The Long Walk - The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
Product Description
From the back cover ~ In 1941, the author and a small group of fellow prisoners escaped a Soviet labor camp. Their march out of Siberia, through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet and over the Himalayas to British India is a remarkable statement about man's desire to be free.The story of a young, Polish Cavalry officer that was arrested, tried and sentenced to 25 years of forced labor in a Siberian labor camp. Chronicles his 3,000 mile journey by train from Moscow to Urkutsk and the thousand mile walk to Camp 303 on the Lena River, some two to three-hundred miles southwest of the capital of Northern Siberia - Yakutsk, in the winter of 1940/41. After a short stint in the camp, the author puts together a team and escapes, only to begin the seemingly immpossible walk to India, a journey of some 4,000 miles.
"One of the most amazing heroic stories of this or any other time."
~Chicago Tribune
"It is a book filled with the spirit of human dignity and the courage of men seeking freedom."
~Los Angeles Times
"You cannot willingly lay it down."
~San Francisco Examiner
Paperback: 242 pages
Publisher: The Lyons Press 1997-originally published in 1956
ISBN 1-55821-634-0
Features
Images
 |
Reviews
Viewing: 1-2 of 2 |
Nanuls - Nov 6, 2009 6:27 am - Voted 4/5
The Long Walk
My mind is in conflict about this book, I really don’t know whether or not I like it or slightly dislike it. When I first read it I was amazed, Rawitz’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary bought to life by the author’s somewhat blunt prose, which feel all the more appropriate given the subject matter. However, since reading it I have discovered that there is a good chance that the whole thing was made up, that there is no evidence of the author or his companions (if they ever existed at all) having been imprisoned or rescued, or in fact, any evidence of Rawitz’s service following his liberation. The fact that the book was ghost authored by a man trying to prove the existence of Yeti’s also raises concern (Rawitz’s claims to have seen large ape like creatures while in the Himalaya) and it could be the case that even if the journey actually occurred, then certain details and events could be exaggerations or simply untrue. Whatever the truth, there is no denying that this is an enthralling read, and I would recommend it simply as that.
Viewing: 1-2 of 2 |
Bill Reed - Apr 11, 2009 12:18 pm - Voted 5/5
Great book!!Comparable to Shackleton's ordeal, though that's hard to imagine, at least until you read this book.
Highly recommend it!!
Nanuls brings an issue to light that I was not aware of. I have read a little about this now and have this to say about the matter. I have no way of knowing where the truth lies, but I believe that whomever made this journey it was epic. If it truly was Witold Glinski, then so be it!