From Amazon
Cavalry officer Slavomir Rawicz was captured by the Red Army in 1939 during the German-Soviet partition of Poland and was sent to the Siberian Gulag along with other captive Poles, Finns, Ukranians, Czechs, Greeks, and even a few English, French, and American unfortunates who had been caught up in the fighting. A year later, he and six comrades from various countries escaped from a labor camp in Yakutsk and made their way, on foot, thousands of miles south to British India, where Rawicz reenlisted in the Polish army and fought against the Germans. The Long Walk recounts that adventure, which is surely one of the most curious treks in history.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"'An inspring tale of human courage and endurance.' Cyril Conolly, The Times"
Book Description
This is one of the world's greatest stories of adventure, survival and escape. SlavomirRawicz was a young Polish cavalry officer. On 9th November 1939, he was arrested by the Russians and after brutal interrogation in Moscow's infamous Lubyanka prison and a farce of a trial, he was sentenced to 25 years' hard labour in the Gulags, for 'spying'. After a three-month journey to Siberia in the depths of winter, he escaped with six companions, realising that to stay in the camp meant almost certain death. In June 1941, they crossed the trans-Siberian railway and headed south, climbing into Tibet and, finally, freedom nine months later in March 1942, after travelling on foot for 4,000 miles through some of the harshest regions in the world, including the Gobi Desert. By the end, he weighed just five stone and 3 of the 7 had died.
From the Inside Flap
“I hope The Long Walk will remain as a memorial to all those who live and die for freedom, and for all those who for many reasons could not speak for themselves.”
—Slavomir Rawicz
—Slavomir Rawicz
In 1941, the author and six fellow prisoners escaped a Soviet labor camp in Yakutsk—a camp where hunger, cold, untended wounds, untreated illness, and daily executions were everyday fare. Their route—thousands of miles by foot—out of Siberia, through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India endures as a statement of man’s desire to be free.
Written with haunting detail, the book has stirred the hearts of many, including legendary director Peter Weir, whose film adaptation, The Way Back, was inspired by the story. Included in this special edition is an afterword, written by the author shortly before his death, and the author’s moving introduction to the book’s original Polish edition.
Guaranteed to stay in the reader’s mind, The Long Walk remains a testament to the strength of the spirit and to the universal desire for freedom and dignity that knows no borders.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Written with haunting detail, the book has stirred the hearts of many, including legendary director Peter Weir, whose film adaptation, The Way Back, was inspired by the story. Included in this special edition is an afterword, written by the author shortly before his death, and the author’s moving introduction to the book’s original Polish edition.
Guaranteed to stay in the reader’s mind, The Long Walk remains a testament to the strength of the spirit and to the universal desire for freedom and dignity that knows no borders.
From the Back Cover
In 1941, the author and six other fellow prisoners escaped a Soviet labor camp in Yakutsk—a camp where enduring hunger, cold, untended wounds, untreated illnesses, and avoiding daily executions were
everyday feats. Their march over thousands of miles by foot—out of Siberia and through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India—was a remarkable journey through some of the most inhospitable conditions on the face of the earth.
everyday feats. Their march over thousands of miles by foot—out of Siberia and through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India—was a remarkable journey through some of the most inhospitable conditions on the face of the earth.
Written in a hauntingly detailed, no-holds-barred way, the book inspired the forthcoming Peter Weir film The Way Back, starring Colin Farrell, Jim Sturges, and Ed Harris. Previous editions have sold hundreds of thousands of copies; this edition includes an afterword written by the author soon before his death, as well as the author’s introduction to the book’s Polish edition. Guaranteed to forever stay in the reader’s mind, it will remain a testament to the strength of the human spirit, and the universal desire for freedom and dignity.
About the Author
Slavomir Rawicz was born in Pinsk in 1915. After his ordeal of The Long Walk he settled in England in 1944 were he remained for the rest of his life working in education. He died in 2004.
From AudioFile
In the camps of the Siberian gulag, friends said it was hopeless. Nevertheless, in the spring of 1942 Slavomir Rawicz and four companions walked into British India, having journeyed four thousand miles by foot over tundra, Gobi, frozen rivers, and Himalayan peaks. A 26-year-old Polish cavalry officer arrested by the Soviets while home on leave in 1939, Rawicz survived on cunning, snake meat, and the kindness of countless strangers. Like a swimmer carefully counting breaths, John Lee narrates this astonishing adventure as if every word were a step on the long trek, the next phrase a precipice. His words resonate with Rawicz's text, savoring its long distances and carefully accommodating his pace to the tempo of the trek. Published originally in 1956, this timeless tale is given new life in Lee's fresh narration. P.E.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
