Book Review: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

I am a bit behind on book reviews. I actually read this one in December, mostly on a plane to Washington, DC for my last business trip. A few weeks before that, I heard the author on NPR and thought it sounded like a book I would like. Boy, was I right! The book is the true story of one man's entanglement with nature and how he manages to survive. I wasn't living in Utah at the time of this story, but it happens in an area of the state we have visited since living here so that provided an extra bonus to me. We've also hiked a slot canyon, which is where he gets stuck. I was so scared in that canyon, thinking about the possibility of flash floods but never imagining the possibility of dislodging one of the large boulders we were climbing on as Aron did in Little John Canyon.

This was an excellent book. It alternates between current time when Aron is stuck in Little John Canyon, trying to survive with one arm stuck and little food and water and Aron's past experiences with mountaineering and other aspects of his life. He really was a strong accomplished hiker and outdoorsman at the time of the unfortunate incident that nearly took his life. But as you learn from his past, it's not the first time he has put his life in nature's hands. He writes the book with such vigor and vim that you really feel that you are there with him. I rode his emotions as he determined himself destined to die in that canyon to his elation when he finally freed himself and the long hike out of the canyon to help and safety. I recommend reading this book and I am excited to see the movie that was made out of it, 127 Hours. As I have said before, I normally do not like the movies based on books but I am curious how they depict such a dramatic situation. It was also filmed right here in Utah, mostly in a Sugarhouse warehouse not more than 15 miles from our house.

I am now in the midst of reading the January Book Club selection, 100 Years of Solitude and will have a review of that next week. As is typical from Christmastime, I have a stock of books to read in the New Year. Lined up for me next are the first two of Stieg Larsson's trilogy and two books that James got me for Christmas, Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (one of my favorite authors and one who was quoted quite often in Aron Ralston's book) and Lord of Misrule, a book about life in the horse racing business. Let's hope I don't fizzle!