The Long Walk

The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz is back in print ( Lyons isbn 1558216847.) First published in 1956, this is the true story of his 1941 escape from a Siberian camp with 4 others ;equipped with only a homemade knife and axe head, walking 4000 miles in a year to freedom in India. They crossed the tundra, rivers, Gobi desert and Himalayas to freedom. This is a must read!

I just finished this book. It is indeed a must read. I found it gripping and eminently readable. <br><br>Imagine walking with the barest set of tools, and clothing, little or no food, no water containers, no maps, no compass, nearly completely across Asia from North to South. Late winter in Siberia, heat of the Gobi Desert, crossing the Himalaya. <br><br>I wonder if many (any) of us could do it....<br><br>

Chris:<br><br>Thanks for the suggestion. I bought the book at half.com and read it in two days. Awesome story.<br><br>Chris

Resurrecting a very old thread (over 13 years, do I win a prize?).

I just found this book in a used book store a couple weeks ago. Read it in a couple days. It is truly an amazing story of the ability of the human spirit to survive what should not be possible.

I was amazed at how these escapees managed to walk such a great distance with essentially no supplies and not a great deal of survival knowledge. They learned as they went and were incredibly driven to succeed.

I was amazed that these men walked through the searing Gobi desert going for 12 days without any water while walking 20-30 miles per day in the searing heat. How is that even possible? They crossed the Himalayas in winter and suffer from altitude sickness.

The only negative I had from the book was that it ends rather abruptly after they complete their journey and recover. I really wanted to know what happened to those amazing men afterwards.

If you can find this book I highly recommend you read it as it is an incredible story.

It's available on Amazon.

Ghosts from the past...

Man, I did about four or five double-takes when I saw a post started by Chris. It has been a long time since that name popped up.

wikipedia says its fake

if you want to read a true story try "my journey to Lhasa" by Alexandra David-Neel.in 1923 she walked thru China into Tibet disguised as a pilgrim along with a young monk she knew for years.
she spoke and could read Tibet and had been turned back several times before when she went as a Western traveler with a train of helpers.days without food or drink and taking shelter wherever it could be found.crossing mountain passes in freezing weather so they would not be on the normal pilgrim path.
they had nothing but small tent and a pot but she hid a pistol,spoons and a compass under her robe.
this book was my nightly reading on a two week solo wilderness canoe trip in August and every night i put in down thinking none of the TV survival gang could have done this treck.
here is a link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_David-N%C3%A9el