127 Hours Movie Tie- In: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Written by Aron Ralston

Narrated by Aron Ralston

The international bestseller Between a Rock and a Hard Place is now a major motion picture starring James Franco.

Hiking into the remote Utah canyonlands, Aron Ralston felt perfectly at home in the beauty of the natural world. Then, at 2:41 P.M., eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, an eight-hundred-pound boulder tumbled loose, pinning Aron's right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. Through six days of hell, with scant water, food, or warm clothing, and the terrible knowledge that no one knew where he was, Aron eliminated his escape option one by one. Then a moment of stark clarity helped him to solve the riddle of the boulder--and commit one of the most extreme and desperate acts imaginable.

Honest, inspiring, and undeniably astonishing, 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place has taken its place in the annals of classic adventure stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9781442341081

Aron Ralston

Aron Ralston, a native of the Midwest, retired from a career as a mechanical engineer at age twenty-six before moving to Aspen, Colorado. Since his accident, he has completed his unprecedented project to climb the fifty-nine Colorado peaks of more than 14,000 feet, alone, in winter. His first book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into the major motion picture 127 Hours by Danny Boyle. Today, as a father of an infant daughter and four-year-old son, Aron lives in Boulder, Colorado. He continues to travel the world for both adventure and to share his story. Follow his journey at AronRalstonSpeaker.com.

Reviews for 127 Hours Movie Tie- In

[Ross Taylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting. I liked how he went in depth. Much better than movie

[Cristin Just · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Better than the movie. Some stories just need to be told in the person's words

[pineapplejuggler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very well written and motivational. I did think it was really weird when Ralston was writing about the specific feelings experienced by his family and some of his friends during the search. It very well may have been the truth, but it was weird for him to be talking of others through an omniscient point-of-view.

[dalevywasbri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an amazing story told through a bad medium, Aron Ralston. The story is amazing, and truth be told; some of his descriptions of his 5 days in the Canyon are amazing. One reviewer here noted that the cover-art gave the ending away, bullshit. I knew what happened and Ralson is talented enough writer to make you agonize that he can't move the bolder, can't chip away at it or otherwise leave arm-intact, when we know all along what action he will take.The difficulties of the book can be narrowed down to three problems: a lack of self-consciousness, a poor understanding of the reader and a poor writing voice. 1,2,3.First, Aron, more than once, gives himself the reprieve of having "bad luck," (Most egregiously Ranger Steve p 327-8.) How do you get in the position of having to cut your own arm off, well, yea luck had a lot to do with it, but perhaps he should have left an itinerary. More to the point he doesn't understand that he, and other "adventure sporters" are the people that would be most forgiving to this type of behavior. A more self-conscious author/person would have understood this.Why does one pick up a book about a man that amputated his own arm? TO READ ABOUT IT! Ralston, as mentioned in other reviews, is way to sentimental, I want to know what it was like in the canyon, not read about his first Grand Canyon sunset. (This makes me sound terrible, but really, when you know someone is about to cut their own arm off reading about these types of things is maddening.)Ralston attempts to have a kind of post-modern writing voice, which at times works. But other points it's totally surreal, and too self-reflected. Moreover, Ralston never sets a definitive point at which he will let the audience in. Obviously his right, but when attempting to portray someone, especially yourself, it's never a bad idea to create a real person, not something where huge chunks of negativity are left out, which is Ralston's problem here. Ralston doesn't seem to understand that the person of this book, Ralston's image of himself, isn't believable as a person in the world.Want to read a fascinating, if flawed, survival story? Read this book, there are no other restrictions.

[Howard Shapiro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing story. I also saw the movie about this. Definitely worth your time to stream or read.

[tony2704 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A terrible situation to find yourself in and what determination to pull through. a bit 'samey' in places

[common_cold · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Outdoors man, nature lover, and thrill seeking are few of the many traits that can describe Aron Ralston. Aron has always loved the outdoors and spends all the time he has into adventuring it. He has climbed many mountains, gone down many rivers, and traveled to many different places. He seems to do the impossible and finishes most of them with ease, but one place he goes to proves harder than most. When canyoneering in Utah in the Blue John Canyon he dislodges a boulder trapping his right arm to the canyon wall and the bad part is that no one knows he is there. Do you think he can survive those 127 hours with 24 ounces of water and little food? What extremes will he go to to get out even if it means death to him. Even with years of experience he can't get out and finally, he realizes he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. This book proves that not all biography's are boring. Even though it does get tedious when he relates to his other adventures while he's trapped, those adventures are pretty interesting too. You will certainly enjoy this book if you too enjoy nature and suspense. This book really captures the thrill in adventuring and makes it feel like we are with Aron going down a river, getting followed by a bear, or almost drowning in a river. Before you judge this book on anything, try it first and see if you like the adventure of Aron's life.

[heyitsdaver · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really an amazing story. Well written as well, especially for someone with a mechanical engineering background. He mentions lot's of peaks and areas in Colorado (he was living in Aspen at the time of the accident and went to Cherry Creek High School in Denver). This guy really had some luck in his life though, he made tons of stupid mistakes.

[rory1000 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The best part of this book was the recovery he went through after the accident. I felt the book would have improved if this had taken a up more room than the previous sections.

[abbeyhar · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Yeah, the guy had some tough times. Don't make him a good writer!

[amabel300 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This -was- a good survival story, but I really think it puts too much positive light on a man that was very irresponsible. The book doesn't focus at all on how this man could have died because he didn't tell anyone where he was going! This man isn't a role model.

[asawyer_21 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow. A fascinating read through the physical and psychological impacts this event had on Aron during his accident. The stories intermingled with his entrapment in Blue John Canyon give us an interesting perspective on who he was, how intelligent he is, and his amazing level of experience in the wild. An amazing person to have made it through this terrible accident and continued to live life with his own values and adventures.

[rapago_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Saw the movie (127 hours) and was amazed by the strength of mind this man exhibited. I, therefore, had to read the book to see if the film was realistically telling Aron's story. Having finished the book, I would say that the film was a fairly accurate depiction of the events that lead to Aron's being trapped in a slot canyon for five days.Telling people about this story does not make it seem any more real. And yet this is a true tale of survival and incredible strength. Trapped, without enough food or water, he somehow manages to survive for five days before he figures out how to amputate his own arm and save himself. His fortitude is astounding. Not only does he self-amputate his arm, he then hikes 7 or 8 miles out of the canyon to be rescued. This is an astounding individual.In his own words"...our purpose as spiritual beings is to follow our bliss, seek our passions, and live our lives as inspirations to each other. Everything else flows from that. When we find inspiration, we need to take action for ourselves and for our communities. Even if it means making a hard choice, or cutting out something and leaving it in your past."There is much to admire in Aron Ralston, but at the same time, I would be kidding myself if i thought I could do the things he did, and continues to do.

[andrearules · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was alright. I found Ralston to be quite annoying, arrogant, and generally did not like him. The story is interesting, and outcome fascinating - I think there were too many memory stories of past climbing instances and I found myself skimming most of the middle of the book in order to get to the end to find out how he managed to survive after getting out of the crevice.

[drjvrichardsonjr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Stupid, stupid, stupid--don't tell anybody where you are going, or when you will return. And, be sure to go alone!

[yogimarley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First, what he did to get him in such a situation was not smart--something in which we all (including Ralston) can agree. That being said it still is a good survival story (however, for a better, more complex one I enjoyed "Touching the Void"). Unfortunately,the tone of the narrative for the first few chapters is pretentious and narcissistic. He spends a large part of the beginning as an opportunity to boast about his climbing achievements a little too much for my taste. Ralston tends to write from a outdoor persons technical perspective, which has him come off as a bit pretentious--especially considering the eventual situation he found himself in. Alternately, you could say that the beginning helps give the perspective that he was overly confident as a result of his experience, which led him to venture out alone in the slot canyon--but this is only my opinion as he never overtly suggests such an evaluation. Given this shortcoming it still becomes an interesting story that ends with an infamous do or die decision, helping it be a worthy and inspirational read.

[jenners26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book DescriptionIn April 2003, 28-year-old Aron Ralston took a day trip in Blue John Canyon in Utah's Canyonlands National Park. Shortly after beginning his solo excursion into the canyon, a boulder came loose and pinned Ralston's right arm between it and the canyon wall. Unable to free his arm, Ralston was trapped for 127 hours (more than 5 days) with limited water and food. Because Ralston had broken one of the cardinal rules of outdoor pursuits (always let someone know where you are going), no one knew where he was (or even to come looking for him) until he didn't show up for work on Monday. His account of the ordeal and his eventual decision to save himself by amputating his right arm is documented in this well-written (and surprisingly funny) memoir.My ThoughtsWhen watching 127 Hours, I was absolutely mesmerized by Ralston's predicament. (It didn't hurt that Ralston was portrayed by James Franco and the movie directed by Danny Boyle.) After watching the film, I wanted to get the full story about what Ralston had experienced. Did he really have a vision of his future son that bolstered his courage? Did he really talk into his video camera during his entrapment? Why had he made such a fundamentally stupid mistake by not telling anyone about his whereabouts? The book answered all these questions and provided much more detail into Ralston's personality and background.In fact, after reading the book, I'm not completely surprised that Ralston found himself in his predicament. In the book, he recounts several near-death experiences he faced during various other outdoor pursuits (from almost drowning in the Grand Canyon to being buried under an avalanche). Ralston's whole life was (and is) about pushing himself in the outdoors?often in ways that others might consider foolish or overly risky. In addition, solo adventuring was nothing new to Ralston. At the time of his entrapment, he was pursuing his quest to make the first solo ascents of all "fourteeners" (mountains over 14,000 feet) in Colorado. The one line in the movie that stuck with me?"This rock had been waiting for me all my life"?really sums up Ralston's life. (I may be misremembering the exact line but it is something fairly close to this.)Did he leave the canyon a changed man?aside from the obvious loss of his right arm? Spiritually, Ralston matured?coming to a new appreciation for life and his loved ones. What the experience didn't do was dampen his enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits. Working with prosthetics and climbing companies, Ralston designed a prosthetic arm for himself so he could continue rock climbing and mountain climbing.The book is surprisingly well written. After all, just because you have the guts to amputate your own arm and survive for five days in a canyon with limited food and water doesn't mean you'll be able to tell your story eloquently. But Ralston (who was an engineer before quitting corporate life to pursue the outdoor life in Colorado) seems to be a true Renaissance man?crafting a well-rounded, eloquent and often amusing account of his life, philosophy and the accident changed him forever.Finally, I must mention that the book includes a collection of full-color photographs of Ralston before, during and after the accident. I had a rather morbid fascination with these photos (including the one of the severed arm immediately after the amputation), but they really did add to the story. It was amazing to see the exact place where this took place and what Ralston looked like during his entrapment. I also need to give a shout-out to the filmmakers for seeming to recreate Ralston's predicament, clothing, and equipment down to the smallest detail.Recommended For: Readers who enjoy gripping and well-told adventure/survival stories, fans of the movie 127 Hours, and anyone looking for real-life survival story that demonstrates what people will do to survive.

[soradsauce_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely enthralling story, despite the fact that living in Colorado when this all happened I had followed every bit of it in the news. Well-written, but a bit meandering and preachy at bits - Aron Ralston is a good writer, but he's never pretended to aspire to be an author. Definitely a good book to read when you are on plane/train/automobile.

[co_coyote · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aron Ralston is the young climber who cut his arm off when he became trapped in a remote canyon in the Utah desert. This first person account is reasonably well-written, if you ignore some obviously made-up dialog from some of the minor characters in the book. What surprised me about the book, though, was how unsympathetic I felt about Aron himself. I didn't care for his me-first attitude, considered him a thoroughly dangerous travel companion, and didn't think he had learned a single thing about himself from his ordeal. I really didn't expect to come away from this book thinking the guy was a total jerk, but that is basically the way I feel about him. Very strange.

[julietlegg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It always amazes me when I read an autobiography and I come away thinking how utterly unlikeable the author is. You'd think they'd make more of an effort to put themselves across in a better way. Still, it's honest I guess and this author certainly got a cross his personal recklessness and also the way he endangered others. The book was nicely written with chapters alternating between the author's life before the event the actual event itself. Having not read anything about the incident before the lightbulb moment when the author finally works out how he can free himself is brilliant.I hope I am right in that the book shows a person growing up and that extreme sports doesn't have to mean acting stupid as well. Definitely a book to read, as a cautionary tale with some very useful survival hints!

[tinkerbellkk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this true story to be incredible. It is hard to know how one would handle this situation if struggling between life and death. While the story of his time being trapped was fascinating, I found the other parts of the book where he explains his other adventures to be slightly too technical. I really didn't need to know exactly how he tied himself off or the exact degree of the angle he was skiing. However the book was interesting once I got into it. Pretty amazing person (eventhough he seems a little crazy)

[pizzadj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really an amazing story. Well written as well, especially for someone with a mechanical engineering background. He mentions lot's of peaks and areas in Colorado (he was living in Aspen at the time of the accident and went to Cherry Creek High School in Denver). This guy really had some luck in his life though, he made tons of stupid mistakes.

[daniel5estes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aron survived an unbelievable ordeal, one that he found himself in against all odds and one that he escaped from only after days of suffering and realizing the only way to out.

[qofd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I saw the movie first ( a sin) and then decided I wanted to read the book. I'm glad I did. It contains so much more than the movie managed to portray although it is a bit hard going when trying to visualise a lot of the climbing descriptions.

[cwflatt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I hope I'm never in a position like this. I love the outdoors and spend alot of time out alone, we humans are truly just another small spec on this planet and can be in a dangerous situation at any moment. The biggest lessons from this book "Never give you, you are capable of doing more than you ever thought possible when you are tested harded enough, Trust in the Lord he will be with you and finally always always always leave a itinerary with someone when you go into the wilderness alone.

[csayban · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Aron Ralston took great joy in pushing his limits in the vast untamed reaches of the natural world. Whether surfing, mountain biking or any other athletic pursuit, Aron was always most at home challenging himself physically. But on April 26, 2003, he nearly met his end in Blue John Canyon, Utah while rock climbing all alone when a boulder dislodged and crushed his right hand pinning him to the canyon wall. Miles from his truck with nobody aware of his location and no ability to contact help, Aron survives for 6 days before doing the unthinkable to escape. It is quite literally a story of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.?That boulder did what it was there to do. Boulders fall. That?s their nature. It did the only natural thing it could do. It was set up, but it was waiting for you. Without you coming along and pulling it, it would still be stuck where it had been for who knows how long. You did this, Aron. You created it. You chose to come here today; you chose to do this descent into the slot canyon by yourself. You chose not to tell anyone where you were going. You chose to turn away from the women who were there to keep you from getting in this trouble. You created this accident. You wanted it to be like this. You have been heading for this situation for a long time. Look how far you came to find this spot. It?s not that you?re getting what you deserve - you?re getting what you wanted.?I?ll give Aron Ralston credit for this ? he survived what probably should have been his end by doing something that most of us could never fathom doing while sitting reading about it at home. That said, Between a Rock and a Hard Place really serves as a field guide for absolutely everything you should never do in the great outdoors. However, Ralston seems to miss the point of his own ordeal, speaking of himself as some free spirit who overcame incredible odds instead of displaying a level of humility for getting supremely lucky in spite of breaking every single rule of wilderness survival.I had heard about Ralston?s ordeal in an interview before I read Between a Rock and a Hard Place, so I was curious what must have been going through his head at the moment he made the decision to do what he did to escape (I?m not going to spoil it for anyone who doesn?t know). While I wasn?t disappointed with his recounting of that moment, I was quite disappointed in what came before and after. The sheer number of reckless decisions he made as an ?experienced? outdoorsman to get himself in the predicament he faced is pretty inexcusable. What is worse is he brushes it off with a mix of machismo and naivety.Ralston had the opportunity to turn his experience into a teachable lesson. Unfortunately, instead of passing on some wisdom in the form of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do, he revels in his ingenuity and props himself up as some sort of folk hero living the way of the free spirit in an age of shackles. Never mind the people who might have risked their lives to try and save him from his decisions. Never mind the family and friends who might have been devastated when he didn?t come home. That is all secondary to the thrill. Ultimately, Between a Rock and a Hard Place glamorizes taking unnecessary risks and a cheap view of life. With Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston paints himself as the hero of the folly of his own errors in judgment where his survival hinges on one desperate act of self-preservation. Neither heroic nor self-aware, Ralston comes across as oblivious to his own foolishness, proud of his own recklessness, and reveling in his new-found war story around the campfire as he one-ups the other adrenaline junkies with his missing arm and a smile. Based on his closing comments in the book, it doesn?t appear Ralston has learned anything other than how to capitalize on his fifteen minutes of fame. A monument to modern day myopia, Between a Rock and a Hard Place serves only as a guide for what not to do.

[shannaredwind_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An amazing story of survival and strength in adversity. The details of Aron's life are very interesting and his description of what it took for him to survive is incredible.

[neverwithoutabook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't sure what I was going to think or feel about this book although just reading the back of the book astounded me. The strength of the human spirit and the will to survive are things we don't often think about until it looks us right in the face. This book is about that strength and will and what one person can do when faced with the ultimate need. Aron has a history of facing challenges and throughout this book he illustrates this for us, along with the fact that he is accomplished in survival skills as well. He seems to live for the challenge of conquering mountains, snow and ice, the weather, and even whitewater. Some of us wouldn't even think of going there and don't even understand the need that mountain climbers or whitewater rafters feel. We have no desire to expose ourselves to the elements in this way. Some of us would call him crazy. Some would admire his courage to face these challenges. All of his training and experience comes into play when he finds himself in a most unpredictable situation and realizes that he is now totally on his own, dependent on himself for survival. I read this book with a sense of envy for the ability to climb mountain peaks and be rewarded with magnificent views and a sense of accomplishment. With a sense of admiration for the bravery to do this in sub-zero weather facing the elements, and also the challenges of whitewater rafting. Yet also with a feeling of amazement at Aron's survivor skills. I have to say that I really don't think I could have survived had I found myself in the same place. I have to respect someone who can so courageously and honorably survive what Aron has been through and still come out of the experience with his spirit intact and continue on with his goals. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story of survival. If books like 'Alive' are up your alley, then I feel certain that you will enjoy 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place'.