Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: bell cord, first fourteener, rap ring, Horseshoe Canyon, Blue John Canyon, New Mexico (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a moving account of strength in the face of adversity, Ralston presents the full story behind the 2003 event that became worldwide news: his self-amputation of his right arm after it was caught between a boulder and a canyon wall during what began as a routine day hike in the Utah Canyons. An experienced climber, Ralston, 28, effectively shows he wasn't a risk-taker, and alternates between describing how his jaunt turned into a nightmare when a huge stone suddenly came unstuck as he used it to climb down a ledge, and recalling early experiences that changed his novice attitudes toward hiking, which he admits "were not intrinsically safe." Ralston candidly renders the details of six days of entrapment, using transcribed monologues from videotapes he made while trapped, including his increasingly exhausted thoughts as well as poignant farewells to his family. But his best writing details his self-amputation and his subsequent march to safety, in which he rappelled one-armed down a hill and then hiked six miles before someone found him. Ralston's prose is never gruesome, nor is it used to shock, even as he describes first breaking his forearm, and then slipping "into some sort of autopilot" as he cuts through muscle fibers to detach the arm. It's truly thrilling when he finishes and is free: "A crystalline moment shatters and the world is a different place." 16 pages of color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School - From midday Saturday, April 26, 2003, until midday Thursday, May 1, Ralston was pinned between a boulder and a canyon wall in a remote area of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. He had little food and water. No one would even wonder where he was until he didn't show up for work on Tuesday. Unable to sit, lie down, use his right arm (that was the part between the rock and the wall), or sleep, he knew right away that he was in for an excruciatingly difficult time. Those 120 hours of what he calls "uninterrupted experience" tested to the fullest his physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual being. His eventual rescue led to international headlines, partially due to his dramatic means of escape: he severed his arm with a cheap, dull, dirty knife. This is a searing and amazingly detailed rendition of his ordeal, along with accounts of several of Ralston's previous wilderness adventures. He is one active and tough guy, but readers never get the sense that he is boastful or seeking notoriety. Rather, he seems genuinely intrigued, even mildly befuddled, by his insatiable drive to be active in the wild. One could say he takes too many risks, and that he has a tendency toward carelessness. He himself notes this. But the man's drive and devotion to his calling are nothing but admirable. Sixteen pages of color photographs add considerably to readers' experience of this nuanced, gripping survival story that belongs in most collections. - Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Atria (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074349282X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743492829
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,625 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, riveting tale of survival and human strength, September 10, 2004

By	emily (georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Hardcover)

I agree with the last reviewer. The fact that Aron Ralston used poor judgment, i.e. hiking alone and not telling anyone where he was, only makes his story more compelling. Hasn't everyone made a huge mistake that leads to a painful, regretful plight?
Calling the media sensationalistic,in this instance, is just plain silly--amputing one's arm in order to save one's life IS a sensational, highly unusual event. I don't think the media or Aron is making it anything more than what it was. The charge that Aron is self-promoting is just as ridiculous. After you read the book, you will see that Ralston is a humble person with great integrity and strength. He is simply telling his own, true, unbelievable story. Bottomline, this book is incredibly well-written, moving and not to be missed.

74 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read literature, September 10, 2004

By	L. Sumpter - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Hardcover)

Aron's story is intelligent, sincere, warm and at many times, funny. As amazing as the story of his ordeal is, what is nearly as amazing is that something this well-written was created by the person it involved, not a ghost writer. It is nothing short of fine literature, not to mention an obviously compelling story.

Aron inspires us all. He shows us that a motivated person can save himself, and that the force of life can beat unbelievable odds against the force of death.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Story Hiding Behind A Lot of History, May 23, 2006

By	Kevin Freibott (Spokane, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Who couldn't be fascinated with the story of a young man, trapped for days in a dry canyon in the middle of the Utah badlands, eventually cutting off his own arm and walking out to be rescued? That basic story is the reason I bought this book. Having read a good deal of the stories in the newspaper about Ralston and his ordeal, I certainly wasn't looking for more narrative like most of the people who reviewed this book. I knew pretty much WHAT had happened. I was more interested in the WHY and the HOW. This book provided that in spades.

What ultimately turned me off to this book, and the reason that my copy is now sitting in a used book store and not on my bookshelf, is because of two overriding factors that took away from both the narrative and the discussions of Ralston's past and his outdoor philosophy. The first thing that put me off to this book is the fact that Ralston never learns anything. Sure, he laments the time with friends and family that he has not valued as much as he should have and the time he should have spent with other people instead of climbing peaks and going out alone into the wilderness. But at the end of it all he doesn't change. Once he has recovers and overcomes the mechanical problems of climbing again he goes right back to solo trips and dangerous climbs to 14,000+ feet.

The second reason this book only earned three stars in my opinion is the same as many others here. Length! So much time was spent on his prior achievements, so many pages spent telling us his philosophy and who he looked up to, and (most of all) all the myriad other times he should have died but didn't. And yet, after all that exposition and history I came away feeling like he was simply building up how great he was. Against his own advice in the book, he was defining himself by what he did.

All that aside, I certainly don't regret purchasing the book or spending the time to read it. It was an interesting look into the mind of the Gen-X, Neo-Hippy (forgive the term) similar to that which pervades the increasingly common thinking on the environment and the outdoors. And the narrative of his entrapment and ultimate escape is definitely worth the time.