This book says it's the "true story of a trek to freedom" and I began reading it as such. It takes the reader on a harrowing journey beginning with Soviet imprisonment where the Polish author is eventually sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian labor camp. The trip to the labor camp alone was a torturous mix of walking and riding in a packed rail car. Once at the camp, the author begins making plans and choosing associates to break out. His group of 6 prisoners is ultimately successful... and so begins "the long walk". The journey takes them on a year long escape to India via the Gobi desert, the Himalayas, etc... As I got pretty far into the journey I started to wonder about the authencity of the journey. Upon further investigation I found that the book's credibility is in serious doubt. It's even questionable whether this is the author's own story... or one he "stole" from someone else. Too bad. Ruined it for me. If the author had just presented it as "historical fiction" and established that pieces have been fictionalized, I would have been totally fine with it. However, I've learned that many Polish prisoners- including entire families- did endure extremely "long walks" to freedom although obviously not to the extent this author presents. May this book be a tribute to their experience... if not the authors. People endure amazing privations for freedom.

I was mesmerized by this story and somewhat flabbergasted to find out it may not be true. It’s hard to imagine it could be made up but who knows? I do find it peculiar that of the four men who survived, the other three never came forward to verify or dispute the story. Gave it 5 stars anyway because it was a great book either way

*Listened on audio

This was a really inspiring and fascinating book about Slavomir Rawicz, a Polish soldier, and 5 companions escape from a Soviet Prison camp in 1941. They walk through the Gobi Desert, Tibet, the Himalayans, and finally arrive in India.

One of the critics on the back of the book described it as "positively Homeric" and I think that is a perfect description. It is like reading the Odyssey-- the main characters keep going against unbelievable odds and relate their interesting adventures in their journey home.

It seems that although advertised as a non-fictional account, it's authenticity has been seriously questioned. I'd like it even more if it were true-- but I think it contains elements of the truth and perhaps is more of a composite story of different soldiers escaping.

This is certainly a remarkable tale, purportedly a factual account of how seven prisoners held in a 1941 Soviet prison camp in the frozen wastes of Siberia effect an escape and make a determined long, painful walk towards freedom. The narrator is a Pole who got caught in the partition of his homeland, and the first part of the book recounts how he came to be sent to the Gulag. Once there, with ingenuity, well chosen comrades, and incredible luck, he masterminds a breakout, and we then follow the group's hike down through Siberia, into Mongolia, across the entire scorching Gobi Desert, and then up into the high mountains of Tibet, the goal being safety in British India.

I knew that great controversy surrounded this book before I read it. Published as a biographical memoir in 1956, it has been called a fabrication by many. I decided from the onset just to think of it as historical fiction, and enjoyed it for the story line, the exotic and unusual settings, and the distinctive crosscultural communication encounters. I thought of it more as an embroidered recollection, based on truths, but tempered by many years passage between the events and their telling and told by a narrator with a penchant for sensationalism. Read this yarn for the adventure, the heroics, and the celebration of the human spirit to endure, but don't count on it to be reliable in all its details.

Grāmata, kas ir vienkārši jāizlasa!

"Tas būs vissliktākais ceļojums tavā mūžā." (126.lpp.)

Es nemēdzu pārlasīt kādu grāmatu vairākas reizes, bet tā kā šo biju lasījusi angliski pirms vairāk kā padsmit gadiem un uzzināju, ka iznākusi arī latviski, tas bija iemesls, lai lauztu savu pārlasīšanas likumu, jo atmiņā "The Long Walk" man iespiedies kā neticams, šokējošs un galvu reibinošs biogrāfisks izdzīvošanas stāsts. Šeit kopā apvienojušies mani mīļākie žanri- vēsturiskais, kara literatūra (izsūtījums) un "ceļojums". Protams, pēdējo nekādi nevar nosaukt par ceļošanu standarta izpratnē, un tomēr- šeit ir ceļš, kultūras atsķirības, tautu parašas un dažādas valstis.

Un tikpat spilgti man atmiņā grāmata ir palikusi, jo viens no varoņiem ir latvietis. "Ap to laiku es iepazinos ar brīnišķīgu cilvēku, vārdā Anastasijs Kolmanis." (116.lpp.) Toreiz angļu izdevumā es vairākkārtīgi pārlasīju, vai tiešām esmu sapratusi pareizi, jo lasīt par latviešiem nesanāk nemaz tik bieži. Vēl mazāk šādā izdzīvošanas stāstā, kas pārsteidz, šokē, iedvesmo, aizkustina un satriec.
"..tas nebija karš, tā bija atbrīvošana.." (114.lpp.)
Slavomirs Ravičs- 24 gadus vecs poļu kavalērijas virsnieks tika sagūstīts, pratināts un apvainots Krievijas spiegošanā tikai tāpēc, ka dzīvoja netālu no Krievijas robežas un prata krievu valodu. Slavomirs, kura māte bija krieviete un iemācījusi viņam šo valodu nespēja, noticēt, ka falsific��tā tiesas sēdē viņš tika atzīts par izlūku un notiesāts uz 25 gadiem.

"Apsūdzības bija balstītas vienīgi uz pārliecību, ka Krievijas pierobežā dzīvojošie poļi, kuriem bija vidējā vai augstākā izglītība, neizbēgami bija spiegi." (15.lpp.)

Kopā ar neskaitāmiem citiem simtiem tautiešu, lopu vagonos vairākus mēnešus aizvests tālu ziemeļos- tikai 500 km no polārā loka. Nejauša satikšanās un pamudinājums palīdzēt, ievieš viņā drosmi bēgt no nāves šajos skarbajos Sibīrijas apstākļos. Sameklējis uzticamus līdzgaitniekus, tai skaitā latvieti un lietuvieti, nolemj mēģināt bēgt- virzoties uz dienvidiem- pa garāko un sarežgītāko ceļu prom no Krievijas. Ceļu uzsāk septiņi notiesātie, līdzi ņemot vien pāris sakaltētas maizes garozas, cirvja galu, pašdarinātu naža asmeni un pāris dzīvnieku ādas. Dienā noejot ap 50km, bez ūdens, badā un līdz galējam spēku sabrukumam. 12mēnešos mērojot vairāk kā 6400km ar kājām, iztiekot no nejauši satiktu vietējo ārkārtīgās viesmīlības, viņi šķērso ledainas upes, Monglijas tukšieni, Gobi tuksnesi, Tibetas kalnus līdz nonāk Indijā. Bet, vai visiem septiņiem izdosies izglābties no drošas nāves?!

Sirds gandrīz visu grāmatas lasīšanas laiku sitās kā negudra. Lai arī esmu jau šo stāstu lasījusi, nav iespējams lasīt šo skarbo bēgšanas stāstu bez bailēm, uztraukumiem un līdzpārdzīvošanas. Tas ir prātam neaptverami, uz ko ir gatavs cilvēka prāts, kad ķermenis sen vairs nav spējīgs. Dienu no dienas mērot neviesmīlīgos ceļus, meklējot sīkāko pavedienu, kas ļautu izdzīvot vēl tikai vienu dienu. Un pāri visam- visskaistākā draudzība, kas vien var rasties šādos apstākļos, kad bailes no notveršanas mijas ar bailēm nespēt vairs izturēt garo ceļu.

Šis stāsts neatstās vienaldzīgu ne vēsturisko romānu cienītājus, ne piedzīvojumu meklētājus. Apbrīnas un applausu vērts stāsts, kur neiztikt arī bez asarām.

Vērts noskatīties arī filmu ar tādu pašu nosaukumu- "The Way Back".

"Viņš pastāstīja par ziemeļbriežiem- ar tiem nevarot jāt, jo šo dzīvnieku mugurkauls esot vājš, taču kakls un kupris esot ļoti spēcīgi." (86.lpp.)

I rarely review books that disappointed. However in this case I'll make the exception. A book that claims to be true, but that is so filled with clumsy implausibility is a real let down. As another GR reviewer wrote - if it claimed to be just a novel, one would recommend better research. Swimming across rivers in Siberia in winter? Five people crossing the Gobi desert on half a cup of water between all of them? Crossing the Himalayas with only one meal every eight days, no maps, no decent boots or clothes? Mountain trails blocked by yetis? Pulling yourself up over cliff overhangs by substituting a rock tied to some leather strap for a grappling iron ? Come on. Add to that the soap opera scripting of the prison commandant's wife helping the escapees, and the addition of the sweet, girl-next-door escapee from a woman's prison that just happens to join the men and this story becomes even more of a soap opera.

Google articles indicate that although Slavomir was a Soviet prisoner, he did not escape but was released by the Soviets in 1942. There is, of course, no record of his supposed debriefing by British forces in India or his supposed military hospital stay there.

Three stars go to the novel which is a good one.
Just please don't tell me this is a true story. I know how the topic seems to be controversial, but come on! This is clearly creative fiction with bits of reality floating on its surface.
Praise the author for the plot and shame on him for claiming it a true story.

Some parts of "The Long Walk" are certainly authentic memories and the description of the tortures suffered by Rawicz in the Russian prisons are very accurate and compelling.

But then the lack of details in many crucial following parts and some oddities (the role played by the camp commander's wife, train of camels seen north of the Transiberian railways, 8 days without drinking while crossing the Gobi desert, an unexpected meeting with Mr.Yeti) are clearly a work of fiction.

Still, this is an interesting book if you don't take it as a reliable account of what really happened to its author in the Soviet Union.

Around The World = Siberia.

I've just finished reading The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz, which, if true, is a simple unembellished telling of an amazing feat of endurance. Rawicz, an officer of the Polish cavalry, is captured by the Soviet forces and imprisoned in a Siberian gulag. With a band of other prisoners, Poles, Lithuanians, a Czech and an American, they escape the camp and travel south. First through Siberia, on a route running parallel to Lake Baikal, before crossing the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Mongolian border. They trek across the Gobi desert and the Tibetan plateau, before finally making their way through the Himalayas into British India.

However, a great amount of criticism has been levelled at the truthfulness of the account, and certain episodes have more than an air of improbability (several days without water in the Gobi; sighting a pair of yetis in the Himalaya). But given that the book was written from memory without notes, in the third or fourth language of the author, several years after events it describes, and deals with an intensely traumatic period of his life, I think that a few fabrications can be forgiven.

Um livro poderoso, baseado em factos verídicos, que relata a fuga de um campo de trabalhos forçados na Rússia do próprio Slavomir Rawicz, após ter sido preso injustamente.
Uma história de luta, força e preserverança, bem como um hino à amizade, que faz todos os nossos problemas e queixas parecerem uma ninharia quando comparados com o sofrimento deste Homem e de muitos outros durante a II Guerra Mundial. Um retrato emocionante do melhor e do pior de que o Ser Humano é capaz.

Incredible tale. I'll give the author a pass on some minor inaccuracies, especially having to recall days, hours, specific events. There are somethings just beyond the human limit (like the # of days survival without water). But suffice to say they pushed themselves beyond their limits for a very long time. So close to death so many times... and when their compadres died, it was so glum and melodramatic, and random. I suppose that is real life as well. I was put off by the yeti bit... the tale had plenty to stand on without that part... i find it hard to believe they were forced to put that in there. Just a mystery unsolved.

The book is a translation of the English version “The Long Walk” by Sławomir Rawicz. The book is 95 pages long and yet the impact it leaves on the reader is stunning.

Right after I was done with reading the book, I looked up the web for the original book and its author. There have been controversies as to whether this is a true story or just a work of fiction. It didn’t come to me as a surprise though. Given the account of how harrowing the tale is, this is expected.

The book tells the tale of seven Soviet prisoners (including the original author Sławomir Rawicz himself) who flee from the Siberian Prisoner Camp. Set in the times of WWII, it begins with a description of how the POW are made to lead their lives imprisoned in the middle of cold uninhabited lands of Siberia. The protagonist, Sławomir Rawicz, a young man of 25, struck by the will to escape from this ruthless life succeeds in getting six other prisoners to join him in this great escapade. While this sounds like any other escape for freedom at the outset, what left me in awe is the amount of detailed planning they undertook in secret under the hawk-eyed security in the prison before the planned escape.

They travel over 4000 miles on foot spanning several months, through the unkind cold lands of Siberia, the Gobi desert and finally through the unyielding ranges in the Himalayas to India - their destination. If the story is indeed true, then it’d be one of the greatest escapes in the history of mankind.

When they begin their escape, it’s a gang of seven members. And then midway through their escape, they take in an orphan girl of 15 in an effort to save her from the communist army. The will of this girl to survive and run to freedom despite all the hardship she went through left me speechless. It’s not often that we see such a will to survive as did these seven men and the 15-year-old girl.

If you’ve ever watched Bear Grylls in National Geographic’s Man Vs. Wild, you’d have a rough idea of what it takes to survive in the wilderness. These people experience nothing less than that.

Throughout their journey, every time they encounter the local people (the Mongolians, the Tibetans, the tribal people), they are fed and helped out without any expectations, every single time. Mind you, most of the times the people didn’t even speak the same language. It makes me wonder how different the times were then, how selfless and what a heart of gold those generations of mankind had.

I haven’t read the original English version. But I can say with conviction that Mr. Tejaswi has done a beautiful job at the translation. The language is lucid and sparkling with brilliance; made a beginner like me fall in love and want to read more of him.

Go get your copy. Trust me, you won’t regret it. :)

This is one of those amazing true stories. Slavomir was a Polish Calvery officer in WWII and was arrested by the Russians when they took over the East part of Poland (this was before the war ended) because they were sure he was a spy--or maybe they wanted him to be a spy.

The story goes over his year in the Soviet jail in Moscow where he was kept in solitary confinment except during the times they took him out and torchured him trying to get him to confess to being a spy (which he wasn't). He tells of his mockery of a trial.

He's sent to a prison camp in Siberia and with six other men, he escapes the camp and their group heads through Siberia, the Gobi desert, and over the Himalayas trying to get to safety in India.

It's not a happy book, but Slavomir's attitude and presentation of the hardships they endured makes it inspirational. I'd recomend it to everyone.