A review by ryanreadsstuff
The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz

5.0

It's no wonder that this true story was made into a movie. The story-teller, despite not being a writer and having to dictate his adventure to another (and through another language, I believe), captivated me from the first chapter. Despite the hardships of torture in Soviet prison, unfair legal proceedings (and thus conviction of a 25-year sentence to a labor camp), multiple treks by foot through inhospitable Siberian winters, a deadly struggle through the Gobi Desert without food nor water, and many other setbacks, the book has a generally uplifting tone. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the adventurers' meetings with Tibetan and Mongolian natives who shared no common language, but nevertheless would gladly share food, shelter, and guidance to what must have been a very bedraggled and strange-seeming bunch.