When I Fell from the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival. by Juliane Koepcke - Softcover

Ross Benjamin,Juliane Koepcke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185788583X ISBN 13: 9781857885835

Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2012

THE TRUE STORY OF ONE WOMAN S MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL On December 24th 1971, the teenage Juliane boarded the packed flight in Peru to meet her father for Christmas. She and her mother fought to get some of the last seats available and felt thankful to have made the flight. The LANSA airplane flew into a heavy thunderstorm and went down in dense Amazon jungle hundreds of miles from civilization. She fell two miles from the sky, still strapped to her plane seat, into the jungle. She was the sole survivor among the 92 passengers, which included her mother, and Juliane s unexplainable survival has been called a modern-day miracle. With incredible courage, instinct and ingenuity, she crawled and walked alone for eleven days in the green hell of the Amazon. She survived using the skills she d learned in assisting her parents on their research trips into the jungle before coming across a loggers hut, and, with it, safety. Now she tells her fascinating story for the first time and on its 40th anniversary she shares not only the private moments of her survival and rescue but her inspiring life in the wake of the disaster.

About the Author:

Juliane Koepcke whose married name is Diller was born in 1954 and grew up in Lima and the rain forest, where her parents founded the Panguana research station. She earned a doctoral degree in biology and works for the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich. She returns to Peru every year. Her incredible story was documented in the film Wings of Hope, directed by Werner Herzog.

Review:

Her account of the 11-day trek is enthralling. In shock and suffering from injuries, she made it to a river s edge without her eyeglasses, wearing just a minidress and one sandal. It was rainy season, so there was no fruit to eat. She was either freezing or boiling, set upon by bugs. She contended with stingrays, snakes, king vultures and caimans. Eventually, local woodcutters found her and mistook her for a water goddess. Brought to safety, she became an international icon of hope. * Maclean's Magazine * Her memoir is a gripping account of a harrowing adventure and an inspiring life. * Publishers Weekly * Exhilaratingly written. * Express (DE) * Juliane Koepcke writes compellingly of the crash and her unusual childhood * Financial Times (DE) * She did not leave the airplane, the airplane left her. -- Werner Herzog, director of Grizzly Man

• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 185788583X
• ISBN 13: 9781857885835
• Binding: Paperback