[.ca] The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom (ISBN 1558216847)

From Amazon.com:
Cavalry officer Slavomir Rawicz was captured by the Red Army in 1939 during the German-Soviet partition of Poland and was sent to the Siberian Gulag along with other captive Poles, Finns, Ukranians, Czechs, Greeks, and even a few English, French, and American unfortunates who had been caught up in the fighting. A year later, he and six comrades from various countries escaped from a labor camp in Yakutsk and made their way, on foot, thousands of miles south to British India, where Rawicz reenlisted in the Polish army and fought against the Germans. The Long Walk recounts that adventure, which is surely one of the most curious treks in history.

not believable:
This book purports to describe the travels of a polish officer in 1942 escaping from Siberia across China and into freedom in India. As a travel book, it doesn't hold up. As anyone who has travelled to these areas can tell you, no small unsupported group of people is going to just walk across those deserts without water or cross through Tibet north to south during the coldest months of the year. There are no landmarks to speak of presented in the book that in any way line up to the geography of where he claims to have gone. Beyond that, his story of escape from the russian camp is pure unbelievable melodrama. And for good measure, it contains a bigfoot (or snowman) sighting near the end. I suppose a few people will believe that some of the worst deserts in the world are just there to walk across or that you can just kind of find your way over the Himalayas during the coldest part of the year to India. I also couldn't help but wonder where his companions ended up after. Did they all just fall off the face of the earth after arriving in India? And on a journey like this, why would you only know one of your companions as "Mr. Smith". Most people would learn the entire life stories of the others on a trip like this supposedly was. Or at the very least learn the names of those your moving with. If you want to read real survival stories, try something about Shakelton or the book Great Heart.

history:
It is certainly a good idea to be skeptical about any historical account, and this one particularly invites such skepticism because of the lack of corroboration from the other persons involved. However, I found that the entire story is very plausible. The writing style is quite straight foward and humorless, but that is just the style this story calls for. I think it is a fascinating book. I have read it twice. It would be instructive for anyone wishing to get a first hand account of the inhumanity of the totalitarian state.

When freedom calls:
This book is the story about a young Polish officer who is imprisoned and tortured by the Soviets. In a mockery of a trial he is sentanced to twenty-five years in a Soviet prison camp. It is here the real story begins. In the middle of Siberia, this Polish officer plans the unthinkable: escape! He selects six other companions to attept this act of deparation with him. In planning his escape, another reviewer indicates that he receives help from an unexpected source. You will not believe who assists him in his quest for freedom! The balance of the work deals in the trek across Siberia, Mogolia, the Gobi desert, and finally the Himalayas. In the annuals of human history you would be hard pressed to indentify a person whose sigle mindedness approaches Slavomir Rawicz. This is a terrific book!

Inspiring:
This is the heartfelt memoir of a Polish man who escaped from a Russian work camp. What a wonderful thing it is that an account like this is now preserved in published form! This is a very emotional work and also a very well-written one. The writing style is rather vivid and even to a degree poetic. Either the author is a very talented writer or he got some good assistance! I'm afraid this review can't do justice to the book. Get it and read it yourself!

A great examination of the surviving spirit:
There have have been questions about the truth od this book. What rings true is the deep emotional turmoil of the author as he hangs on to his hatred for his tormentors, and there's no doubt thess dark passions helped spur him on during his long and often seeminly endless trek. It's a sad book. An amazing journey of the mind and the soul can be found in IN THE GHOST COUNTRY by Peter Hillary, a mind-bending account of his haunted journey to the South Pole. Deep stuff.