Long Walk: The True Story Of A Trek To Freedom Paperback – April 1, 2016

I'm not sure that every guy at McClintock Jr. High School read "The Long Walk" in 1958, but Slavomir Rawicz's 1956 book definitely enjoyed a cult following there. After all, almost every kid's old man had played some part in the War, South Pacific or Europe; and there was a ton of wartime pulp to be read, and I believe we must have read the better part of it. We read books like: "God is my Co-Pilot," "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo," "The Longest Day," "Guadalcanal Diary," "The Naked and the Dead." The list could go on. There were the books with a slightly forbidden flavor by our former enemies: "Zero," "Commando Extraordinary," "The Road to Stalingrad." But "The Long Walk," stood in its own special category. I found it hard to put down at age fourteen, and, rereading it fifty jaded years later, I still couldn't put this one down.Only now I'm wondering if perhaps I've just read a great novel by a certain Ronald Downing.Back in '58 we didn't have the 1997 afterword in which Slav Rawicz uses the term: "read between the lines." We didn't have the 1993 introduction to the Polish edition in which Slav writes, "If this little book has served in a small way as propaganda to understand the past years of our history under the Soviets, then my words will have achieved their purpose." The structure of the book does make for the perfect road story, a framework upon which to hang a string of episodes: capture, imprisonment, torture, deportation, the camp, the escape, the journey. The assemblage of seven compatriots is reminiscent of the "Seven Samurai," or "The Magnificent Seven." Consider the character types of the escapees: the gentle giant, the little jokester, the American--and the girl Kristina. Add the superbly generous character of the Tibetans--by then weren't the Chinese kicking them around? In short: read this book and you will not like communists, but then, you didn't in the first place, did you?Having said all that, what a pleasure it is to learn that Slav lived to a ripe old age, raising five children with a devoted wife, living to see Poland independent again, living to see the USSR dissolve. And if Slav and Ronald Downing chose to insert a few whoppers along the way, I say: who are we to let facts stand in the way of a good story?Slav wrote in his 1997 afterword that he had received many letters over the years, and that he enjoyed answering them. I wish I'd been a little sooner rediscovering "The Long Walk." I might have written Mr. Rawicz myself, and here's what I would have said:Dear Mr. Rawicz, I know you have received many letters over the years and mine will probably eco much of what those others have said. However, if I might add anything, it is that since reading your book fifty years ago at age fourteen I have never to my memory left a plate of food un-cleaned; countless times I have been disgusted by the sight of unfinished plates being scraped into the garbage by others. Many times I have thought of you and your companions as I passed trash left by the roadside, trash that you could have used. (A few plastic soda bottles might have made all the difference on the Gobi.) I like to wear a thing out before discarding it. I do hate to be cold, but I try to refrain from complaining about it. So thank you, Mr. Rawicz, for inspiring the boy I was fifty years ago to take up frugal ways. I'm sure my bankroll is thicker for it. I would observe that, while you may have aimed a blow at communism, you also made a good hit at consumer capitalism!

After watching the movie "The Way Back" that is based on the book I decided to read the book but was discouraged by some of the reviews that described the author as a liar and a fraud. The issue as to whether the author did make the 4,000 mile trek seemed to occupy many of the reviews. Whether the author did or did not walk the 4,000 miles was quickly set aside after the first 10 pages and I was back with a young Polish Calvary Officer who was imprisoned, tortured and sent to Siberia by Russian Communists before Russia was invaded by Nazi Germany. Anyone interested in WWII and the "Eastern Front" will find it fascinating.The stubbornness and very real personal courage of "Slav" in the face of experts in the art and science of torture helps us to understand what Russian Communism was all about and how it became important not to just kill Slav but to break him down.The travel in the cattle car to Siberia, his acclimation to prison life and the impossibility of escape are skillfully described and everything that happens to him and by him becomes plausible, entertaining and captivating. The preparation for escape - in particular the manner in which he selected those who would go with him was believable and entertaining as were all of the adventures, tragedies and successes of the trek.The transformation from escaped political prisoners to begging pilgrims became a natural transition as the characters suffered, planned and survived together and became friends. They grew as individuals and as a group with one goal.If you are interested in Poland / Russia, WWII and the will to survive don't get hung up on whether it is fiction or not.

There is a silver lining to being a former prisoner of war - the story. Many hostages have told their narrative in the form of a book, but few have obtained the prestige of The Long Walk. The Long Walk was ghostwritten by Ronald Downingin 1956 based on conversations he had with Slavomir Rawicz. Rawicz has never actually written a book of his own, and his story of escape from a Siberian gulag has many critics. But, regardless of the criticisms, The Long Walk delivers both historical and philosophical knowledge in a way that is both endurable and entertaining.When Downing wrote The Long Walk Rawicz was the only primary source, leading to widespread suspicion among scholars; possibly none more damning than Russian historical records. Rawicz's story begins with a detailed account of an interrogation he endured at a Soviet prison camp, which closely parallels the torture endured by Winston Smith in the fictional novel 1984. While the records do show that Rawicz had been imprisoned in 1942, they contradict Rawicz's claim as to why he was being interrogated. Rawicz claimed that he had been accused of being a Polish spy, while the records show that Rawicz had been accused of killing a NKVD officer. After being imprisoned, according to the book, Racowicz devises a successful strategy for him and six others to escape the Siberian gulag he was forced to labor in.. But, Soviet records, including statements allegedly written by Rawicz, show that Rawicz had been released as part of the 1942 general amnesty of Poles in the USSR, negating the possibility of a "trek to freedom".Of course there is little doubt that the Soviet officials had fabricated or destroyed many legal documents in an attempt to marginalize the many war crimes that had been committed. In fact, at the beginning of The Long Walk, Rawicz allegedly was subjected to torture as an attempt to coerce him into signing a document professing his own guilt. Therefore, theoretically, compulsory signing of documents also may have been used to debunk any future claims of Soviet cruelty.Despite the attacks on the validity of Rawicz's story, the book raises critical philosophical questions. The fugitives' entire quest forces the reader to explore the endurance of their own determination. The tenacity of Rawicz and his six friends spawns the question of just how valuable freedom is. Were these escapees' extraordinary humans, or is liberty so essential to happiness that weeks of unfathomable torture are not even substantial to dissuade man from achieving it?Since there is no inherent value that each person places on freedom, the claim cannot be made that freedom is essential to each individual. In fact, because of the controversy regarding the validity of Racwicz's story, we cannot certify that Racwicz himself actually had the determination to accomplish the feat told in the story. Therefore, does someone exist that actually does have the determination and will power to face nearly impossible odds in order to achieve freedom? Are there people that are so uncompromising that liberty becomes indispensable to them?Fortunately, Captain Rupert Mayne, an intelligence officer in Calcutta, said that in 1942 he had debriefed three emaciated men claiming to have escaped from a Siberian camp, adding to the probability that at least three men carried out the dubious feat. Also, Witold Glinski, a Polish WWII veteran living in the UK, claimed that the story was true, but it had actually happened to him, not Racwicz. Therefore, most likely, Racwicz was either telling the truth about his experience, or had stole the story from Glinski. Either way, Racwicz did deliver it to a mass audience, and reflected to that audience just how precious freedom can be.Although Racwicz does answer some exceptionally beneficial philosophical questions, the relation between The Long Walk and history is severely impeded. Raciwicz's reliability is not definitive and, therefore, neither are the events described in the story. But, although the relation to history has been damaged, it is not destroyed. Some exceedingly valuable historical knowledge can still be salvaged from the wreckage. Even if Raciwicz was being dishonest, he did get his facts straight. Many former prisoners have testified that the conditions and treatment endured in gulags correlate with Raciwicz's description. Secondly, the book recounts the atmosphere of animosity that prevailed during 1940's Europe. Europe was in the middle of World War II, and Racwicz's account does a tremendous job of presenting the alliances and general dispositions that people had toward others outside their nationality. Lastly, The Long Walk givesthe reader a description of the cultures of Mongolia, China, and India. In each country Raciwicz encountered natives, and described the rituals and customs of those natives, in turn broadening the culture of the reader.Therefore, even if the story is untrue, Racwicz delivers historical knowledge in an entertaining way. Any teacher knows that people enjoy digesting what captivates them, and it is difficult not to be captivated by The Long Walk.