How far could you walk? (The Long Walk - Slavomir Rawicz)

Member Name: robinlawrie

Product:	The Long Walk - Slavomir Rawicz
Date:	25/06/01 (293 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great and thought provokingRead

Disadvantages: none

I first read this book 40 years ago. Since then I have worn out 2 copies and have recommended it to anyone who would listen. Without exception they all agree that it is one of the greatest pieces of literature about human endurance that has ever been written. It is the story of a Polish cavalry officer, Slavomir Rawicz and the events that he endured between 1939 and 1941.

The inhumanities endured by millions under Stalin, are now well known and accepted. This is a first hand account of Rawicz’s wrongful arrest under the Russians and his subsequent torture in the infamous Lubyanka prison. That he refused to bow to the pressure put on him gives us some sort of a clue as to the sort of man that we are dealing with. He is eventually sentenced to 25 years hard labour, the sentence to be carried out in Siberia.

His description of the transport to prison from Moscow is a story in itself. 3000 miles in cattle trucks overflowing with prisoners, and a final 1000 miles handcuffed in pairs linked to an enormous chain. Forced to trudge in sub freezing temperatures, wearing inadequate clothing, their final destination being camp 303 in Siberia. It is here in this camp where he meets up with like-minded men who along with him only have one thought in mind, to escape from the inhuman conditions that surround them.

The larger part of the book is dedicated to his escape with seven others from Siberia to, believe it or not, India. They walked 3000 miles, through the coldest and the hottest conditions on the planet. He describes in detail how they were forced to live on anything that came to hand, how they had to adapt to conditions in Siberia and Mongolia, to those of the Gobi desert and then to those of the Himalayas.

Rawicz illustrates perfectly the extremes in mans treatment of his fellow man, from the cruelty of their Russian captors, to the incredible kindness shown to them by the villages and herdsmen on
their route.

Once the book is finished and you put it down you will be left with a feeling of loss, there was no follow up to this book as there was nothing further that Rawicz had to add. As far as I am aware he is still alive and lives in a village beside Nottingham.

Do yourself a favour, buy the book…it costs about £3 in paperback, ISBN: 1841192406

Summary: