Another really excellent narrator & narration. John Lee did an excellent job. If you're an audiobook fan, this is a good listen.

This is my review of the audiobook only. For my review of the text, please see this link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

ಪಲಾಯನ! ಅದೂ ಮಹಾ ಪಲಾಯನ!?? ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೆ??ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರದೆಡೆಗೆ. ಅದು ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ?ಸುಲಭಕ್ಕೆ ದಕ್ಕುವಂತದ್ದೇ? ಅದಿರುವುದು 4000 ಮೈಲಿಗಳ ಆಚೆ, ನೂರಾರು ಗಿರಿ ಶಿಖರಗಳ ಹತ್ತಿ ಇಳಿದ ಮೇಲೇ, ಹತ್ತಾರು ಸರೋವರಗಳ ಈಜಿದ ನಂತರ..
ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿರುವುದಾದರು ಏನೂ?? ಚೂರು ಬ್ರೆಡ್ಡುಗಳು, ಕದ್ದಿದ್ದ ಒಂದು ಚೂರಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮೊಂಡಾದ ಕೊಡಲಿ. ಎದೆಯ ತುಂಬ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ ಪಡೆದೇ ತಿರುತ್ತೇನೇಂಬ ಹಂಬಲ. ಆ ಒಂದು ಹಂಬಲವೇ ಸಾಕಾಗಿತ್ತು ಅವರನ್ನು ದೂರದೂರಿನ ಹಾದಿ ಸವೆಸಿ ಕರೆದೊಯ್ಯಲು.

This was a good read but I would like to respectfully disagree with the second half of the title and that's unfortunate. I sure hope it was a "mostly true story" or I just read a work of complete fiction. Being invaded by Hitler on one side and Stalin on the other with the massacre of so many in the middle is more than tragedy. Embellishments take away from the true horror.

It's well written, brutal,interesting, and seems to be factual. So much lost. I know people with Polish grandmothers who have serial numbers tattooed in their skin. I know there were work camps and prisons. It is a matter of history that so many Poles were executed, and lands were lost.

I was encouraged that there was so much help along the journey.

I wish I had a quote but this small political part kind of sticks out for me. Rawicz tells us the Russian society - which so promotes socialism - immediately and without any question established classes within the prison system. Some prisoners got "more" than others depending on their jobs. Making skis earned a few grams more bread than a chopping wood in Camp 303. But all worked together to build their shelters. Interesting.

My issues? 12 days without water. In the desert. Oh, and Yeti. And hoax claims. I don't want to talk about it any more. :(

In the past few years I haven't read many books mostly due to school but this one I think I read in 2004 and stands out as a pretty neat story of survival....

This is a really great story though extremley depressing, but when you hear prisoner of war and Siberian prison camp it ain't gonna be unicorns and rainbows.

This is the amazing tale a prisonor who escapes this wretched prison camp in Siberia with 6 friends and they travel through the epic forests to getaway. They go to mongolia, western china, tibet and all through to India. It is cold then it is hot then it gets cold again and then.... you guessed it more hot.
Halfway through reading this I found out that there was a lot of talk about this not being a true story on the interweb, that the author was some charleton that may have never been in Siberia, that this man has created a fiction and possibly never escaped from anywhere.The nerve!
Well now as I'm reading I am not thinking how brave he is I am thinking "LIAR!" due to the fact this is an amazing journey almost.... unbelievable. So then I was rolling my eyes a lot, I was all like "this would all happen? and you survived?"
But I kept reading. Fact or fiction this was a well written book that made me care about the characters and the outcome of this journey.

This is probably 4 stars but it lost a star due to the sketch factor.

This book was an interesting contrast to "Into the Wild". In this book, Slavomir Rawicz, the author, escapes from a Soviet labor camp in Siberia in 1941. Six other prisoners escape with him, they are joined by a courageous young 17 year old Polish girl, and their journey to freedom is an incredible story

The have no map and no compass, yet they navigate from Siberia across Mongolia and the Gobi desert, through China and into Tibet and on into India. Much of the journey was done on foot. Eight go into Mongolia and 4 make it into India

I was struck with the real courage of Slavomir, as he faced real obstacles and real challenges, yet he managed to live and survive and inspire and help others. Living in a Soviet concentration camp and yet unbowed and unconquered by the harsh torture, he escapes. The care he takes of Kristina, the young Polish girl that his group meets along the way, causes her to spontaneously hug him and say "God is good to me"!

In contrast to Chris McCandless, Slavomir is a real hero. He fought against a wicked Soviet system that sought to kill him. He fought to survive. He was a faithful friend and comrade to his fellow escapees. He escapes and eventually ends up in England (this from the introductory section), marries, and has a family. Ronald Downing, a reporter, helps him write his story in 1956.

What a contrast to Chris, who heads into the wild to "find himself" and "test himself" is this young Polish man who knew who he was before he began his "Long walk", and ended up being a blessing and example to any who would read his story.

Too bad they won't make a movie out of this man's "long walk" "into the wild". It would make an excellent movie! As it is, it is an outstanding book.

I have always been fascinated by survival stories, and this is one of the best. I can't even imagine what kind of drive it took for these men to leave Siberia, and walk the 4000 miles to India. They hiked through Siberia and the south of Russia, through Mongolia, across the Gobi Dessert, through Tibet, over the Himalayas, and finally after 12 long and uncertain months, arrived in India where they were rescued by the British army. The word "miraculous" does not do this story justice. Just the act of escaping the Siberian work camp during a driving snow storm is nothing short of incredible. What a heart breaking, heart warming story! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

An amazing story of how much humans are able to endure. Yes, there are many doubters as to the veracity of both the author and the story. Even if it is only partially true, or a compilation of several people's experience, The Long Walk is truly a remarkable read.

I first read this book about a decade ago. Since then I have read that the author’s account of his escape from a Siberian labour camp in WW2 and walk to what was then British India and freedom crossing Mongolia, China and the Himalayas with others may well be fabrication or based on the account of the actual person who did it. It seems will we will never have a definitive answer as all those who were or could have been involved are now dead. The fact the walkers supposedly survive in the Gobi desert for ten days without water does make me question the story - no-one could live that long without water - and a supposed sighting of the ‘abominable snowman’ also strikes me as doubtful . However, whether it is exaggeration or worse it remains a gripping read about a Soviet gulag and trekking across a remote part of the world and grit and determination.

From other reviews there seems to be controversy if this story is true but regardless it's a good read. This is the story of a group of prisoners escaping from a camp in Siberia and their long walk to civilization. I was gripped. I don't know much about the soviet war but this was a good introduction.

I love Slavomir Ravis, A translation of The Long Walk

DNF at 33%. Up until this point I was wholly and completely riveted to what was represented as a true story. Sadly, at 33% I did a Google search on one of the secondary characters and discovered that it is very likely that the tale never actually occurred.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%82...

I love survival stories but with this one I was wanting and expecting a true story. There are so many true, harrowing WWII stories that I simply have no interest in sensational make-believe. As compelling as the first third of The Long Walk was, it completely lost its luster for me once I discovered it’s more than likely fictional. Such a disappointment though it’s my own fault for not doing more research before beginning in the first place.

If you’re into fictional survival stories and can handle extreme brutality, I would say this one is worth checking out though I can only speak for the first third of the story.