This was a good book and a quick read. I had trouble putting it down because each chapter left me hanging wondering what was going to happen to him next. The book is an autobiography of an event in the author's life. His wife is from Peru, and he became fascinated with the land, culture, people, and especially with his wife's family history and genealogy.

In researching his family history, he learned of some of the different cities that his wife's grandfather lived in. He also learned that this grandfather owned a gold mine at one time. Armed with this information, maps, compasses, and supplies, the author attempted a hike from one of these villages to the other. This hike should have only taken about five to eight hours, but from the beginning he took the wrong trail and became lost. His compasses did not work because of the metals in the mountains. Ultimately he would wander 40 miles off course and would be lost for five days. His greatest need would be for water as he only had about a liter to start with.

This amazing adventure would be used in his life by God to draw him closer to Himself. The author relates how his first prayers were really selfish prayers and could easily be understood why they went unanswered. Along the way, he would let go of his own intelligence and experience and just trust God to meet his needs and to be rescued. It was a wonderful, tragic story of faith and placed in a book, now becomes something that all can share in and grow from. (reviewed by B.Lyles)

We received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

I was privileged to read this book recently, and I must say that this is one of the best books I've ever read. Knowing Scott personally, I can attest to his integrity and veracity. An absolute must read!

What started out as a "simple" eight-hour hike in the mountains turned into a dangerous five-day ordeal against his pride and the elements of nature. Scott Hubbartt decided to retrace a journey his wife's ancestor, Felipe Lam made, in "a rocky, dry, barren, high desert windswept portion of the Andes mountains of Peru - "twice the size of Texas." Armed with only his Boy Scout and military background, compasses, a light jacket, one bottle of water, he packed what he thought he should have, not what he needed to have.

His life took a wrong turn and his whole world was turned upside down. He reflected on his life, the good and the bad decisions, regrets of things not and/or left done and loved ones he might never see again. Silence, solitude, desperation and fear are dangerous tools in the wrong situations. With no place else to turn he asked God for help. He prayed and pleaded with God to save him, send someone to save him, send a sign...a miracle. However, according to him - he heard nothing but silence and saw no evidence of a miracle... he was being ignored (or so he thought).

Anyone at anytime can be humbled by situations and circumstances, but it takes a wise person to see, embrace and learn from those things. Scott Hubbartt thought that he had everything he needed and although "he was trained for, confident about, and even arrogant about this adventurous excursion he quickly learned new lessons of humility and faith as he became lost, desperate, and close to death." He recalled how he prayed for a sign and his deceased brother, Glenn appeared, said "Hey Scott, You comin'?" and showed him a way out. However, because he believed he must have been hallucinating he held steadfast to his own flawed understanding and headed deeper in the wrong direction.

Timing is everything and if Scott had "decided to walk out of the cement camp on the fourth night," he would have never been rescued. He experienced many "miracles" that saved his life. When all else failed, with his back against the wall he knew that he had one chance to make the right choice in order to survive. "Death surely wasn't my first choice, nor was it easy to put my pride and self-sufficiency aside, but I knew that there was only one path left to me - simple trust...God's plan and timing are always perfect!"

I couldn't put this book down. What an amazing story! I would definitely say that Scott Hubbartt is crazy. But honestly if you aren't just a little crazy would you find yourself hiking in the mountains of Peru?

I loved reading about Hubbartt's journey. I was rough and brutal. But Hubbartt grew from it. He learned from his mistakes.

This book a must read. It was so good. I am glad it had a "happy" ending, since not all stories do.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in sxchange for my honest review.

A Short Walk to the Edge of Life is the tale of one man's physical and spiritual journey through an extraordinary life-and-death circumstance.

A seasoned hiker with lots of experience, Scott Hibbard had no idea what awaited him when he set out on what would turn out to be the hiking experience of a lifetime. Anticipating a relatively short day hike, Scott set out into the South American desert unprepared for what lay ahead.

Unknowingly going off-course from his intended route, Scott found himself lost with a rapidly diminishing amount of water and no way to get more. As he struggled to get back on course, Scott found through and unexpected and lifesaving set of miracles that God's plan for our lives can turn out to be far different than what we expect and that sometimes in order to be rescued you have to be past the end of your rope.

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed it. The one part that bothered me was the author's credit to his late brother, who the author saw while hallucinating, for getting him back on the path that would lead him to being rescued. I think God can use hallucinations to accomplish His purpose, and I just think that the author should have given all the credit to God for that.

If you enjoy hiking yourself or if you enjoy true survival stories, you would enjoy this book. I rate it 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher for the purpose of writing this review. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you, WaterBrook Multnomah, for my free copy! :-)