"Touching the Void" is a book written by mountaineer, Joe Simpson, and published in 1988. It is a memoir of Simpson's harrowing experience climbing the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. The book tells the story of Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates' ascent of the mountain, and their subsequent descent, during which Simpson suffered a severe injury and the two climbers were forced to make life-or-death decisions. The book is a gripping, first-hand account of the physical and emotional challenges of climbing in the high mountains, and the will to survive against all odds.