Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Ralston, Aron

3.84

22,340 ratings by Goodreads

9780743537292: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

ISBN 10: 0743537297 ISBN 13: 9780743537292

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2004

"It's 3:05 on Sunday, April 27, 2003. This marks my twenty-four-hour mark of being stuck in Blue John Canyon. My name is Aron Ralston. My parents are Donna and Larry Ralston, of Englewood, Colorado. Whoever finds this, please make an attempt to get this to them. Be sure of it. I would appreciate it."

One of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told -- Aron Ralston's searing account of his six days trapped in one of the most remote spots in America, and how one inspired act of bravery brought him home.It started out as a simple hike in the Utah canyonlands on a warm Saturday afternoon. For Aron Ralston, a mountaineer and outdoorsman, a walk into the remote Blue John Canyon was a chance to find himself in his element: alone, with just the beauty of the natural world around him.In a deep and narrow slot canyon, Aron was climbing down off a wedged 800-pound boulder when it terrifyingly came loose, pinning his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall.What does one do in the face of almost certain death? The knowledge of his family's and friends' love kept him alive, until a divine inspiration on Thursday morning solved the riddle of the boulder. Aron then committed the most extreme act imaginable to save himself.

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Review:

'A gripping book . . . It not only details his entrapment and escape but tells vivid tales of extreme mountaineering prior to that defining misadventure'

Joanna Walters, DAILY EXPRESS

'Here is one man's heroic struggle with the infinite, a searing and compelling read. Aron Ralston tells his agonizing, inspiring tale of survival with all the verve and honesty you'd expect of someone who somehow found inspiration even in the face of a lonely death.'

Benedict Allen

'Riveting . . . if you only read one adventure book this year, this is it'

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

'Ralston is superb at evoking the epic beauty of the land, and his description of his ordeal is riveting: think Touching the Void directed by Tarantino'

Sarfraz Manzoor, NEW STATESMAN

'Heroic, searing and compelling' Benedict Allen '[This book has] the emotional pull of a psychological thriller'

MAIL ON SUNDAY

'Ralston manages to keep the tension flowing throughout . . . alternating each chapter of angst-ridden, present-tense narrative with a cosier chapter of climbing nostalgia. This lends the book a Hitchcockian rhythm, see-sawing neatly between calm and tension. . . . . He is somehow able to chronicle the ebb and flow of his thoughts and feelings during his ordeal with an exactness that gives his book the emotional pull of a psychological thriller.'

Craig Brown, book of the week in the MAIL ON SUNDAY

'Ralston is a passionate man who has lived his life resolutely pursuing this passion. His fortitude in his dire predicament was, as he would say, awesome, and from this it is possible to learn much about hope in the face of overwhelming odds.'

Toby Clements, DAILY TELEGRAPH

About the Author:

Aron Ralston, a native of the Midwest, retired from a career as a mechanical engineer at age twenty-six before moving to Aspen, Colorado. Since his accident, he has completed his unprecedented project to climb the fifty-nine Colorado peaks of more than 14,000 feet, alone, in winter. His first book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into the major motion picture 127 Hours by Danny Boyle. Today, as a father of an infant daughter and four-year-old son, Aron lives in Boulder, Colorado. He continues to travel the world for both adventure and to share his story. Follow his journey at AronRalstonSpeaker.com.

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