A Test of Will: One Man's Extraordinary Story of Survival

by Warren MacDonald, Geert Van Keulen (Contribution by)

Overview

The gripping tale of one man’s survival in the wilderness.

On the night of April 9, 1997, Warren Macdonald took his final step as a "complete" human being. A fit and experienced hiker, Macdonald had set out with a new Dutch companion to make the grueling climb to the top of Australia’s spectacular Mount Bowen. They lost their way after a full day on the trail and pitched camp beside a narrow creek. Shortly after dusk, as he scrambled up an embankment away from the creek in the darkness, Macdonald was horrified to hear a loud crack. A second later he was lying in the creek bed, both his legs pinned by a giant boulder.

What had begun as a two-day adventure had suddenly turned into a nightmare. Try as they might, the two men could not budge the massive piece of granite. There was nothing for it: Macdonald’s companion would have to hike out at dawn and make a solitary, perilous descent—a journey of at least eight hours—to get help.

A gifted storyteller, Macdonald captures the terror and high drama of his hours alone in the wilderness, but he also writes eloquently about his life both before and after the accident.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553650645
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	10/10/2004
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Part I	The Road Less Traveled	1
Part II	The Will to Live	111
Part III	The Reclamation	145
	Epilogue	193
	Acknowledgments	197

Editorial Reviews

Macdonald's love of nature is so palpable it'll make readers want to head for the nearest national park. And even after losing both legs, the man still has no regrets. An Australian house painter, Macdonald set off in April 1997 to climb the isolated peak of Queensland's Mount Bowen. Along the way he met Geert van Keulen, who, although a much less experienced hiker, agreed to come along. One night when Macdonald crept out to relieve his bladder, the creek bed underneath gave way, and he found himself trapped under a massive boulder that, no matter how hard the panicked Geert pushed against it, would not budge. Geert left for help, leaving Macdonald in searing agony, worried the rushing water would rise and drown him. After a helicopter finally arrived and rescued him, Macdonald had both his gangrenous legs cut off above the knee, and his description of his harrowing rehabilitation is almost more painful than the depiction of what he went through under the boulder. Although this isn't the most artful of stories (Geert's additions add nothing), it's a powerful tale of nature's beauty and ferocity. (Aug.) FYI: Macdonald's account is similar to Aron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which Atria is publishing in September (a review will appear in Forecasts, Aug. 2). Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly