Rating: 
Summary: Great masterpiece.
Review: Book, you are just going to buy, is one written by a polish author. However I had to wait 46 yaers since first english edition to be able to read it in polish. Thanks to very good translation I had a great time following trails of this few convicts who succeded in wriggle out of living in soviet kolkhoz. The begening is like in Kafka's "Trial" - Slavomir R. like Joseph K. is charged with something he not only didn't do, but he isn't even told what it was. Then it is slightly similar to a part of Archer's "Kane and Abbel", but much more realistic, because Rawich have had expierienced kolkhoz himself. And finally after escaping its typical advanture or travel book which is thrilling and makes you read it untill the very end, without any stops.sorry for my English, I'm not as good at it as Zaro at Franch
Rating:
Summary: Did he actually see primitive ape-men?
Review: I really do believe that Rawicz did encounter some strange
beings during his escape. Let's face it that part of Asia was and still is a very remote area. Who knows what could be calling that place home. From those detailed description it is
obvious that they saw something.All in all this is a good book.
A true tale of courage,freedom and determination with a touch of cryptozoology.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly questionable and NO documentation
Review: I want to belive Slavomir Rawicz's story, but the complete lack of substantiating facts makes me highly doubt it. A very good discussion group has emerged where we discuss his story and compare notes. As of July, 2002, Slavomir Rawicz is still alive and corresponds with us... The group welcomes believers and sketics alike ...
Rating:
Summary: Great story, wish it was verified.
Review: Incredible story! It was a very fast read and held my interest throughout. 2 conflicting points of discussion: 1. Eight days in the desert without water? Sorry. 2. For all of the disbelievers: If it's good enough for Stephen E. Ambrose, it's good enough for me? I'm still not sure if I can believe this tale. I wish it had corroboration.
Rating:
Summary: SO GOOD THAT I READ IT TWICE
Review: I don't read much fiction any more. I don't need to. True stories are much better. And the heroes are real mentors for me. Slavomir Rawicz is one of my heroes. He endured brutal torture in a Soviet Prison Camp, Freezing weather in Siberia, Summer heat in the Gobi Desert, Winter in the Himalayas, and many experiences of survival by sheer guts. My kids ask me to tell them a bedtime story sometimes. My stories of Rawicz's survival has been one of their favorites. --George Stancliffe
Rating:
Summary: A great story
Review: I Read the previous review, but from what the other person said, there is some doubt as to the books authenticity.... I read the Long Walk while trekking through the gobi desert myself with Raliegh International, and a lot of what he describes can be seen out there. BUT.... i was there for three weeks, and i never saw one snake, and it seemed to be his staple diet out there... Oh well i will leave the rest to speculate... BUT.... Give the book a read i really enjoyed it, and reading it during what was the hardest physcial challenger of my life, it helped me appriciate all i have.... Including my freedom in saying what i believe and not being punished for it, and for all those simple things we all take for granted... food, shelter.... hope. go safe....
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Journey; Entertaining Reading
Review: "The Long Walk" by Slavomir Rawicz, Audio Version, Blackstone Audio Books, Ashland, Oregon, 1990. Read by Bernard Mayes. Eight 1-½ hour cassettes. This is a remarkable story of suffering, endurance, perseverance and loyalty. Slavomir Rawicz was a cavalry officer in the Polish Army when Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia divided Poland. Arrested by the Soviets in 1939, Rawicz was put on "trial" for espionage against the Soviet Union, mainly on the grounds that Rawicz spoke Russian. Why else would a Pole learn Russian ... obviously to spy! Convicted, he is sent to a labor camp in Siberia. Usually, this is enough for good story. The Polish cavalry officer, however, after enduring the hardships of walking, in a raging blizzard, from the railhead to the labor camp, decides to escape. With a little help from the wife of the Camp Commander, Rawicz escapes with six other prisoners, along with a makeshift knife and an ax head without a handle. They walk out of Siberia in the "warm" part of the year, meet a displaced Polish woman (almost a young girl) and include her in their plans. Their plans include walking along the side of the biggest lake in the world, crossing the Gobi dessert without a vessel to carry water, climbing through the Himalayas (without oxygen at heights where it was needed) and finally coming out in British India. The lone American (identified only as Mr. Smith) then uses his command of English to explain their great trek to the British Army. It is almost impossible to believe all the hardships they must endure. They survive the Gobi by eating large black snakes, and the butchering and cooking is described too graphically. They meet various native individuals, and are greeted courteously and sometimes charmingly, despite the lack, sometimes, of a language in common. The young girl dies in the Gobi. The Pole, who sang Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, falls to his death in the mountains. All the escapees lose much weight and they all grow beards and much hair, so that, when they are being medically treated in India, they are surprised to see what each other looks like. After hospitalization, Slavomir Rawicz arranges to be transferred to a Polish outfit fighting in Africa. The entire account is presented in a matter-of-fact fashion; the reader, Bernard Mayes echoes this by using uses a matter-of-fact , almost British accent, when he read the long book. The eight cassettes helped me as I sat in traffic on Interstate 495, the ring road around Boston.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story. Would love to believe.
Review: I want to believe but can't... I first read this book about 25 years ago and have told many people about it. It impressed me immensely. I recently bought the 1997 version and still found it to be a thrilling story. But there were questions in my mind that increase as I read these reviews. (I was especially impressed by those of Rod Szasz - October 25, 2001 and Chris - February 9, 1999). I like the suggestion about Peter Fleming (author of 'News From Tartary') as a source for this book. My quick search on the Internet shows no record of Ronald Downing other than ghost writing this book. Does anyone have any more info on Mr. Downing? I have had no adventures as long or harrowing as shown in this book. But I have hiked in Canadian Rockies, once sailed from Bali to Singapore and I took the train across Siberia in April 2000. As a well travelled Canadian I know how difficult it is to walk in winter snow. 1. My biggest problem is the amazingly fast pace. Certainly most healthy young military men can walk 4000 miles along a Canadian highway within a year when well-provisioned and well-equipped. But to do that from Yakutsk to India is just too amazing. If they had stopped for a few weeks in Mongolia, had learned some local lingo and found a couple of water containers before crossing the desert I might be a believer. Or perhaps they might have spent time in Tibet learning local ways, getting local clothes and learning about the mountain routes to India. They did none of this. 2. I have visited no place in Asia where there was not plenty of local watching eyes. A group of fur-clad Russians would certainly be observed and commented upon any time they went near a village. Other travellers make plain that there was plenty of beauraucracy in Tibet and Western China. It is hard to believe that one could traverse such a distance in midst of WWII without meeting a single policeman, soldier or suspicious official. 3. Prison camp. Arrived near death in early February 1941. Within first two weeks they used axes and hand tools to build a group of immense 'eighty yard long' huts complete with bunks and stoves. Within the next 8 weeks they had hatched plans, befriended Ushakov's wife, saved food, worked in the forest, learned to make "160 skis per day", organised an escape group and figured out a working escape plan. 4. What's with that radio? Surely it was incredibly complicated. The Commandant could fly his own plane but could not operate a shortwave receiver?! 5. There was a wall map of Siberia in the Commandant's house. Certainly he could have studied it and sketched a route that avoided the worst of the Gobi and the worst of the Himalayas. 6. They miss cigarettes more than food or water. Other traveller's tales tell us that starving people eat anything that might provide nourishment. Ignoring the abundant snakes or the locusts for nourishment while starving is amazing. Also no discussion on the possibility of canabilism? 7. I want to believe in Yeti. But if it does exist it is not the size of Michael Jordan. If it has survived so long in such adverse conditions it must be some kind of much smaller and much less conspicuous beast. 8. Finally -- and perhaps most important -- is the utter lack of any documentation. Surely there must be something in Indian / British records. This group must have made a huge impression when they arrived in the hands of the British army. It should be easy to find a British service record putting Slavomir in India. I find it strange that he tells names and details on all his companions that came from behind the 1956 Iron Curtain; but of Mr. Smith he knew neither name, hometown, or any other traceable details. To bad. It is a great story. I wish that I could believe. I will have to re-read some of my other favourite 'true' adventure tales with a discerning ear.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a story of survival on the way to find freedom.
Review: I have read this book twice and the story of what Slavomir Rawicz and his companions was able to accomplish still astounds me. The lengths they went to find freedom are a lesson that applies in any age. Its a remarkable story of their journey I enjoyed it as much now as I did 30 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Long Walk, Quick Read:
Review: The criticism of Rawicz' journey are many and raise questions that are both historical and geographical. It is a very unbelievable journey. And I can understand the disbelief, especially the passages on the Gobi Desert, and the mountain pass into India (I've covered similar mountainous terrain in Pakistan and can't imagine doing it without NorthFace.) But what is most impressive about this work are the items that most gloss over: Rawicz' descriptions of the Soviet justice proceedings that are both comical and uncomfortable. His exposition of torture which is very detailed and very disturbing-- the Russians spent more money and time studying and devising methods of torture than any other state in modern history. These passages alone make this read extremely visceral, intimate, compelling and horrifying. And from a historical standpoint Rawicz' descriptions are highly accurate. The other interesting kernel that I wish Rawicz devoted more time to was the presence of an American in his camp who accompanied him on the escape. The American is not developed very much, but what is provided--that he was an engineer invited to the USSR to supervise construction of the underground metro system-- I found very interesting as I had never run across this practice while studying Soviet history in college. All in all a very good read. The tale end of the journey includes observations-- land of the abonimable snowmen-- that I find sensationalist and a poor editorial choice that indicts the veracity of the entire story. However I feel that the book is still rewarding, it's pace surprisingly well done for a novice writer, and it's historical and cultural commentary are highly accurate. It should be a definite read for Russophiles, politico-history buffs, and would-be adventurers. Thom.
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