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To Play the Game: A History of Flight 571: COLOUR EDITION
A comprehensive history of the 1972 Andes Flight disaster . 'A perfect complement to my 1974 book Alive.' Piers Paul ReadCOLOUR EDITION, 571 pages and 275 images. Also available in MONOCHROME. 13 th October 1972. A Uruguayan Air Force plane, commissioned for a civilian flight, crashes in the Andes. Among the forty passengers are a first-division rugby team, accompanied by family and friends. Hindered by treacherous conditions, the search and rescue efforts cannot locate the wreckage, and are abandoned after eight days.Ten weeks later, two unkempt boys are spotted by a muleteer high in the Chilean foothills. One throws a note to him, across a mountain I come from a plane that fell in the mountains... In the plane there are still fourteen injured people... Drawing on extensive original research, the author sheds new light on this extraordinary story from a perspective of fifty years, expanding on events before, during, and after the ordeal. His retelling is enriched by the accounts of those who didn't return from the mountain, related through the eyes of their families, bringing much-needed balance to a story which has largely focused on the survivors. John Guiver's comprehensive account, which includes an in-depth look at the world from which the passengers came and an analysis of the possible causes of the accident, is a fundamental contribution to the history of this famous event.
- GenresNonfiction
584 pages, Paperback
Published December 5, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 8, 2024
This book doesn't seek to replicate or replace any other books on the Andes accident; it instead offers an extensive, somewhat encyclopedic expansion on the various contexts in which the accident took place, as well as on those who died and their families.
It comprehensively discusses the history and political climate of Uruguay, the backgrounds of the passengers, and the interwoven social context of Carrasco/Montevideo in incredible detail. It methodically details what each passenger did before the flight, where they stayed for the layover, where they ate dinner, and the comprehensive analysis of the crash itself includes reports from various official sources. Further chapters are dedicated to the immediate aftermath of the rescue, the press, and the book Alive.
Crucially, Guiver writes of the book that "one of its primary rationales ... is to rebalance the account of the tragedy." The 72 days on the mountain is written across 73 pages; almost 250 pages are devoted to the lives and deaths of the non-survivors and their families.
The account of the time spent surviving is still discussed with insight - the book is interspersed with a myriad of photos, artworks, and diagrams, including analyses of where passengers sat at the time of the crash and during the avalanche.
As with all narratives of the event, there are a couple of inconsistencies with other accounts - namely, the description of Arturo Nogueira's death directly contradicts what Gustavo Zerbino says in Vierci's book; given that Guiver is clearly familiar with the other works, an acknowledgement of this incongruence would have been appreciated.
Overall a fantastic book that provides - although sometimes dry and repetitive - tons of information from angles that other accounts have neglected. Not for the person who is intrigued only by the survival aspects of the story - Alive and the various memoirs have discussed this plenty - but an important contribution to understanding the accident in context and its impact, and in memorializing those of the 45 who allowed for the 16 to live.
It comprehensively discusses the history and political climate of Uruguay, the backgrounds of the passengers, and the interwoven social context of Carrasco/Montevideo in incredible detail. It methodically details what each passenger did before the flight, where they stayed for the layover, where they ate dinner, and the comprehensive analysis of the crash itself includes reports from various official sources. Further chapters are dedicated to the immediate aftermath of the rescue, the press, and the book Alive.
Crucially, Guiver writes of the book that "one of its primary rationales ... is to rebalance the account of the tragedy." The 72 days on the mountain is written across 73 pages; almost 250 pages are devoted to the lives and deaths of the non-survivors and their families.
The account of the time spent surviving is still discussed with insight - the book is interspersed with a myriad of photos, artworks, and diagrams, including analyses of where passengers sat at the time of the crash and during the avalanche.
As with all narratives of the event, there are a couple of inconsistencies with other accounts - namely, the description of Arturo Nogueira's death directly contradicts what Gustavo Zerbino says in Vierci's book; given that Guiver is clearly familiar with the other works, an acknowledgement of this incongruence would have been appreciated.
Overall a fantastic book that provides - although sometimes dry and repetitive - tons of information from angles that other accounts have neglected. Not for the person who is intrigued only by the survival aspects of the story - Alive and the various memoirs have discussed this plenty - but an important contribution to understanding the accident in context and its impact, and in memorializing those of the 45 who allowed for the 16 to live.
July 28, 2024
One of the most depressing books I have ever read - but for a book to be depressing, it has to be emotionally engaging too I guess. Moreover "depressing" doesn't mean its bad.
I am amazed that this book was actually written, given the amount of books already in existence, including four memoirs and a famous official account, not to mention the 50 years passage of time - like kamala Harris said: "The significance of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time..."
But the author didn't merely use the previous books as his principle sources, he seems to have gone to Uruguay to do his research, and gained other exclusive material from a Chilean researcher - adding much new information herein, especially about those that didn't survive. Thus making TO PLAY THE GAME a worthwhile addition to the other books I think - which was no mean feat considering what had gone before.
The book kind of ends in the middle and then is followed by something like a huge appendix - although it's not called as such.
There is much forgivable repetition of information in the second half, I say "forgivable" because this repeated information often serves as handy reminders, linking back names of the deceased into the previous narrative, as there's too many people involved for easy recall - or at least for me.
The book also informs the reader of many sad/interesting events in Uruguay prior to the tragedy, or not long afterwards, which gives us a rich context and societal backdrop to the story - handled differently, this could have easily taken the reader down irrelevant dead ends, and side tracked the general narrative - but the author skilfully achieved the opposite: he gave greater insight.
For somebody with a passing interest in the tragedy, as a first read, I would hesitate to recommend this book, as the details herein are so thorough that they might find it too encyclopedic in nature (more pages than the flight number) ; but for somebody who has already read ALIVE (maybe some years prior) and who perhaps has seen one of the movies, or whatever, and now wishes to go deeper .... - this one's for you.
My only criticism (hence 4 stars and not 5) is that it's somewhat of a hagiography of all those involved - certain events that didn't leave somebody in the best particular light, were edited out or lightly touched upon. I appreciate that the author wanted to be positive, and nice to all those concerned, but a true "history" isn't written that way.
I am amazed that this book was actually written, given the amount of books already in existence, including four memoirs and a famous official account, not to mention the 50 years passage of time - like kamala Harris said: "The significance of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time..."
But the author didn't merely use the previous books as his principle sources, he seems to have gone to Uruguay to do his research, and gained other exclusive material from a Chilean researcher - adding much new information herein, especially about those that didn't survive. Thus making TO PLAY THE GAME a worthwhile addition to the other books I think - which was no mean feat considering what had gone before.
The book kind of ends in the middle and then is followed by something like a huge appendix - although it's not called as such.
There is much forgivable repetition of information in the second half, I say "forgivable" because this repeated information often serves as handy reminders, linking back names of the deceased into the previous narrative, as there's too many people involved for easy recall - or at least for me.
The book also informs the reader of many sad/interesting events in Uruguay prior to the tragedy, or not long afterwards, which gives us a rich context and societal backdrop to the story - handled differently, this could have easily taken the reader down irrelevant dead ends, and side tracked the general narrative - but the author skilfully achieved the opposite: he gave greater insight.
For somebody with a passing interest in the tragedy, as a first read, I would hesitate to recommend this book, as the details herein are so thorough that they might find it too encyclopedic in nature (more pages than the flight number) ; but for somebody who has already read ALIVE (maybe some years prior) and who perhaps has seen one of the movies, or whatever, and now wishes to go deeper .... - this one's for you.
My only criticism (hence 4 stars and not 5) is that it's somewhat of a hagiography of all those involved - certain events that didn't leave somebody in the best particular light, were edited out or lightly touched upon. I appreciate that the author wanted to be positive, and nice to all those concerned, but a true "history" isn't written that way.
June 4, 2024
It's a pretty impressive effort with a lot of details that cannot be found elsewhere, but the book is undermined by making some of the controversial side personalities actual sources of info and therefore having to whitewash their roles and even give them thanks *gag*
I mean, how can this book seriously address the long-term effects of the tragedy when it doesn't even address Lucero's later trollishness or Read's tabloidy character assassination of several of the survivors?
I mean, how can this book seriously address the long-term effects of the tragedy when it doesn't even address Lucero's later trollishness or Read's tabloidy character assassination of several of the survivors?
January 17, 2025
Un libro extremadamente bueno, se nota la pasión y el tiempo de investigación que le llevo, muy completo y con detalles que ningún otro tiene. Historias que ninguna película ni ningún otro libro va a mostrar.
Es un poco complejo de leer al principio, pero conforme avanzas no puedes parar, sin duda un gran complemento para el libro de Viven! Y la sociedad de la nieve.
Es un poco complejo de leer al principio, pero conforme avanzas no puedes parar, sin duda un gran complemento para el libro de Viven! Y la sociedad de la nieve.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews