Touching the Void

Occasionally I need to read some non-fiction to put life into perspective.  Now I really only like one type of non-fiction book; the sport survival story.  This genre contains so many amazing stories that it is surprising that anyone is still alive!  My most recent book is Touching the Void by Joe Simpson.  It is about a two-man team who decided to climb up the west face of the Suila Grande in the Peruvian Andes.  Joe Simpson is actually one of the two-man team so as you read you get a real feeling for what they must have experienced since the author was actually there and it is his feelings the reader experiences.  The book was published in 1988, just three years after the event occurred.  It was also made into a movie (rated R for language) which I wouldn't watch if you paid me.  I once watched the movie North Face, a similiar but more grusome story, which gave me nightmares for two nights, so I know a pictorial representation is unneccesssary for me.  

The book Touching the Void should probably be rated R for language too, but it was easy for me to skip those paragraphs and ignore the language.  I couldn't put it down; it was a story of sheer grit and determination to live.