1000 Books: September 2026 Read: THE LONG WALK by Slavomir Rawicz (1915-2004)

Community Book Clubs Side Read: 1000 Books to Read Before You Die
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(Please note, this is not the more recent THE LONG WALK by Brian Castner.)

This discussion will open October 1.

Per Google:
THE LONG WALK by Slavomir Rawicz is a harrowing memoir about a Polish cavalry officer who was captured by the Soviet Red Army in 1939, sentenced to hard labor in a Siberian Gulag, and escaped with six others in 1941 to walk roughly 4,000 miles to freedom in British India.

Mustich says:

THE LONG WALK by Slavomir Rawicz (1915–2004)
Impossible to Put Down—But Impossible to Believe?

Since its publication at the height of the Cold War, Slavomir Rawicz’s account of his 1941 mid-blizzard escape from a Soviet labor camp in Siberia with six fellow prisoners has won legions of devoted readers. It is a chronicle of flight, endurance, and ultimate triumph against extraordinary odds: Poorly clothed, undernourished, on the brink of death, Rawicz and his companions braved the desolate Siberian tundra, icy rivers, the Himalayas, and the great Gobi desert on a four-thousand-mile trek to freedom that brought them to safety in India. They had no map and no compass, only an ax head, a homemade knife, and a fierce determination to survive; their suffering and courage dignify their astonishing, desperate adventure.

Although the veracity of the tale has been called into question based on recently released Soviet records and internal inconsistencies in the book itself (to say nothing of the party’s sighting of a pair of Yeti), Rawicz’s narrative remains an inspiring and unforgettable reading experience. Whether truth, fiction, or a little of both, THE LONG WALK is bound to be among the most amazing, heroic, and compelling stories you’ll ever read.

What: Adventure.
When: 1955.
Try: Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer. Endurance by Alfred Lansing. We Die Alone by David Howarth.
Adaptation: Peter Weir’s 2010 film, The Way Back, is based on the book.

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Hi @1000_Books folks! This discussion is now open. I’ll be joining late since I haven’t read it yet, but please feel free to start posting.

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I read this book, which was a page-turner, not knowing ahead of time that it might be mostly fiction. I’m now struggling with how to explain what I think of it. As I read it, I thought that it was an amazing story of hardship and survival, but often wondered how did the author remember this journey in such fine detail? Whether true or not, it is just a really thumping good read. It is true that Rawicz was a prisoner in Russia, so I’m thinking that the first part of the book is probably true, but that the escape and subsequent journey was fiction. I’m sure during the time before he was released from prison in Russia that he suffered great hardship as described in the book. So overall I’d say it was a good book, but I do feel duped by it. I question why the author would do this knowing that he would likely be outed at some point.

I’m remembering a similar book that I read many years ago that was excellent and I’m sure many readers here also read it. It is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. That was a remarkable survival story and is true, so I have even more admiration for Louis Zamperini. He didn’t have to make up his story.

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Haha, yeah, I know it’s pretty controversial. According to Soviet records he was released and never made that walk. It was also later claimed that this adventure happened to another guy. Stolen glory, I guess! It was published in 1956, so it’s possible Rawicz thought no one would ever catch on to the fact that the novel was fiction (or someone else’s story). Do you think he felt it would sell better if the audience thought it was his own personal story?

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The second guy who claimed the story also turned out to have faked it. I have no idea what Rawicz’s motives were.

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I, too, read the story as if it were a true account of a horrendous ordeal. The details seemed real for someone who journeyed under incredible trauma and survived. But then… I read about the author and discovered what you did, Kim. Wasn’t Rawicz invited to give lectures after the book was published? He knew the truth but chose to live the lie. What a delicate ego. Perhaps he was so caught up in public admiration that he didn’t want to acknowledge his truth. Maybe he was financially rewarded, too.

I can’t help but think about Colonel Parker, Elvis’ manager, whose hid his true self and was fearful of discovery. He didn’t dare let Elvis tour Europe even though the singer wanted to share his music with international fans. Parker’s real name and background would have outed him as a fraud.

My question to others - Given that we know the book was fictional although not originally portrayed as such, why did it make the 1000 must read list? I liked the book. Was I duped? Yup, but not if I think of it as fiction in hindsight.

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I think the 1000 must read list came out in 2006 and the BBC investigation into Rawicz’s story was in 2006, so it’s possible that the controversy wasn’t that well known when the 1000 read author first wrote his list. So it wasn’t yet established that the story wasn’t true or was only partially true.

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I have a question (or maybe several) for the group: would you recommend this book? Knowing what you learned after finishing would you still read/recommend it? Would knowing the truth change your opinion of it? If you were recommending it to someone would you tell them the truth going in or let them discover it the same as you did?

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I think I remember wondering if Louis’ story was :100: true. It seemed so impossible. I think all accounts point to it being legitimate—truth is stranger than fiction, unless you are Rawicz.

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That makes sense. Thanks for the info.

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I would recommend the book; however, I’d be clear that it’s fiction even though the blurb might say otherwise. I’d also encourage readers to learn about Rawicz.

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I think I would still recommend it, but would struggle with telling someone the “backstory” ahead of time. My husband had read this book and he knew about the controversy, but when I told him this group was reading the book, he decided not to tell me about it ahead of time. We certainly talked about it when I was done and I’m actually glad he didn’t tell me before I read it. While I was reading it there were so many things that made me wonder about the veracity of the tale, but had I known the “truth” ahead of time I may not have read the book at all. Thinking it was true, I found the book to be a page-turner and I really cared about all the escapees. I have to say honestly that I’m quite conflicted about the whole thing because I think parts of it are probably true, or maybe it’s a conflation of other people’s stories. Anyway, it’s making for a good discussion!

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This one totally fell off my reading radar in September and I didn’t read it. Now after reading the comments above I’m not sure I will.

I recall years ago I read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. It was a beautiful and inspirational book about his humanitarian efforts in Pakistan. I recommended it to multiple people and then he was outed as a fraud. I was so disillusioned.

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Oh, I remember that, @Gabi_J! The book I remember was A Million Little Pieces. That one caused quite the scandal as well. I wrote a review of it before it became known that the author fabricated much of it. The book is still listed on our site, but Davina took the review down.

I’m still on the fence about books like this. I have a feeling that a lot of memoirs are fabricated, at least a little bit. These are just extreme examples. I guess I feel like they’re still entertaining and worth my time, so I’ll still read them. Starting The Long Walk tonight, in fact.

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I felt such pain for their demise in the Prison Camp. Filthy, rundown buildings for prisoners already at this Camp. No room for anymore, that’s when the Russians told the new prisoners they had to build their own housing. Food was limited, very awful to eat. I was so nervous that someone would tell the Russians about the escape knowing full well the discovery would lead to execution. Such an odd group of fellows, trust had to be their main concern. One good thing, they all had talents that were useful for the trip. Always nerves about recapture, finding refuge and when to travel under the best conditions and safety.

This is a book I read for Book Browse Book Club. Wasn’t sure based on the title but once I got started, I really enjoyed. The story was ghost written by Ronald Downing based on the verbal remembrances of Slav. There is a detailed map in the front of the book to help identify locations, which I thought very nice. The forward is by Ronald Downing, which gives much insight. It is a journey of grit, faith, and adventure and made me think about what a life is worth.