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    Touching The Void
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    Touching The Void
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    Touching The Void
    Audiobook6 hours

    Touching The Void

    Written by Joe Simpson

    Narrated by Daniel Weyman and Andrew Wincott

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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 1995. 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House UK Audio
    Release dateMar 1, 2012
    ISBN9781448130207
    Unavailable
    Touching The Void
    Author

    Joe Simpson

    Joe Simpson is a British mountaineer, author, and motivational speaker. He is the author of the enormously successful Touching the Void.

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    Reviews for Touching The Void

    4/5

    25 ratings21 reviews

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    • 5/5
      this is one of my favorite books. it was interesting hearing it narrated, it brings out different tones to the way i read it in my head. a truly amazing story.
    • 5/5
      In 1985, mountain climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates made an attempt to scale the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. While their attempt is successful, Joe falls and badly breaks his leg on the way down. What follows is a harrowing story of survival as both men attempt to reach safety. In particular, a series of mishaps separates Joe from Simon, and Joe ends up crawling his way back to camp over the course of several days, alone, and nearly dying in the process.This story has apparently become the stuff of legend in the mountaineering community, and rightfully so. Joe Simpson basically suffers throughout the book as he tries to make his way to safety. The writing itself is very simple and easy to follow. It doesn’t bog down too much in the technicalities of climbing, so it’s fairly easy to understand. While primarily written from Joe’s point of view, it does contain parts where we read about Simon’s viewpoints as well. I guess there is some criticism of the characters of each of these men. Indeed, both are somewhat selfish and egotistical, but remember that they are not saints; they are human beings with flaws. This book is simply an honest account of what took place and of what they were thinking at the time. It is a bit difficult to talk about the book without spoiling it, but overall, as a true story of survival, it is incredible. It has a slightly nihilistic tone to it, but if you put yourself in Joe’s shoes and imagine the incredible pain and fear he is enduring, then it does make sense. On a side-note, I would also recommend the documentary film (of the same name) made in 2003. It follows the book faithfully and intercuts footage of interviews with the real Simpson and Yates with footage of actors reenacting the tale. It is a much more striking visual representation of the story than simply reading it. Overall, I would give this book 5 out of 5. If you like adventure stories, especially true stories and stories of survival, then this book is for you (and the film as well).
    • 3/5
      an extraordinary story of survival, a meditation on human relationships; ask yourself "would you cut the rope?" and how would you feel afterwards?
    • 2/5
      Touching the Void is the first hand account of a mountaineer who survived a near fatal experience on an Andean mountain in Peru. Originally published in 1988, this book tells the story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates’ disastrous ventures on the Siula Grande. The 2008 Vintage Classics edition has some updated retrospective comments in the afterword.This book was brought to me by a friend who had just finished it and was really enthusiastic about it, and about how it showed the resourcefulness of mankind, and what a person could achieve if they had the will.I must admit that mountaineering is not my cup of tea. This book was on the back foot with me from the off. I was, however, determined to read it and provide my comments to my enthusiastic friend.Personal prejudices aside, let me start with the things that did not work for me, and finish on the more positive aspects of Touching the Void.The book told me about two friends who, on their own admission in the book, tackled a dangerous climb without being properly prepared or provisioned.This dangerous climb, for which they were ill prepared, was in a region of the world where there was no hope of help or support if anything went wrong.The weather conditions they experienced were different from anything they had experienced before and they found themselves attempting to second-guess what the weather was going to do, and what the local climatic conditions were likely to be.On the positive side, reading the book did give me a great sense of being on the mountain, or in the crevasse, or crawling over the rocky moraine. It was very graphic and I could imagine myself in the predicaments described.Each of the climbers had to make hard decisions about life or death. I think the book conveyed the thoughts, feelings and moral dilemmas of each climber in a sensitive, effective and realistic fashion. It also put across the permanent effects their experiences have had on them, and the issues they have to deal with for the rest of their lives.Anyone interested in mountaineering will, in my opinion, love this book. I would suggest there would be some of us who would be just as well off by not reading it. I would add that this book in no way altered my opinion of mountaineering.
    • 4/5
      This is an unforgettable book, mostly for good reasons. Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates encounter the serious climber's hellish dilemma: one has been injured high up an Andean peak. What should the other do? Abandon the injured man, and save his own life, or try to pull off a rescue that will almost certainly end in death for both? This story has the great benefit of being non-fiction: the exigencies of the decisions Simpson and Yates make, and the utterly unlikely events that transpire would both be ridiculed in a novel for being implausible and melodramatic. Their story is amazing.Another plus (mostly) is that the story's told by Simpson himself. Like the epitome of this genre, Into Thin Air, there is a clarity and truth to Simpson's storytelling that can only come from someone who was there. Unlike Jon Krakauer, however, Simpson is not a great writer. He's obviously highly intelligent, and he manages to convey the grinding pain, exhaustion and hopelessness of his epic journey to safety in a powerful way. There are sections where he's essentially reproducing the stream of consciousness delirium he experienced on the mountain, and they're quite effective. He also strips away much that is inessential -- perhaps too much, especially in terms of the climbing descriptions. They're often written in a kind of mountaineer's shorthand that non-climbers like me really can't understand. The book also is not particularly well-paced; it seems longer than its modest page total. Quibbles aside, this is essential reading for anyone interested in mountaineering, survival stories, or simply some good adventure.
    • 4/5
      Excellent story of an unbelievable true story of survival. Two young men successfully climb Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, on the descent things go horribly wrong. If you've seen the documentary this is the book it's based on.
    • 4/5
      Compelling, a lot of suspense, well written and very hard not to read on one day. However, I could not decide about my own emotions: Respect and admiration for the climbers' determination and discipline or plain pity for their childish and selfish behaviour putting themselves (and others) in danger pointlessly). Qui perit morit. But this is not the whole of the story. Do you think Simon was right to cut the rope? Disuss.
    • 4/5
      An unbelievable account of survival. Given the insurmountable odds it goes beyond imagination as to how Joe Simpson found the will and strength to carry on. Many would have given up long ago. "Touching the Void" was also made into a short film with Joe Simpson, Simon Yates, and their camp mate, "Richard" providing narration. The film is true to the book and highly recommended. I found it in 12 parts on YouTube. I discovered it prior to finishing the book. I had to restrain myself from watching the entire film before finishing the book. :)
    • 5/5
      We all have bad days. But if you read TOUCHING THE VOID by Joe Simpson not "only" will you have experienced a jaw-droppingly thrilling true story of grit and survival, you'll also – no matter how bad things ever get for you – be able to say to yourself: 'Well, at least I'm not desperately trying to make my way down one of the world's most dangerous mountains alone, with a broken leg, without food or water or shelter, with no hope of rescue because all my friends think I'm dead.' It's not a book for fans of Boney M, I guess. For everyone else I'd say it's essential.
    • 1/5
      As another review of this book once pointed out, Touching the Void is, in itself, its biggest spoiler. We know that both brothers survived their ordeal, because they lived to write a novel! This is a story of survival against astronomical odds, but I have extracted bigger feelings of ‘wow, what a struggle’ from books where the main characters didn’t go through half as much as Joe Simpson. Am I inhuman because by halfway through the story I had been swallowed by an overwhelming sense of apathy?Although this book has been highly acclaimed, some novels just don’t click with certain people, and this was the case with Touching the Void and I. Having spent many hours trying to analyse why this was, I have deduced that this book completely failed to hook me. When a book only has ‘heart-stopping’ adventure going for it, and it somehow fails to stop its reader’s heart, then suddenly it becomes pointless and boring.There are also disadvantages of writing about a true story like this one, (however exciting it may be.) For one, reading this book is a little like being on the mountain with the two brothers; you can’t fast-forward through the repetitive climbing bits to get to the real excitement. If Touching the Void were a fictional story, Joe Simspon would no doubt have omitted lots of the pages he spent going from point A to point B, and working his way around difficult areas of rock. As it is, Joe does not actually break his leg until fifty pages in, and fifty pages is a long time to wait for any sense of story-driving complication.For the right kind of person, however, I imagine this book could be quite enjoyable. It paints clear pictures of landscapes, complete with atmospheres: suspenseful, joyful, despairing. The ideal person to read Touching the Void would be a mountain climber, as anybody not familiar with the obscure terminology has to keep flicking to the (incomplete) glossary at the back, which rather detracts from the experience.Overall, with its exciting chapter titles and true-story appeal, this book wouldn’t be too bad a way to spend an afternoon – you just have to give it to the right person. The person who gave it to me made a mistake. Recommended for those who find themselves feeling sorry for people they have never met.
    • 5/5
      Don't pick this book up unless you have time to kill. You won't be putting it down anytime soon. This is an absolutely astounding story of one person's miraculous survival in the face of almost certain death. This is on a par with Shackleton's adventure in the Southern Ocean, sailing 850 miles by dead reckoning in a 20 foot boat in a hurricane to hit South Georgia Island. Some people are just very, very, incredibly lucky. Great tale, well told.
    • 5/5
      A genuine epic. Tremendously well written.
    • 5/5
      I get vertigo just standing on a chair, so I love to read about those superhumans who can not only climb whole ladders, but even mountains. But this book is about descent, and touches something primal. What can the human will achieve? What can the bravest of us overcome in order to survive? Read this book, or watch the docu-drama of same - both are superb but the film is actually better - and prepare to be humbled, and to gasp in awe.
    • 5/5
      I could not put this book down. I seemed to have a vague memory of seeing (some) of the movie. But for some reason reading something almost always evokes a much stronger emotional reaction in me.When I was done I wanted to drop to my knees and thank God that I am not called to climb mountains. I love to read about it but mountain climbing books are never just about climbing. They are usually rich with metaphor.There were no dark forces acting against me. A voice in my head told me that this was true, cutting through the jumble in my mind with its cold rational sound.Ultimately, we all have to look after ourselves, whether on mountains or in day to day life. In my view that is not a license to be selfish, for only by taking good care of ourselves as we able to help others. Away from the mountains, in the complexity of every life, the price of neglecting this responsibility might be a marriage breaking down, a disruptive child, a business failing or a house repossessed.It made me wonder at the person I had been all those years ago. I must have been bold, ambitious or even a little crazy to have considered such an undertaking. I traced the line of our ascent and watched the snow pluming off the north ridge in the strong high-altitude winds. It scared me. Where had all that drive and passion gone? How had I lost that sense of invincibility, the confidence born of youth,
    • 5/5
      A riveting and nearly unbelievable true story of endurance. Two British mountain climbers struggle to descend a Peruvian peak in the face of ever-worsening catastrophe. This book was the basis for a recent documentary by the same title.
    • 3/5
      I read this book after seeing the film of the same title. I only read the book because my wife read it, absolutely loved it, and really wanted me to read it. She rarely asks me to read a book, so I read this for her. I'm glad that I saw the movie (which I loved) because it allowed me to visualize things that I was not able to visualize just on the basis of the author's words. To me, the book was more intense than the movie, but somehow less compelling -- maybe because I'd already seen the movie and knew how the story ended.
    • 4/5
      A gripping story of one mans fight for survival in the mountains.
    • 5/5
      One of the most touching, apparently truthful and immediate books I have read for a long time, one that left me torn between alarm at the young Simpson's foolishness and respect for his tenacity. A great insight into that mysterious force that drives mountaineers back to the mountain again and again to face physical danger and misery beyond imagination. An excellent addition to a favourite genre of mine.
    • 3/5
      Considering that most of the book is told from the perspective of one man’s thoughts as he’s stuck alone in a seriously bad predicament, it’s surprising how exhausted I was after finishing the book. If you enjoy stories of personal willpower, endurance, or being stuck in the wilderness, you’ll enjoy this book.
    • 5/5
      A truly wonderful read. It’s one of those books that you try to force on your friends, hence several copies have entered and left my shelves over the years.Joe Simpson tells of the harrowing events experienced by himself and climbing companion Simon Yates in the Peruvian Andes. It’s a tale of survival and the strength of the human spirit. He shares his story with wit and honesty resulting in a book that appeals to a wide variety of readers.I took from this book the knowledge that accidents do happen, people have to make impossible decisions and to be cautious about judgements reached from the comfort of my armchair.
    • 4/5
      Inspiring without being sentimental. Besides telling the story of Joe Simpson's survival, this edition has the added perspective of Yates, who had to make the decision to cut the rope attached to Simpson and move on.