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Title: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
ISBN: 074349282X
Author:
Aron Ralston
Publicate Date: 2005-08-30
Publish: 2005-08-30
List Price: $14.00
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.45
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.20
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Inspiring
After reading this book I realized that I would probably despise Ralston if I ever met him in real life due to conflicting personalities, but that does not take away from the sheer awesomeness of this book that will appeal to anyone who likes a good survival story with a proper touch of spirituality. Ralston tells his horrific event down to every disgusting detail with impressive narrative that many writers can't beat. Along with this are just great thoughts about life and spirituality. Every good gruesome detail is here and the pictures are amazing.
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2: Inspiring Book
I found this book inspiring. His will to live drove him to make decisions that most of us cannot even imagine. It will drive readers to value their lives even more.
I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because, as it is well written, it is a bit drawn out. I kept wanting to skip ahead.
Overall - Very good read.
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3: Aron Ralston meet Timothy Treadwell
I've a feeling we have not heard the last of Aron Ralston, but it won't be long before we do.
His narration of the nearly fatal idiocy that cost him his right hand is interspersed with flashback stories of even greater follies accomplished during previous wilderness "adventures." We are regaled with accounts of running barefoot through the snow with a bear in pursuit, leaping fully clothed into a raging Colorado River for no apparent reason, rock climbing (in sandals, no less) over, and then falling into, a patch of prickly pear cactus, having his footwear fall apart midway up the face of a 2,000-foot sheer granite wall - these apparently recounted in hopes of showing what an accomplished (or at least, passionate) outdoorsman he is - are not the stuff of legend, or inspiration, or courage; they are the tales of a bonehead in search of a Darwin Award. An Hero.
I continually found myself wondering why anybody who suffered such an unbroken string of disasters brought about by poor decision-making, unpreparedness, naivete, or downright pigheadedness would be set up as an inspirational character (or why anyone would seek to publicize their own stupidity thus); but then I remember Timothy Treadwell and his ardent supporters and followers.
In any event, the straw that broke this camel's back was Aron's reviling us with an event he saw as amusing and clever: he and his friends composed a "joke" distress note and put it in an empty vodka bottle which they then threw into Havasupai Creek, to flow over Mooney falls, to perhaps "be found by a jet skier in Lake Mead." Right. More likely broken glass discovered by the waders barefoot downstream.
Oh, I could go on and on.. and Aron does. A litany of grief and stupidity haunts this guy and anyone who does business with him. He manages to lose not only his ice axe on one winter ascent, but the team's only map as well, resulting in abandonment of their summit bid in lieu of an emergency hunt for a way off the mountain.
I think of the disaster that befell the Everest climbers in Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", or the mystery of what happened to Irvine and Mallory detailed in "Ghosts of Everest" and innumerable other actually heroic stories, of excruciating ordeals, unbelievable fortitude and character displayed by many climbers and outdoorsfolk, and then I think of this clown losing his team's map while traipsing around on a 14,000 foot mountain, for cripe sake.
I think about this jamoke going out in the wintertime to scale Colorado's mountains without proper clothing or food, or common sense or respect for the nature in general and mountains in particular. He hikes up mountains in the wintertime but has not the sense to put his chocolate bars or water in an inside pocket where they won't freeze, then bemoans the fact as if it were some giant life lesson Gaia bestows only on hardy souls (who venture forth thus unencumbered with brains).
Feh. Do yourself a favor and skim the tripe. There are perhaps 100 readable pages in the book, and don't swallow any of Aron's stultifying psuedo-religious gobbledygook or cerulean blue prose-poems; it's mostly blather perpetrated by a not-too-bright adrenaline junkie who very well could be the next famous bear scat.
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4: Just get to the good stuff already
I think readers would be better served by skipping every other chapter in this book or just searching online for Aron Ralston, you'll find it. A reader above mentioned he doesn't come off as bragging about his exploits, I found exactly the opposite.
On one hand, Aron and I have been in many of the same places, (probably around the same time) and in a way, reading about his adventures in various places brought back great memories for me. On the other hand, If I wanted to read about his memoir, I'd have bought that book. Halfway through the book I found myself saying, just cut it off already!
While I do respect his accomplishments in his winter solo ascents, I simply don't respecting his risky backcountry decisions. He is redeemed though by calling himself out, recognizing that he's lost friends over his past irresponsible backcountry recklessness. In a sense, the book is a primer for what not to do in the winter backcountry.
I thought it was interesting how with Ralston's considerable experience, intelligence, engineering rigging skills and strength none of it mattered in the end. Just a guy with no more options that did what needed to be done.
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5: Between a Rock & a Hard Place - Inspires beyond the imagination
Aron is an inspiration to all of us and an incredible writer. He fully acknowledges his flaws as a human being which makes this book all the more powerful. He loves life to the limit and paid a high price to do so.
My son was seriously injured in the Iraq war and I purchased a copy for him. It takes courage to make a good life...and Aron has no shortage of that.
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