to a timetable and doing certain things, especially as he dragged himself off the glacier. It was deeply fascinating and the only thing that made the suspense at all bearable was that I knew he must have lived, since, hello, holding his book in my hands. I could not put it down.
I was also really impressed with the sections written by his climbing partner, Simon Yates. OUCH. Painful and honest but not self-exculpatory or irrational.
Augh. This is the worst review ever. But, jeez. Read it! See for yourself!
- Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2018I watched the documentary years ago. Joe’s story has stuck with me ever since. It wasn’t long ago that I realized the documentary was based off his book. A few days ago I finally purchased it now that I have time to read again, and I was not disappointed. I had a feeling the book would be ever better than the documentary, and I was right.
This book is wonderful and has left me feeling all sorts of emotions. The story itself is incredible and inspiring, as well as terrifying and desperately anxiety provoking. I can’t even begin to imagine what both Simon and Joe went through on the Sulia Grande, and I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Joe during those days alone attempting to survive.
This is an amazing book, one of the best I’ve ever read. I can’t wait to read more of Joe’s novels. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering it. You won’t regret it. This is a story that will stick with you forever. You can’t shake it. You will be on the edge of your seat the entire time, and you will constantly wonder, “How can he survive? It’s not possible. How?”
Top reviews from other countries
- SRockReviewed in Canada on November 7, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable
Harrowing story, gripping, well-written and addictive.
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Jason101Reviewed in Germany on November 3, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Ein Buch für Bergsteiger
Ein sehr schönes Buch für Leute, welche gerne bei Schnee und Eis in den Bergen zugange sind. Das Buch geht nahezu unter die Haut..
- Miguel F. CarvalhoReviewed in Spain on February 25, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars A phenomenal book, genuine mountaineering classic
As I went through the Foreword by Chris Bonington I knew I was about to read something uncommonly special. It turned out to be an understatement - the book is a beautifully written, genuine marvel, that keeps the reader wondering how on earth someone lives to tell this remarkable story of tenacity, strength, endurance and mental as well as physical resilience. If like me, you start reading after work and dinner in the middle of the week, prepare yourself for a couple of short nights of sleep. In any case, don't expect to blink much. Thoroughly recommended.
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Cliente de AmazonReviewed in Mexico on August 31, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars El libro me pico, buenisimo
Muy bien escrito, un poco técnico, por lo que hay que buscar algunos de los términos, pero muy entretenido.
- milindReviewed in India on April 10, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Book review after seeing the film
Riveting! unputdownable! Though you know the end, the suspense keeps you hooked.
Superb and highly recommended!
For inspiration and for any adventure buff.