Miracle in the Andes

In October 1972, a small plane carrying a young rugby team from Uruguay slammed into the side of a mountain in the icy reaches of the Andes. As chronicled in the 1975 besteller Alive (as well as the 1993 movie of the same name), the team’s experience became a survival story for the ages. Nando Parrado, one of the players who made the desperate trek from the crash site to civilization, now offers a first-hand account of their 72-day ordeal in Miracle in the Andes. He drew strength from the spiritual training of the Irish monks who schooled him, the memory of his mother and sister who perished in the crash, and a 19-year-old’s bottomless determination. Though sometimes veering into misty sentimentality, Parrado marks a humane victory against inhumane circumstances.