Tragic and difficult but also hypnotic.

The reader may question the complete veracity of the account and and may be somewhat disappointed to learn of the amount of criticism and doubt surrounding his story. Essentially, a group of political prisoners in a Soviet prison in Siberia literally walk out of captivity. The idea is that an escaped prisoner will die in the bitter cold and unforgiving wilderness of eastern Asia. The group walks across Siberia and into the Gobi desert and then to the Himalayas. Di they really see a Yeti?

A very interesting book.

A 9 and a half hour unabridged audiobook.

So I'm familiar with the assertion that this is not an autobiography, at least not wholly. I've read that the author was released on the "amnesty" and crossed with the Polish troops over the Caspian Sea to later fight in Europe. The unknown is how much was embellished, or how much of the story belonged to others and was restated by the author as his own.

What interested me in this story is the gulag escape in general. They happened, but the successful ones were usually near the Finnish border. Similarly the Poles, whether released on amnesty or escaping, often weren't given transport to get to where the Polish forces were kept. So long treks weren't impossible. Lastly, just the author surviving captivity is huge, with his being an officer and so many Polish officers executed at Katyn.

But I digress, let's get to the book itself.
I found it a bit fishy that the author seemed to credit himself with many of the good ideas the group had, perhaps embellishment, or perhaps a function of how memory works. Nevertheless it's a heck of a journey, thousands of miles through harsh climates while often trying to avoid signs of civilization. I have no idea whether the descriptions of encounters with shepherds and villagers in rural Mongolia and Tibet were accurately described, but it certainly felt genuine. It's very well written.
The best clue that this was a good book to me, was that when it ended I felt saddened and wished it continued on.

At first it was very hard to read about the torture that he went through, but when they all decided to escape I was all ears and couldn't put the book down. This was truly a wonderful book.

I'm not going to get all wrapped up in whether or not this account is true as the book claims. It's a remarkable story regardless, much like the book I just read, Das Boot: The Boat, was a remarkable story and may have some kernels of truth from the author's real life. The story itself is good and empowering, and that's all that really matters to me.



That's a lot of walking, even for fictional characters.

This is an exciting story of a 4000 mile trek from Siberia to India!!! I enjoyed listening to the audiobook!! Story of grit and endurance!
Wikipedia lists this under false autobiography stating "facts" that Russians released the author. I don't believe those russian documents from second world war. I would be very surprised if the entire story is a figment of imagination!! Maybe the author burnished a few segments to make it interesting. But that's my opinion. Either way it's a great story & I recommend it

Edit: Did some more searching around and bumped into http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/ma... - A BBC program where they did a lot of research and debunked the author's claims. Anyway, I still enjoyed the story and it has inspired a lot of people. So it makes an interesting read and I stick to my rating of 4

Slavomir Rawicz is in the Polish army and is arrested by the Russians, accused of spying. He spends a year in Russian prison, then is given a trial and sentenced to 25 years labor. He is transported by train from Moscow to Irkutsk, then is on a forced march in chains with hundreds of other prisoners to Camp 303 in Northern Siberia. After a few months he decides to escape, gathers a group of like minded men, is helped by the Camp Commander's wife who is sympathetic. They successfully escape the camp and so begins the long walk south from northern Siberia to India. This includes crossing the Gobi desert and climbing through the Himalayas!
This is a very well-written book but so fantastic that I felt like I was reading Life of Pi, or maybe the Bible (ram with horns stuck in the thicket, the long exodus out of slavery, and (for the Christians) the virgin. I didn't see how the story could possibly be true, but on the other hand, maybe it was. I can't judge because I simply have no information except what the author is telling me. I choose to believe him, or at least not disbelieve him. The story is very moving in many ways but I didn't really have an emotional reaction to it until the end with the incident with Paluchowicz. I just couldn't believe it, after all the hardships. When they finally reach India I let out the breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding and cried with the men as they said goodbye to each other.
Reading reviews and articles: Looks like it wasn't true. It was still an excellent story. Life of Pi and the Bible.

This is a great read, just a shame that it is not actually a true story!

For those unaware of the story, Rawicz claims that he was one of seven men who escaped from a Soviet prison camp in Siberia and travelled by foot over 4000 miles (6500km) through Siberia, Mongolia's Gobi Desert and Tibetan Himalaya into India, a journey taking eleven months. Records released by Russia show he was released as part of an amnesty and transported to the Caspian Sea and then a refugee centre in Iran. To muddy the waters more, in 2009 a Polish war veteran claims that the story is true, but it was he and not Rawicz who was the escapee.

Much has been called into question, and no records support the story have been discovered.

In terms of the story, it is a gripping story of superhuman endurance and great luck! There are so many occurrences that happen at very strategic points of their journey - usually just as they are at their utmost limits, some chance circumstance saves them - a couple of examples - they discover a stag with its antlers tangled in the roots of a tree, when they have been without food for a number of days; numerous times they come across people in remote locations - shepherds often, who generously provide food and shelter to the group.

The book starts with Rawicz in a holding prison in Moscow and a trial whereby he is found guilty of being a Polish spy and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. The first third of the book is the journey in poor conditions with thousands of other men on a train from Moscow to Irkutsk, then a 400 mile (650km) journey by foot north, towards the Arctic Circle to the prison camp, where the men are to labour.

Rawicz is relatively comfortable, having had some skills and been able to join a work group making skis for the Russian army. In this job he works indoors near a furnace and is given a far larger food allowance than general labourers. He is also able to fix and operate a radio for the commandant and his wife, and receives unlikely assistance from her in preparing for his escape.

The selection of the escape group was nerve wracking, the obvious risk being if someone turned them down they could also turn informer. Eventually the group is settled, and is made up on three Polish soldiers, a Lithuanian, a Latvian, and of all people, an American who had been living in Moscow working on the metro construction.

The story describes their preparations, then launches straight into their (fairly straight forward) escape and their superhuman journey as noted above.

Assessed as a work of fiction it is probably 3.5 stars - too many happy coincidences in my view.
Assessed if it were factual and a true story is would be amazing, and 5 stars.

As I grapple with the disbelief, and trust of the author being broken by, at the very least placing himself falsely in the story, and at worst concocting the entire story, I will settle at three stars.

I am constantly amazed at the human spirit and will to survive. I often wonder, after reading books like this, if I would be one to make it. I'm not sure I would. This reminds me of Life and Death in Shanghai and of David Faber's story. How is it possible for humankind to be so diverse and affected by governments that you would find it in yourself to treat people the way prisoners are treated at times? How can you be so convinced of the "common good" that you allow yourself to degrade another living creature to the point of standing in their own excrement for hours and days on end? But then to have that same persecuted individual want to live so badly, that he walks over 4000 miles to safety and health? Along the way he sees the other side of humanity, the beauty of selfless giving and hospitality. There really are no words adequate enough to describe the horror and then the beauty of such a journey.

On a side note... my sister and I talked about how he makes a statement in his foreward- almost a warning- about goverments and their vision of the "common good." Its scary to see and hear how many of our speeches coming from our so well intentioned government include the goal of the "common good." wow.

Wow

InCREDible adventure story. Unbelievable what people are physically able to endure and survive. Just riveting.
This man, and others, walked, after escaping from a work camp in Siberia, through Mongolia (desert), oh, and then OVER the Himalayas. Walked. Several of them died.

Controversy surrounds this memoir/adventure story in that the author may have fabricated much of what is depicted in this book. Regardless, it's quite a tale and is very interesting.
Seven escapees from a Siberian labor camp make their way to freedom across harsh conditions to British India during the early stages of WWII.
Whether completely true or not, it's still a good read.

The Long Walk, by Slavomir Rawicz, purports to be the true story of an heroic flight to freedom. He claims to have been a Polish officer grabbed by the Russians in 1939, imprisoned and marched to "camp 303" in Siberia. From there he and six companions escape, with the help of the commandants wife. THey begin a year long trek south, past Lake Baikal, through Mongolia, across the Gobi, over Tibet and to India and freedom. Hurray! What a triumph of the human spirit. The book had the taint of improbability all along,especially the part about observing a Yeti couple! Subsequent investigation shows the book is a fraud. None of the events can be substantiated. He claims to have convalesced in a British military hospital in India for a month, but there is no such record. He claims to have trained with the Polish contingent of the RAF, but there is no record of that. Russian records show no camp 303; they show Rawicz was a prisoner of war, but was pardoned in 1942 and sent to a refugee camp in Iran. So there you go.