Survive!
My Fight for Life in the High Sierras
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The man who accomplished one of the most remarkable feats of survival in history finally tells the story of the event that made worldwide news. This inspiring story shows what sheer determination can achieve against impossible odds.
When Peter DeLeo set out one Sunday morning on a sightseeing and photography trip over the central Sierra Nevada mountains in California, he had no idea that he would soon be fighting for his life with the odds stacked very much against him. DeLeo’s single-engine plane encountered turbulence, and he and his two passengers crashed in the mountains. All three survived the accident but sustained multiple injuries. DeLeo had broken ribs, a shattered ankle, and a badly damaged shoulder. After assessing their situation, they decided that the passengers should remain with the plane while DeLeo would hike out to bring back help. It was already winter; he left the limited emergency supplies with the plane’s passengers; and he was hampered by his injuries, but DeLeo was determined to get help. He found or improvised shelter at night, carefully warmed himself during the daytime, drank from small pools of melted snow and ice, and slowly but steadily made his way toward civilization. Suffering from exhaustion and on the verge of collapse, he found a hot spring that provided him with temporary warmth and insects to eat. Injuries, dehydration, malnutrition, and a two-day blizzard slowed him, and a rockslide nearly killed him just as he glimpsed the valley and highway that he so desperately sought, but DeLeo’s courage saw him through.
Meanwhile, Civil Air Patrol planes searched fruitlessly for the lost plane and for survivors; twice, DeLeo frantically tried to signal the search planes, but to no avail. When DeLeo finally reached a highway, he found it almost impossible to convince the authorities that he was the lost pilot who had been all but given up for dead. His astonishing survival, one of the most remarkable feats of endurance on record, made national and even international news.
Now, for the first time, Peter DeLeo tells his remarkable story in gripping detail. His amazing saga is destined to become a classic.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In November 1994, DeLeo and two friends set out on a sightseeing trip in the Sierra Nevadas in a single-engine plane. This is the story of DeLeo's survival after the aircraft, which he was piloting, crashed into a snowy ravine. Writing in the present tense, DeLeo explains how he fought to control the plane in the face of a sudden wind shear with terrifying and stunning effect. Following the crash, DeLeo and his companions were, of course, severely injured: DeLeo himself broke ribs and a shoulder, and seriously injured one ankle. Since his companions were too hurt to travel, DeLeo trekked along through the unforgiving wilderness without water or food. DeLeo tells of his struggles through deep snow and a driving blizzard, and his meals of snow and insects, adding recollections of how he met his sightseeing companions. He salutes the Civil Air Patrol's rescue efforts, yet it wasn't the patrol that found DeLeo: after 50 miles and 13 days of enduring whiteouts, frostbite and encounters with bears, he reached a town and went back with the rescuers to discover his friends whom he'd left at a campsite dead. It's taken years for DeLeo to physically and emotionally recover, and he brings a knowing perspective to this account. It deserves its place in the canon of survival literature.
Customer Reviews
True Story
Great read about the unstoppable spirit to survive. Having been in the sierras myself Peter’s story is almost unbelievable! An amazing testament to his knowledge of the mountains and survival tactics. Peter lived across the street from my grandmother which is why I decided to pick up this book. If you like survival stories this one is definitely for you.
Wonderful story!
If you like true adventure accounts you will thoroughly enjoy this well witten story of a harrowing ordeal the author was faced with after his plane crashed in the Southern California desert. His bravery, ingenuity and mental strength, combined with survival know-how and outdoor savvy allowed him to accomplish what very few people in today'a world could...living to tell of his shocking experience.