It should not be so hard to write both poetry and fiction. Both arts, after all, make use of the same materials, words and punctuation. Poems...
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"A truly astounding account of suffering and fortitude."
--The Times (London)
Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck.Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.
The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall but, crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten, was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson hopped, hobbled, and crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching the base hours before Yates had planned to break camp.
How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival; a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship.
"Told with lyrical quality and stunning immediacy, Touching the Void transcends its genre and becomes accessible to readers who have never had any desire to climb a glacier."
--New York Newsday
"A gripping narrative that should excite armchair adventurers everywhere."
--Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Simpson touches a nerve of the mountaineering community and the hearts of others."
--Los Angeles Times
"Riveting, even compulsive reading."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
Synopsis:
Before there was Into Thin Air, there was Touching the Void, an unforgettable true story of courage and survival. While climbing in the Andes mountains, Joe Simpson and his partner, Simon Yates, had just scaled a 21,000-foot summit when Simpson slipped from a vertical wall of ice, disappearing into the vast frozen heart of a glacier. Devastated, and assuming Simpson to be dead, Yates returned to base camp.
But Joe Simpson was alive. Frostbitten, his leg shattered from the fall, he somehow managed to find the strength to crawl back into camp, arriving mere hours before Yates had planned to leave. Vivid, terrifying, and utterly inspiring, Touching the Void will appeal to anyone with a love of adventure and a belief in the power of the human spirit. -- The success of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm proves there is a vast audience for quality outdoor adventure titles. -- Reissued to coincide with the paperback release of Into Thin Air.
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Before there was Into Thin Air, there was Touching the Void, an unforgettable true story of courage and survival. While climbing in the Andes mountains, Joe Simpson and his partner, Simon Yates, had just scaled a 21,000-foot summit when Simpson slipped from a vertical wall of ice, disappearing into the vast frozen heart of a glacier. Devastated, and assuming Simpson to be dead, Yates returned to base camp.
But Joe Simpson was alive. Frostbitten, his leg shattered from the fall, he somehow managed to find the strength to crawl back into camp, arriving mere hours before Yates had planned to leave. Vivid, terrifying, and utterly inspiring, Touching the Void will appeal to anyone with a love of adventure and a belief in the power of the human spirit. -- The success of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm proves there is a vast audience for quality outdoor adventure titles. -- Reissued to coincide with the paperback release of Into Thin Air.
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