About this item
"The best survival book in a decade" (Outside magazine) , 438 Days is the true story of the fisherman who survived fourteen months in a small boat drifting seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean.On November 17, 2012, a pair of fishermen left the coast of Mexico for a weekend fishing trip in the open Pacific. That night, a violent storm ambushed them as they were fishing eighty miles offshore. As gale force winds and ten-foot waves pummeled their small, open boat from all sides and nearly capsized them, captain Salvador Alvarenga and his crewmate cut away a two-mile-long fishing line and began a desperate dash through crashing waves as they sought the safety of port. Fourteen months later, on January 30, 2014, Alvarenga, now a hairy, wild-bearded and half-mad castaway, washed ashore on a nearly deserted island on the far side of the Pacific. He could barely speak and was unable to walk. He claimed to have drifted from Mexico, a journey of some seven thousand miles. 438 Days is the first-ever account of one of the most amazing survival stories in modern times. Based on dozens of hours of exclusive interviews with Alvarenga, his colleagues, search-and-rescue officials, the remote islanders who found him, and the medical team that saved his life, 438 Days is an unforgettable study of the resilience, will, ingenuity and determination required for one man to survive more than a year lost and adrift at sea.
About the Author
As an investigative journalist and non-fiction writer, I seek to capture the spirit of extreme survival. After more than a decade covering South American narco wars and organized crime heists, I realized I was risking my life for no good cause and switched careers. Now, I chronicle the everyday heroism of extreme survival.My August 2020 book A WILD IDEA, is a rollicking, inspirational biography of environmental activist Douglas Tompkins who fought for the survival of forests never logged, rivers never dammed and animals never fenced in. Working for nearly 25 years Tompkins singlehandedly launched a campaign to create a half dozen national parks in South America.A rebel climber who came of age in 1960's San Francisco '60's Tompkins was intimately tied to the outdoors throughout his life. He founded the North Face and Esprit clothing company but just as he reached the peak of capitalism he realized his mistake! He had climbed the wrong mountain. At the age of 49, Tompkins cashed out. Took his millions off the table, moved to Patagonia, and joined by Kris Tompkins, the love of his life, began to buy up entire forests and ecosystems in a mad plan to protect the planet. Based on more than 150 interviews with Tompkins, his wife Kris, colleagues, and lifelong friends A WILD IDEA is an intimate portrait of a bold voice fighting for nature and wildlands. Coming in June 2022, my next book CABIN FEVER is a terrifying true story of survival at sea, aboard a cruise ship ambushed by Covid. Based on exclusive interviews with passengers and crew, CABIN FEVER, chronicles the heroics as beleaguered crew members fight to survive as port after port refuse to receive what is known as "The Pariah Ship."My previous books include 438 Days - a stunning tale of survival at sea that Outside magazine called "the best survival book in a decade." I spent months interviewing fisherman Salvador Alvarenga and diving deep into the world of extreme survival. At first, it seemed impossible. How could a fisheman adrift in a tiny boat live 14 months at sea? Only Hollywood could have an ending like this where a single man drifts 6,000 miles and survives on his wits, humor, and resourcefulness. But it's true, Alvarenga lived for over a year in his tiny fishing boat, adrift in the Pacific. This is a daring, bold tale that highlights the simple pleasures in life. Like a glass of water. A square of chocolate. A smile. Maybe life isn't so complicated?
