The Long Walk

The True Story of a Trek to Freedom

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The Long Walk

By: Slavomir Rawicz

Narrated by: John Lee

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About this listen

Twenty-six-year-old cavalry officer Slavomir Rawicz was captured by the Red Army in 1939 during the German-Soviet partition of Poland and sent to the Siberian Gulag. In the spring of 1941, he escaped with six of his fellow prisoners, including one American. Thus began their astonishing trek to freedom.

With no map or compass but only an ax head, a homemade knife, and a week's supply of food, the compatriots spent a year making their way on foot to British India, through 4,000 miles of the most forbidding terrain on earth. They braved the Himalayas, the desolate Siberian tundra, icy rivers, and the great Gobi Desert, always a hair's breadth from death. Finally arriving, Rawicz reenlisted in the Polish army to fight the Germans.

Military

War

Inspiring

Heartfelt

Cavalry

China

Russia

Soviet Union

Red Army

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A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush cover art

Critic reviews

"Positively Homeric." ( London Times)
"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)

Most relevant

First and foremost, 'The Long Walk' is a truly epic story of adventure and misadventure. The characters, although not deeply emotionally explored, are interesting and relateable. The build-up and escape from the gulag is tense and terrifying. The epic walk to freedom is both distressing and inspiring. But what I enjoyed most was the interactions the group of escapees have with the locals of the regions they pass through.

I disagree with the comments of some reviewers; this is a captivating adventure story, one of the best in the genre. The incident with the 'Yetis' is entirely believeable and in keeping with continuous unexplained sightings of ape species in the Himalaya by respected sources. Anyway, why else would it be written in a travelogue, if not true? And as for not tying up loose ends...the book is called 'The Long Walk', not 'The Long Walk and what happened to the escapees in the ensuing 40-odd years'.

The only reason I was left feeling slightly disappointed with 'The Long Walk' was after I had joyfully completed it and began researching it. The writer was apparently not involved in the trek and was instead, serving time in a different gulag. There was later a claim from a polish man living in the UK, that it was he about whom the story was written. But the original author never agreed on this...why is there so much continuing debate? I don't know the answer.

What I do know is that the book is based on true events and a true trek, completed by a group of prisoners from a Gulag to freedom. Don't let the anti-author authenticity claims prevent you from enjoying this astounding tale.

If you enjoy reading of human hardship, travel and true adventure, then you will not be disappointed by 'The Long Walk'.

Ben Waddams