Found this brand-new (not even pubbed yet) book, unregistered, at my OBCZ. (This is an ARC.)

This is my 18th book registered for the BC Race to 3 million challenge.

From the cover -
In the first hours there was nothing, no fear or sadness, just a black and perfect silence.
Nando Parrado was unconscious for three days before he woke to discover that the plane carrying his rugby team as well as their family members and supporters to an exhibition game in Chile had crashed somewhere deep in the Andes. He soon learned that many were dead or dying - among them his own mother and sister. Those who remained were stranded on a lifeless glacier with no supplies and no means of summoning help. They struggled to endure freezing temperatures, deadly avalanches, and then the devastating news that the search for them had been called off.
As time passed and Nando's thoughts turned increasingly to his father, who he knew must be consumed with grief, Nando resolved that he must get home or die trying.
Thirty years after the disaster made famous by Piers Paul Read in the international bestseller Alive, Nando tells his own story with remarkable candor and depth of feeling. Miracle in the Andes is more than a riveting tale of true-life adventure: it is a revealing look at life at the edge of death and a meditation on the limitless redemptive power of love.

Wow, this is an incredible book - probably my top read of the year (so far).

I've never read Alive - I was put off by the thought of the cannibalism that was reported. But this book is not sensationalized at all - in fact, it's the exact opposite. This is a compelling read, a true-life adventure story as written by the "expeditionary" who treked from over 14,000 feet out of the Andes and into Chile when it became clear to them that they wouldn't be rescued, and were responsible for saving their own lives.

This book is a tribute to the amazing resilience of the human spirit - what a person can endure when pushed beyond their limits. It's also a tribute to the love of a man and his family, which is what kept him going for months, just to survive. This story has been written over 30 years after the events in the Andes mountains (in 1972). It tells of the survivors' lives since the crash, and draws conclusions about how and why they survived. It's a marvelous tribute to life.

If you enjoy tales of outdoor adventures, or stories about man overcoming great obstacles, do yourself a favor and read this book. You won't soon forget it.

3/11/06 - Sent on to FeralReader.

Trying to get a bookray going for this one, without much luck so far.

Sent this off to FeralReader today. I'll try a bit more for a bookray, but if I don't get any more readers please "ray it forward." Perhaps there'll be more interest in this one after it's published, or after it's traveled a bit.

3/14 update - Next reader - Alive, FL

3/31 update -
NicoleSinger - NC
GenieLady - WV
Aisling78 - MA (asked to be skipped)
Collectorkerri - IL
Grubsneerg - PA
Spaceystacey - NJ

`Miracle in the Andes` arrived today. Many thanks, MaryZee! I read the copy of `Alive` I had been saving, in anticipation of this story. Just looking at Nando's dedication, I know I will want to read his story straight through. I really appreciate your sharing this book with us.

A captivating and deeply moving personal account of an astonishing event in most of our memories.

MaryZee has described it beautifully, and I will just quote some of its uplifting sentiment:

"The mountains, for all their power, could not crush my ability to love."

Nando comments that his father, "...saved my life. He saved me by telling me stories when I was a boy, and those stories helped me find strength in the mountains."

About his father's love, Nando writes, "It was quiet love, but solid and deep and enduring...As long as I held onto that love, I was not lost. I was connected to my home and my father, and it was that strong cord of love that led me out of danger."

Perhaps the most beautiful line in this book is something Nando's father said when his son returned home:
"Don't let this be the most important thing that happens to you. Look forward. You will have a life."

In the post today to fellow Bookcrosser, Alive, next on MaryZee's ray.

Miracle in the Andes arrived today.

Thanks FeralReader for getting the book here and MaryZee for staring this bookray.

I read Alive and found it one of the best books I ever read!

I will start reading Miracle as soon as I finish this entry.

Alive

I sent a pm to NicoleSinger and have not heard back.

I will send one more pm and if I don't hear back I will contact the next person.

I am so sorry that I've kept this book for so long.

I have already sent the book out today to nicolesinger.

Yay! I was out of town due to a death in the family & again due to car trouble. Then I dropped the ball on getting back to Alive when I was back, so I figured I'd been skipped. When I visited MaryZee's shelf recently, I checked to see how far it had gone. Alive still had it and generously agreed to send it to me. Thanks, Alive, for sending the book and for the beautiful postcard!

I do remember reading _Alive_ (the book) many years ago when I was very interested in survival and survival stories. It will be interesting to hear the story again from a different perspective. I will try to read this and move it along ASAP. Thanks, MaryZee, for starting this bookray!

Wow, that was a quick read! I started reading day before yesterday and finished this morning. It was a good read, too. Well-paced and decently written. I'll have to keep an eye out for the final version at the library, because I'd like to see the pictures.

I have to say, the cannibalism has received a lot of attention, and the hunger must have been terrible, but for me the most horrifying part of the ordeal must have been the cold. Just the thought of more than two months of never being able to get really warm... I don't know if I could have endured it. Unbelievable that so many of them did.

It was interesting to get the update at the end - what each of the survivors has been doing since the crash. (I might've guessed from some of the dialogue that Nando Parrado has a background in television...) From the sounds of it, they've gone on to some tremendous accomplishments.

Anyhow, I'm glad to have ahd a chance to read this, and may have to consider looking for a copy for the rest of my family to read. In the meantime, I'm PMing GenieLady for an address as soon as I finish this journal entry.

I've got it! I never read Alive, but I'm looking forward to reading this one. I have another bookring to finish first, so it will be a little while before I can start. Thanks for sharing MaryZee.

This poor book got placed under a pile of bookrings, so I'd forgotten about it until now. I'll try to hurry and read it, so the next person doesn't have to wait so long.

I'd lent this one to my neighbor and forgot all about it. Now it'll be on its way to Aisling78. I'm so sorry it's been such a long time here.

Skipped to Collectorkerri.

RELEASE NOTES:

In the mail yesterday to Collectorkerri.

Received yesterday. Will read ASAP.

What a gripping read! I had not read Alive or seen the movie. I might have to now, though. What a horrifying experience that must have been. Amazing that so many of these young men survived to be rescued. It was really wonderful that Nando's love for his father and desire to reunite with him was what kept driving him forward and to work toward rescue.

Sent off to grubsneerg today.

This book arrived safe and sound today. I have one bookring ahead of it and then I'll get started on it. Thanks for sharing, MaryZee, and for sending along, collectorkerri!

This book was absolutely riveting--I really want to see the 32 pages of photos in the final version of this book; I may have to head to Barnes & Noble and be one of those book browsers! What an amazing story of survival and love; I can't imagine being so cold, so hungry, so terrified, and yet so determined to live and love. Poets, songwriters, and philosophers have been saying it for centuries: love is the answer; all we need is love. In telling his story, Nando Parrado says it *is* that simple.

I'll be mailing this to spaceystacey in New Jersey on Monday.

received in the post today. Will be reading this weekend at the pool and then forwarding on to the next reader.