I am an author who turned to writing after a career in the world of artificial intelligence and hi-tech software. My interest in the 1972 Andes Flight Disaster led me to travel to the site of the accident in January 2013 in the company of one of the sixteen survivors, Eduardo Strauch. Through him, I met many others connected to the story, including survivors Pedro Algorta and Coche Inciarte, whose memoirs I translated. Over the years, I have conducted numerous interviews within the close-knit passenger community, and have delved deeply into various archives, including that of Piers Paul Read who wrote the best-selling 1974 account of the tragedy, Alive. The detailed information I have amassed persuaded me to write a comprehensive history of this iconic event. To Play the Game retells the story both on and off the mountain, giving an in-depth look at the world from which the passengers came, and an analysis of the possible causes of the accident. The account is enriched by the stories of those who didn’t return from the mountain, related through the eyes of their families, bringing much-needed balance to a history which has largely focused on the survivors.

To understand more about how this book came to be written, see the conversation between me and my Spanish translator and publisher Guillermo Scott.