Between a Rock and a Hard Place (book)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place is the autobiography of Aron Ralston. Published in 2004, the book predominantly recounts Ralston's experience being trapped in Blue John Canyon in the Utah desert and how he was forced to amputate his own right arm with a dull multi-tool in order to free himself after his arm became trapped by a boulder. Inc. magazine named Ralston's account one of seven, "great entrepreneurship books that have nothing to do with business."

The book also describes Ralston's childhood, how he took up outdoor activities after moving to Colorado from Indiana, how he came to be an obsessive outdoorsman and how he left his engineering career at Intel in Arizona to take up outdoor activities as much as possible.

The book goes back and forth, in alternating chapters, between Ralston's past experiences and his entrapment in the slot canyon, and the efforts of his mother to find him. Included in some editions are pictures of his days in the canyon, various photos from the past excursions he speaks of in the book, a glossary of mountaineering jargon, and maps of Blue John Canyon and the proximity of the canyon in central-eastern Utah.

Ralston's ordeal is also the subject of the 2010 film 127 Hours, starring James Franco and directed by Danny Boyle. Since the film's release, the autobiography has also been sold with the title 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor.