A Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz

[pudgy_groundhog]

Before I read this book, I vaguely remembered hearing about the controversy surrounding it. I read it first, then read up a little about it on the internet. Has anybody else read it? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. The article that I thought was interesting was this one from the BBC:

Walking the Talk?

Even while reading the book some parts felt farfetched to me (i.e. going that many days without water in the Gobi desert), but I still enjoyed it. I was disappointed that there are a lot of indications that a lot, if not all, of it was a fabrication (according to some sources at least). Any thoughts?

 

[iceNsnow]

The Long Walk

I greatly enjoyed this book and at the time it did cross my mind that it was hard to believe that they survived desert conditions for so long. But I just went w/ it because there was so much other suffering that was hard to believe people had to endure.

Definitely worth reading either way. I guess I prefer to believe in the human spirit and say that there is enough truth in it for me.

Excellent reading!! Highly recommended!
Sorry I can't help w/ your question.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

I think it was worth reading too and I did like the book. I think you are right that there might be some elements of truth in there. I did read a comment somewhere that he recalled many details of the people and places of Mongolia, Tibet, etc. that it would've been hard for him to fabricate those on his own. From some of the other things I've read there are other instances of people making such journeys during that time period (e.g. Polish people who were taken to labor camps, then released, but not provided with a way to return home).

But there are definitely some things I still find odd ... there has never been any record found or confirmation of the existence of the other men who survived the ordeal.

 

[iceNsnow]

An incredible feat and...

It is more believeable than Darwin's Theory of Evolution!!

 

[spider solo]

good book

One of the best books I have ever read and have recommened it many a time.
I believe it was "set down" by Ronald Downing after urging Rawicz to write the book. He originaly found Rawicz while researching any info about Yeti.
I don't thnk his story would have been told other wise.
So I'm thinking he would have remained in obscurity just as the other survivors did until death.
Writing the book is more as a collaboration between the two men to get the story told.
I think he did indeed escape with the others aided by indigenious people from time to time.
Very sad as one of the escapes and the girl who joined them died from lack of water or the one fellow who died after they had been without food for so long and then had a big meal.
There doesn't seem to be any reason why he wouldn't sign any documents he was told to sign whether they were true or not.

I don't think it's the gospel but I don't think it's a fraud anymore than I would think Shackletons journey was a fraud for example.

Nor would I believe he is a fake because he believes in the Yeti...actually for that subject we might ask for an outside opinion from 'oh let's say...um
Reinhold Messner.

 

[Artex]

Great book. Definitely hard to put down. I also found going that long without water in the desert a bit tough to believe. As for the Yeti, while there isn't much or even any hard evidence to prove they exist, the same principle applies to proving they don't exist! Regardless, it's a great story and I'd be willing to bet most adventurous-type folks would enjoy it.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

I believe it was "set down" by Ronald Downing after urging Rawicz to write the book. He originaly found Rawicz while researching any info about Yeti.
I don't thnk his story would have been told other wise.
So I'm thinking he would have remained in obscurity just as the other survivors did until death.
Writing the book is more as a collaboration between the two men to get the story told.


I don't think it's the gospel but I don't think it's a fraud anymore than I would think Shackletons journey was a fraud for example.

Good points. It is possible it never would've been told if Downing hadn't found him. The collaboration between the two men lends some credence to the story (unless Rawicz was a master liar and actor, which I don't tend to believe). The book was wildly popular, so I'm just surprised the other men, if they were still alive, might have made some effort to contact him. There were documents and official records regarding Raciwz -- how come none of the other men?

I've read Shackleton's story and while both books were enjoyable, I put much more stock in Shackleton's story as being true (many men able to corroborate the story and the many diaries that existed).

 

[iceNsnow]

Shackleton's details

When I read Shackleton's story I was also wondering about the reality of being wet and cold for so long w/ barely enough calories for the work required. It seemed that they must have eatten more to prevent hypothermia. And then the ones that didn't work so much, how did they prevent hypothermia? Well....... those ideas made me wonder about the details, but I believed that story as well!

Probably 2 of my favorite books. And then there is David Robert's Escape from Lucania , but they died. So that is really not so hard to believe.

Thanks for the additional info about The Long Walk.

 

[sardog1]

And then there is David Robert's Escape from Lucania , but they died.

Umm, am I missing something here? Bradford Washburn and Bob Bates didn't die during that trip, they survived. Brad Washburn passed away in January at age 96; I don't know Bates's fate after the trip.

 

[poison ivy]

Though I'm a very doubtful of at least some of the details of the story, I have to say that I found The Long Walk really compelling -- I read it in a tent somewhere on the Mass. AT in one night... could not put it down. My husband also tore through it on while we were on another vacation -- it is one of the few adventure books that I've said "You have to read this..." that he really, really enjoyed.

I guess it doesn't matter to me much whether the book or true or not... it kept me entertained and that's all I ask for from a book.

- Ivy

 

[spider solo]

Umm, am I missing something here? Bradford Washburn and Bob Bates didn't die during that trip, they survived. Brad Washburn passed away in January at age 96; I don't know Bates's fate after the trip.

Bates lives up here in Exeter NH.
(I haven't read that particuar book though, so I don't know how it all fits together)

 

[iceNsnow]

OOOoops!!

Sorry about that!!
I meant to mention Cold Burial by Clive Powell-Williams!!

Apologeeeeeeeeeeeeez!!

 

[Stan]

Anytime I feel a bit down I think of Ivan Denisovich, a fictional character by Dostoevski. Read a "Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" and you may never feel sorry for yourself again. The story may be just that but the circumstances are true and the human spirit is a universal truth.

So too with Rawicz' long walk. Perhaps there is some poetic license taken in the account ... perhaps truth is stranger than fiction. Never doubt, however, the inhumanity of the Gulags and what curses like that can drive men to do. Never doubt, either, the power of the human spirit and beware of judging it by the material standards of today's culture.

Though the Gulags were a Soviet tool, they had precedents. Ask Dostoevski. Ask my late Grandmother whose parents were sent to such camps 100 years ago. I expect the camps have their successors today.

When I read the "Long Walk", I asked myself, what kind of gulag is there that would drive my long walk. That's probably a more important truth than Rawicz'.

 

[blacknblue]

Anytime I feel a bit down I think of Ivan Denisovich, a fictional character by Dostoevski. Read a "Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" and you may never feel sorry for yourself again. The story may be just that but the circumstances are true and the human spirit is a universal truth.

Alexandre Solzhenitsyn wrote "One Day...", based on his own life experiences in the gulag. Point well taken, though.

 

[Stan]

Alexandre Solzhenitsyn wrote "One Day...", based on his own life experiences in the gulag. Point well taken, though.

Thank you for that correction. I woke up this morning with a start thinking about that!