The Good: Alot. I was drawn to read this for two reasons. First of all, I have no affintity for outdoorsmanship. The things that motivate Aron Ralston on a daily basis, have absolutley no draw for me. However, Char and I saw the story on this on Dateline several years back, and it was very intriguing. I want to see the James Franco movie, 127 Hours, based on Ralston's story, so I was motivated to read the book. Also, I'm thoroughly mesmerized by the mentality that it would take for a man to saw his own right arm off. The will to live, the desperation for freedom, the sheer state of shock that one must be in to come to that point - it is so compelling to me. And, in a brilliant turn of events, not only did Ralston write the text himself, he also narrates the audiobook. It is pretty much everything that I hoped for, from the details of Ralston drinking his own urine, to the amputation procedure. It is riveting, and, from the horse's mouth.
The Bad: The double-edged sword of Ralston reading the audiobook is that not only do I have to hear it from the horse's mouth, I have to listen to Ralston. As previously stated, I can't comprehend the mentality of a guy like Ralston, and, also, that makes it hard for me to emphasize with a guy who goes out and gets his arm stuck under a boulder. He a granola-loving fruit bar, and I really find it hard to care that he hacked off his own arm.
The Ugly: Nothing, really. Other than the not carrying for the subject of the text - but that's alot.
I forgot the overall rating: 3 out of 5.
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