Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom Paperback – April 1, 2006

1970's I also was in the US military along the very borders the author Slav talks about fleeing from. I to carry terrible dreams to this day of what I knew then..and still "know"..things I can't speak of, things that torment my dreams like Slav...I finished this book because it's true..Misery does love Company and old military who served in the Hot and Cold War also like Slav indentured the worst pain of all-time pain the kind about lost friends you can't even speak about because very few understand what keeping it all inside means and why the world over for men will serve their countries -knowing it may kill them or their friends. It's.because so few of us Can or Will serve that when we find comrades in arms as Slav did, we couldn't go on without them and yet when we "must" leave we do so with heavy hearts for lost family. I understand Slav so well though I was not physically tortured but in my post military career in the administrative arm of medical research I met Poles from the Gestapo's torture camps who told me...so this Book was a Memory and a Memorial to those who never came home and I cried when it ended.

I liked this book. It is a heart-felt memoir of an escape from a WW II Soviet labor camp and a year-long trek from northeastern Siberia to India. Inspiring and adventurous. What I particularly enjoyed were the descriptions of the kindness that the local people throughout Siberia, Tibet, and the in the Gobi bestowed on these trekkers, who had minimal food and equipment. If they hadn't received help from the locals, they would not have survived. The descriptions of the geography were also engaging. My only criticism of the book was that some parts strained credibility. I'm not saying the story is apocryphal, but perhaps the recounting from memory missed some important details. For example, in describing their crossing of the Gobi desert, Rawicz says they sometimes walked as much as eight days without water. This is hard to believe. Walking three days in most desert environments without water is almost always fatal. Nevertheless, a good read.

This survival story is almost beyond belief, and the writing is wonderful - I often paused to reconsider sentences that were beautifully constructed. The overarching question here, though, is how much of the story is true? And there appears to be a lot of controversy about that. Some of the author's own descriptions cannot possibly be true, such as walking across a blazing Gobi desert and having no water for over a week. Or how about walking across Siberia in winter, with animal-skin footwear, and then across the Himalayas in winter - and no mention of frostbite in any of the party? So, some of this book is fiction. How much is open to debate.

This is one of the best books in the world; a great read and a wonderful gift to anyone who does. It is the true story of seven men who escape from a Communist prison in Siberia just after WWII, and walk all the way to India. What they endure, those they encounter, the experiences they have and the bond that develops among them make one of the most moving stories you will ever read. Highly recommended; a fast read, invaluable.

This was a very gripping book! I couldn't put it down and when I did, it was all I could think about until I picked it up again. The monumental adversity that faced Slavomir Rawicz was unbelievable, and he told the story so you got a picture in your mind; you felt the heat and the cold and the frustration. The story is great, the writing is not that great, but the true life recollection is so powerful, you overlook the writing.It was recommended to me by my neighbor, and I have since recommended it to friends and family.

I really enjoyed this book but I was amazed that this story cannot be verified. It is true that the British took care of the men as they arrived in India, but outside of that one fact, the rest cannot be verified. I especially liked the part about the sighting of the possible "Yeti", or the Abominable Snowman and His companion. That was fascinating if it was true.I would highly recommend the book and you can make up your own mind about the veracity of the truth in this book.

I had heard of the story and they produced a film about it.The fact that it is a true story makes this harrowing journey to freedom back in world war 2 so remarkableIt ranks as one of the top three greatest stories of survival ever.There is an interesting encounter in the Himalayas with something strange around p.242 if I remember that may be one of the earliest mentions of this type of sighting (not to give it away!) considering this is 1940's. Get it--its pretty darn interesting.

I read this book some years ago. I don't think most people could put the book down once they begin reading it. To think of several individuals -- initially seven, then eight, and finally four, walking from northeast Siberia south across the Gobi Desert, China, the Himalayas and into India to escape a prison came seems impossible. It says much for the human spirit and the desire for freedom. There are a couple of things in the Kindle version that seemed to have been dropped from the original version. One was that some of the escapees ate locusts following a locust storm and millions of them were lying, dead and alive; others could not be made to try them. There was a locust storm in the Kindle version, but no mention of eating or not eating them. An occurrence at the labor camp in Siberia was not mentioned in the Kindle version. I have suggested this book to a number of people.

This is the tale of 'Slav' a former member of the Polish army who returns from fighting the Nazi's at the start of WWII, gets married and then gets arrested by the Russians. The charge of being a spy is based on the fact that he speaks Russian and lives in Poland near the Russian border. The sentence: 25 years in a Siberian Gulag. The book contains details of the torture inflicted to try and obtain a confession and, whilst the details are/not to graphic, they're not for the overly squemish. Slavomir joins hundreds of other prisoners on a train journey to the depths of Siberia with a fair chance that he won't survive. 7 men decide to try and escape and with virtually no resources and little hope set of on a walk to freedom. What follows next is a tale of incredible human endurance and a will to survive that almost defies belief. Spoiler alert,not all of the escapees make it but the journey and the battle against the elements on starvation rations is astonishing. The story flows at a good pace with a nice light touch on the dialogue throughout. I do have one problem with this story and that is the ending. Obviously Slavomir survives as he is the author and he is not alone. but what happens next. does he find his wife? Does he meet up again with the other survivors? The story finishes a bit abruptly and it would have been nice to have a paragraph or two just to finish the story off. Maybe I`m being picky because the tale is about the walk to freedom but it would have been nice to know. This is a fairly minor gripe and really doesn't detract from a cracking story

This is as moving as Touching the Void and as detailed as the Snow Leapoard and 7 years in Tibet. Don't be put off by a bleak start,the author re discovers his spirit and faith in people within the camp butFaces up to a life of Slavery or the journey for life.Most will opt for the former. This is about the mental as much as the physical challenges.Where having a deficet in your knowledge can mean death.Master the animals ,learn from the nomads..Strap on your birch skis ,look out from your fish skin windows and go.Touching the Void meets 7 years in Tibet and The Snow Leapoard.Just read.

Got suspicious not long after the 'escape' (or even before) - the adventure started to sound far fetched: difficulties (eg rough terrain) were overcome and challenges (eg finding enough to eat) were met with unconvincing ease (especially when contrasted with genuine real-life escape stories, eg The Colditz Story, The Road to En-Dor). A quick rummage on Google (other search engines are available!) reveals a fairly widely-held scepticism about the veracity of all this. I'm afraid my patience wore thin and I gave up about half way through. The narrative style was reasonably engaging though, and it probably would have worked as work of fiction, so 2 stars rather than 1.

The story is excellently written, by a humble and thoroughly pragmatic author. This book deserves to be read, it is a staggering story of human endurance and stoicism and ultimately the strength of character required to just keep going despite the worst conditions that could be imagined. This story will stay with you for a very long time.

If anyone is expecting a book similar to the 2010 cinematic adaptation, The Way Back, they may be disappointed on that particular front, but pleasantly surprised to find a different, but equally compelling story.The Long Walk is a novel of fate and persistence more than anything, about how a man can be faced with insurmountable misfortune, only to reject the fate prescribed and pursue a different destiny.The Long Walk differs from the film almost entirely, almost half the book deals with the narrators trial, and journey to place of imprisonment, and the remaining half of the book details the escape. Characters differ in name, background, and personality, with the only character who finds his way to the film almost entirely unchanged is Mr Smith, although Zaro clearly is the inspiration for Zoran, and Kristina is clearly Irina.The book is a different story, although not a different story entirely, and includes more interaction with the Mongols, and an interesting encounter with Abominable Snowmen in the Himalayas.The general point of this review is that The Way Back, great movie that it is, is no substitute for the book, and it should be read regardless of whether one has seen the movie or not.With regard to the counterclaims by Soviet Records, well, this reviewer isn't entirely sure. The story of Rawicz is incredible, but lets bear in mind these are records from a state that would not only fail to record the death of political prisoners, but would entirely erase their birth and all records of their existence.If I had to make a choice between believing the account of Slawomir Rawicz and the account of the apparatus of Joseph Stalin, I would vote for the former.But questions of truth, aside, it is an incredible and inspirational story that should be read by all.

I came to this book having seen the film of the book before. The book, in my opinion, evokes far deeper feelings and impressions of situations you can barely believe people could endure. The simple statistic of how far they traveled does not do justice to the back story of how the men/woman came to be there, the brutal inhumanity of the Gulag, and the stubborn, unrelenting determination to escape. I read this over just a couple of days, barely able to put it down. Highly recommended read that would have been impressive enough as fiction, so much more as non-fiction!

If you enjoy books about triumph over the most incredible adversity, this book is a must read. I honestly couldn’t put it down. It depicts how resilient people are even in the most awful and hopeless of situations, and how the human spirit can overcome the most dreadful of hardships. There were many lump-in-throat moments as well as feelings of dumbfoundedness. A brilliant book.

Astonishing real story. How having the will to survive can get you past the physical trauma of hardship. Also you need to be lucky. The story ends positively but it would be nice to have had a paragraph of an afterword to know what happened next during WW2 and after to this amazingly brave person. In terms of duress it would match the deprivation suffered by Anne Frank and many others. Not a sob story biography, but an enlightening Ray Mears style account of how nature can be an utter bastard or your wary friend.

Rather than rattling on about this book and spoiling it for everyone i will simply say why i got the book and what i generally thought about it.I bought it after a retired school teacher recommended it as a good read. I like history but also a gripping tale, The book is fantastically written and is essentially about a polish soldier who was captured by the Russians as a suspected spy and his tale of survival and his trek to freedom. I feel i need to add no more as this book really does speak for itself. NOTE: the biggest problem is you will never find this book in a book store (trust me I've tried and looked everywhere). So don't waste your time trying... just purchase it on amazon either in book or kindle format.If you like history but also a true and gripping story, one that you will find hard to put down and will want to carry on reading until you finish then i highly recommend this book to you. It is well written and the story is fantastic yet quite scary because it is all true!RECOMMENDED!!

Slavomir Rawicz takes the reader on a most extraordinary journey. Written in a most personal style and not pulling any punches, The Long Walk is an fascinating retelling of a story demonstrating true human spirit and strength. Rawicz allows the reader a sense of what life was like in the Gulags and imprisonment under a Russian regime.They long walk introduces an incredible group if people, who all bring their qualities to the group to dramatic effect and Rawicz encourages the reader to consider further the dynamic of the group as they test their spirit during their quest for freedom. Each location reached is beautifully described, enhancing the empathy with the group as they face the vast expanses they must traverse.The book was made into a film in the last few years. I had every intention of watching the film after reading the book, instead I have decided to take my own perceptions from this incredible stories. Many claim this story was stolen. As Rawiczhas since died, it is something we are unlikely to ever know. Therefore, read the book, enjoy it and try to draw something from it.

Quite a good book, had my doubts about authenticity when they spotted a Yeti in the Himalayas. Annoying that people write & publish books that you take time to read only to discover that it's all a lie. He was actually released from prison by the Russians & I think he fabricated this story riding on the back of the people who actually did make the journey who's names are actually unknown.

This is my favorite true story and book to date.It goes from the depravity with which human beings can treat one another to the comradeship and strength that enabled a small group of escaped prisoners to attempt an epic journey to freedom. The prisoner's daily diet was mainly bread that was given in the morning and they divided it into 3 to last the day.Never now do I eat a seedy loaf, without thinking how they achieved so much on so little, and how Slavomir managed to get his ration increased by volunteering to work in a new ski shop ..up to 1/2 a kilo a day and then after Russian approval of the skis...1 kilo a day this was to be vital in their preparations for escape. Throughout the book I couldn't help but believe that God was watching over them. Just when they were at their most hungry an animal might catch their notice and provide a meal, just when they were at their thirstiest a trickle of water was heard, just when they were at their coldest a cave was found. I found myself quite emotional at these near miracles, sometimes I could laugh with them and also cry with them through their ordeal. This for me is a book of inspiration, if ever you think your life is bad, if ever you think things are not possible then think of this journey and you cannot help but be inspired to carry on.

A great book . Not the kind of book I normally read but one which I couldn't put down once I stated reading it. Because the characters were real they were understandable. A story of great determination, endurance and friendship. We all knew about innocent people sent to Siberian camps.. In this book we are given an insight into what it was really like living in those conditions. The hardship endured by these men throughout their journey to freedom showed incredible courage..

This is a book I bought years ago in paperback after our hardback copy vanished. It's an amazing story about strength of will and determination in the most desperate of circumstances, about an escape from a PoW camp that involved crossing the Gobi Desert on foot. The fact that it's a true story, and that any of the men survived to tell their tale is most incredible. There are harrowing bits -- it happened during the second world war when so many awful events happened -- but I would urge anyone to read it because it demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and comradeship. I'm so pleased that it's going to reach a wider audience now it's on Kindle: it's a story that should be more widely known.

This book has been a personal favourite for 45 years. My original copy fell to pieces I'd read it so often. So much about it inspires and the clean and open writing just draws you in. But my recent purchase of a new copy coincides with my glum discovery on the 'net of all the doubts and criticisms about the book's veracity. Yes, like many readers, I've long had my doubts about, say, how the group got through the Gobi and the Himalayas - but like character flaws in a faithful friend, you overlook them. More disturbing is my discovery that the book was ghost-written by a journalist, and that Rawicz consistently failed to bring forward his co-survivors. Oh well, best to avoid all the internet chatter and gulp down one of the truly great adventure stories of our age.