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Summary: I Believe Slavomir Rawicz
Review: Like many readers I have found this a great inspiration since I was a teenager. One of the most important issues readers raise is whether the story is true. My own feeling is that, barring some lapses of memory and simplifications to the story, the tale is truth. Not least of my reasons for reading this is that Slavomir lives about 50 miles from me and I have corresponded wiht him. If he is a liar why risk giving his name and address away to any inquisitive person who could start asking awkward questions. Secondly he gives a detailed account of seeing yetis. Why do this if he wants his tale to be taken seriously ? Thirdly, there is excellent detail in the book "the Telefunken's wiring", the Mongols bowls, the Mongol's watch, the inscriptions on a Soviet border post and the time when he wraps deerskin around the lock of a stolen gun (a hunter and solider would think of this). The story is not unique; compare it with "As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me" by JM Bauer (Granada paperbacks 1957). The German officer in this book escaped from a leadmine in a far harsher part of Siberia than Slavomir's. The German gives incredible detail of how he walked to Persia (Iran). It can be done. In respect of the ill-advised Gobi trek, I have read many documented accounts of when military men made such foolish expeditions (and went beyond the accepted limits of survival). Remember that Slavomir's party were terrified of capture. Any Mongol soldiers would have handed them back to the Russians(refer to JM Bauer's book). Slavomir did not know who was fighting who in WW2 (or whether the war was still on). Did the Japanese support Russia? Did the Tibetans? The Chinese? I suspect that capture (even if they were not handed to the Russians) would have broken his spirit and killed him. Lastly, I think that a Hollywood film would wreck this book. Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and George Clooney anyone? Yuk! Feel free to e-mail me with any views on this book.
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Summary: Profoundly moving!
Review: Only "The Triumph and the Glory" packs as much emotional punch as "The Long Walk". If you don't normally read history or historical fiction, make exceptions for these two towering books, they are exceptional experiences, tributes to courage and humankind's potential for great accomplishment's against almost impossible odds.
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Summary: one of the best books i've ever read
Review: I usually don't like fiction (i read SF and fantasy all the time) but this book was an exception. I have never read such a book that just 'grips' me. You can totally enter the characters of the book and be involved. I guess it is also the only book i ever read which made me cry. A book EVERYBODY should read.
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Summary: A Long Walk but a GREAT Read
Review: I first read 'The Long Walk' in 1977, when I chanced upon the paperback in the school library. I was in my first year of high school then, and I remember that once I started, I could not put the book down. What an amazing story!I kept that book for years afterwards (and I don't normally steal from libraries!). In time the pages became torn and weathered, and eventually I had to throw it away. But I never forgot the story, and despite searching for it at bookshops, I never found another copy. I had to wait for the internet to come along before I was able to order the book from overseas. I was delighted to find that there were many other people out there who had enjoyed the book as much as I had. I was even more delighted to find that Slavomir Rawicz is still alive and living in England!! Has anybody tried finding out what happened to his companions? Slavomir writes that they said that after leaving the hospital in Calcutta they would go anywhere rather than live under communism. It is quite possible they emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada or England. He also writes in the afterword to the 1997 edition that 'it is very painful not knowing what happened to them'. If anyone is interested in helping me look for Slavomir's companions, or has information as to their whereabouts, then please email me. Time is running out, as they would be in their eighties now, if they are still alive. In the meantime, I am researching the background to the book.
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Summary: Reading material every woman going thru divorce needs.
Review: While going thru my divorce after 22 years, I found myself at the bookstore searching for a book on "new" relationships. The Long Walk was misplaced, obviously. I was in the intimate section of relationships. I felt an omen and thought I should read this book instead. Wow. It is forever imprinted in my heart; I share it with everyone I know experiencing tough times. My divorce was an absolute breeze even though it took 12 months. I am buying this book again for a friend.
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Summary: Don't Believe All That You've Read:
Review: One should really never say never, but... Rawicz' harrowing tale of travel across the Himalayas smacks of an overactive imagination. The circumstances and events he and his mates were able to conquer would be impossible to replicate without everyone dying, and implausible on historical grounds. 1)He consistently states that he tried to travel and average of 20 -30 miles per day walking 8-12 hours and assumes that he actually achieved such an average. It is impossible to travel through the topography of the regions he describes, esp. the Himalayan foothills and achieve anything more than about 10 miles on an exceptionally good day. His average should have been about 8 miles /day. I know this since I have travelled with light pack through much of the area Rawicz describes. With a 16 kilo backpack in very good shape I was able to make an average of 5 miles across rough terrain --- and this is with enough food on established trails. Rawicz states that most of the time they were not on trails. 2) The group was pretty desperate, but why walk to British India. Surely it must have crossed someone's mind to try to find the forces of Chaing Kai Shek and get transferred to the western powers operating in eastern China. It would have saved them a lot of walking. You might say, Well he didn't want to risk hitting the Japanese or Chinese communists. But if they knew about the communists or the Japanese then they must also has known about a certain western presence and military support for China. It might be hard to find, but certainly worth looking for. 3) His climbing descriptions of the trails in the Himalayas bear no relationship to the real conditions and belie and true description of snow conditions in the Himalayas at the time of year he crossed into British India. 4) He describees wandering around what is surely the Taklamantan Desert for 8 days without water. In this environment you'd be dead in 2 days. 5) Perhaps the most damning indictment of his story is the fact that he was never debriefed by British intelligence, merely "given a new uniform and sent to Africa." It is stretching the boundaries of credibility to believe this man walks from a Stalinist labour camp across most of continental asia ( an area where the British and Russians, though allies, have traditionally quarreled) comes crawling through to a British hospital and surprise, surprise, no official from British Intelligence debriefs him or his mates. Believe what you want, this is an interesting tale but as a betting man, I am sure it isn't true.As piece of fiction it reads quite well. If you want good tales in the same genre read "Fear Drives My Feet." This is real historical adventure in its prime. And true.
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Summary: My favourite book
Review: I first had this book read to me as a 12 year old student by a Polish surviour of Germany's concentration camps. He was my teacher. It has been my favourite book ever since. As a teacher I read this book to all my classes (9-13 year olds) and they all enjoy it. It is gripping and shows the endurance that a human being has when faced with trials. And the love that men, struck down with torture etc., can show to a young woman. nd how this young woman can, herself, bring peace to tormented souls simply by being there. A great read and a must book to own. You'll read it many times.
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Summary: A truly inspirational tale
Review: This is on of those books that sticks with you. Like when hell was in sesion J.Denton or The Gulag archipeligo. You'll never forget this moving story of what horors men can inflict upon one onther. And how brave others can be . A classic true good V. evil story. Like all the best stories it's true.
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Summary: The Long Walk is so gripping that it will be a short read!
Review: In The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz you will very simply read of the worst humanity has to offer and, thankfully, the best. Mr. Rawicz and several of his fellow prisoners did the impossible, they escaped from a Siberian work camp and walked over 4000 miles to freedom. The Russians under Stalin persecuted and enslaved many thousands, but these few they could not; generous Tibetans and Mongolians along the way to freedom shared their homes and their few possessions without suspicion, helping to keep the small band alive. This true story is told in a straightforward, immensely readable style and is told with great humility by Mr. Rawicz.
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Summary: An incredible, thought-provoking story
Review: I read this book for the first time at the age of thirteen, and have returned to it a number of times since. As a thirteen-year-old, I did not question its truth but simply swallowed it at a gulp as a wonderful book. I have wondered a little since about the actual escape from the camp - being helped by the commandant's wife sounds a little far-fetched, as does the fact that the fellow-fugitive who joins them is an attractive young girl. However, the sheer physical hardship of the journey, the odd little details - such as what cooked snake actually looks and tastes like - has a very authentic feel, which I don't think could have been invented. I've always wondered what became of Slav afterwards!
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