View Full Version : "The Long Walk" by Slavomir Rawicz = Hoax
I wanted to make this a thread of its own. Like many of you I read the book The Long Walk and thought it was very interesting. There were, unfortunately, many parts of the book that were clearly untrue, for example the Yeti sighting, his claim that his party walked well over a week across the Gobi Desert without water, etc.
For those of you that didn't see the story, the BBC did some research and determined the story was fabricated (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6098218.stm). The bottom line is there is no evidence at all that his story is true, and documents proving it isn't.
There are many outstanding and true adventure books out there:
Endurance, the story of Shackleton's Antarctic survival,
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
Alive, the story of the Andes plane crash and survival
Touching the Void, an incredible story of survival in the Andes,
Minus 148 Degrees, the first winter ascent of Mount McKinley
Annapurna, the first ascent of an 8,000 meter peak, without oxygen
And for a true story by one of our own,
Awol on the Appalachian Trail, which rings so true. My favorite AT book.
Spirit Walker
02-07-2010, 11:49
The article does say that somebody did what The Long Walk describes. Just not Rawicz. It's still a good book even if it is fiction. Some of the true accounts are a lot less interesting. (i.e. George Sheehan's walk from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska.)
Rockhound
02-07-2010, 12:17
Guess were not talking about the novella Stephen King wrote under his Bachman pseudonym. Walk south from Maine and the last one standing gets to live.
The article does say that somebody did what The Long Walk describes. Just not Rawicz. It's still a good book even if it is fiction. Some of the true accounts are a lot less interesting. (i.e. George Sheehan's walk from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska.)
The article just says that someone reportedly interviewed a trio in India who claimed to have escaped from Siberia. It doesn't mean that any part of their claim is true, as Rawicz's fabrication shows. The article says "So the possibility remains that someone - if not Rawicz - achieved this extraordinary feat." (My bold) And of course no one actually did, or could, make the journey as described. No one is actually going to see Yeti's. No one is going to walk for more than a week with no water. The latter part is a key element in the story.
Personally, I think a "non-fiction" book that is a lie is automatically a bad book. It was fraud for him to profit from his book in that way. The title of the book is The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom The truth matters.
There are plenty of good books about true adventures out there. And there are undoubtedly many epic stories similar to Rawicz's that will never be told.
Story telling and listening is an essential part of the human experience.
Accordingly, honesty and modesty should never be allowed to get in the was.
False modesty and fake sincerity can be used quite effectively however.
They kind of up the ante though. They backfire bigtime if the story sucks.
Snowleopard
02-07-2010, 12:57
From the comments to the BBC article, a number of Poles walked from the USSR to Iraq and Iran, with at least one who apparently walked from Siberia to Iran/Iraq through Kazakhstan. The route through Kazakhstan is more believable than the route Rawicz supposedly followed, but still very very difficult.
Ha! Blue Blazin' through Siberia!
Who'da thunk?
Rain Man
02-08-2010, 16:04
Doesn't sound to me like a "slam dunk" case, either way. The BBC pretty much extrapolates, and thus guesses. So, in the end, ... who knows?
Rain Man
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Doesn't sound to me like a "slam dunk" case, either way. The BBC pretty much extrapolates, and thus guesses. So, in the end, ... who knows?
Rain Man
I think it's considerably more than a guess.
Our next find came at the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London, a treasure trove of Second World War memorabilia.
We found Rawicz's military record, which clearly says he had rejoined the Polish Army in Russia. We wondered how this could possibly fit with the story of The Long Walk. ...
The missing link came through documents discovered by an American researcher, Linda Willis, in Polish and Russian archives. One, in Rawicz's own hand described how he was released from the gulag in 1942, apparently as part of a general amnesty for Polish soldiers. These are backed up by his amnesty document and a permit to travel to rejoin the Polish Army.
These papers make it almost impossible to believe that Rawicz escaped, unless there is a case of mistaken identity. However, the name and place and date of birth all match. (my bold)
So there are documents showing his story couldn't be true, and none showing his story is true.
There are parts of his story we know aren't true: in addition to the obvious falsehoods mentioned earlier, he didn't see people wearing conical hats in the Gobi; and to the best of my knowledge the author failed to produce any evidence that his story is true. Combining that with documents from England, Poland and Russia showing he didn't escape at all, but was released? That's good enough for me.
I think the phrase "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof" applies well to this story. There isn't extraordinary proof for his claim, there's no proof at all.
The Solemates
02-08-2010, 19:49
After so many people promoting this book on this website, I bought this book at the end of last year to read. I havent read it - it is sitting on the bookshelf. And now I feel like I wasted my money. You ruined it for me:( ignorance is bliss :) i'm sure i'll still read it though...
fiddlehead
02-08-2010, 20:11
I enjoyed both books titled "The Long Walk"
The Stephen King (Bachman books) one sticks with me more however.
and of course it is a fiction book.
Somebody Faking a long walk???
Lying about an adventure???
I am shocked, this has never happened before.
No,
Wait,
Oh Yea, there was Bill Bryson.
Nevermind. :cool:
wcgornto
02-09-2010, 14:18
I read this book. I didn't believe it until the Yeti came into play. Then I knew it was true.
the goat
02-09-2010, 16:53
I read this book. I didn't believe it until the Yeti came into play. Then I knew it was true.
best post in this thread so far!!:D
fwiw, the bbc's account is just as shaky as slav's.
...fwiw, the bbc's account is just as shaky as slav's.
How so? There's mutually supporting documents vs. nada. He didn't misremember some details. He clearly made some stuff up. The story is incredible. As in without credibility. He must have had asbestos pants.
wcgornto
02-09-2010, 18:14
The part about surviving in the desert for days on end on snakes and no water was almost as believable as the Yeti.
I read the book thru the eys of someone who had thru-hiked. A lot of it I could not believe was true.:-?
MyName1sMud
04-01-2010, 17:56
I did read it and couldn't believe it as I was reading...... the whole time I was thinking this is bull***** to myself.
generoll
04-01-2010, 18:24
another book you might enjoy is "Alone We Survive", if I got the title right. It's about a Norwegian that had quite an adventure escaping from the germans and getting to Sweden after his espionage ship was sunk by the germans.
Guess I'm gullible, since I believed the "Long Walk".
Awol2003
04-02-2010, 08:12
another book you might enjoy is "Alone We Survive", if I got the title right. It's about a Norwegian that had quite an adventure escaping from the germans and getting to Sweden after his espionage ship was sunk by the germans.
Guess I'm gullible, since I believed the "Long Walk".
"We Die Alone" by David Howarth
generoll
04-02-2010, 12:13
"We Die Alone" by David Howarth
right, thanks for the correction. anyway, it's a good read.
William Ray
08-12-2010, 21:39
I find it questionable to rely upon Soviet documents to determine the veracity of someone (Slavomir Rawicz) who was imprisoned, tortured, and transported to be worked to death by Stalinist ghouls. Not knowing exactly what the British and American researchers found, which is not mentioned in the news stories, I would simply ask in general, wasn't there an overwhelming ulterior motive for the Soviet machine to declare thousands of Polish soldiers released to join the Polish Army wherever it existed, and then ship their non-paper-version prisoners to the gulag in Siberia? That is known in America as a whitewash and constitutes an admirable use of paper in authoritarian societies.
On the matter of Witold Glinski's escape, very similar to the book's, the question I must ask is why he kept his saga hidden for fifty years if someone else was pretending to be him? Having known Rawicz, I never thought of him as an impersonator or a man with a surpassingly brilliant imagination.
An analogous case concerns the post-WWII captured Swedish ambassador Wallenburg, who the Soviets insisted, during the Gorbachov thaw, that their records showed to have died of pneumonia in 1947. Another paper thin explanation apparently, because when an American military figure was being held in a prison outside Moscow in the '70's, he heard a voice shout "Taxi!", to call the elevator up after his few minutes of fresh air. "Are you American?" the American called. "No, Swedish," said the voice. But in the black is white world of totalitarian Russia, he had been dead since 1947. In my view, his "death" and the claimed "freedom" of Rawicz and so many others must be understood as political inversions of the truth.
Jack Tarlin
08-13-2010, 17:15
It is interesting to see this tread revived after several month's dormancy, but I also want to thank Mr. Ray for making comments that are very much worth considering.
I find it questionable to rely upon Soviet documents to determine the veracity of someone (Slavomir Rawicz) who was imprisoned, tortured, and transported to be worked to death by Stalinist ghouls. Not knowing exactly what the British and American researchers found, which is not mentioned in the news stories, ...
The BBC found extensive records in Belarus which proved nothing by themselves but gave samples of his handwriting.
To quote the BBC article:
Our next find came at the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London, a treasure trove of Second World War memorabilia.
We found Rawicz's military record, which clearly says he had rejoined the Polish Army in Russia. We wondered how this could possibly fit with the story of The Long Walk.
The missing link came through documents discovered by an American researcher, Linda Willis, in Polish and Russian archives. One, in Rawicz's own hand described how he was released from the gulag in 1942, apparently as part of a general amnesty for Polish soldiers. These are backed up by his amnesty document and a permit to travel to rejoin the Polish Army.
These papers make it almost impossible to believe that Rawicz escaped, unless there is a case of mistaken identity. However, the name and place and date of birth all match.
So we have his book from which he handsomely profited, a book one can fairly describe as "unbelievable!" (Yeti, impossible distances without water, etc) plus no documentation that it is true plus documents from two different countries showing beyond a reasonable doubt that it couldn't be true. Take away the fact that the story would be fun to believe, and I don't see a good rational reason to believe it.
max patch
09-27-2010, 18:07
I read the book a looong time ago when Jack recommended it on another website. I don't know if its true or not -- or just has some exaggerations -- but I found it to be a good read and a lot more interesting than the typical a.t. thru hiking book or online journal.
Kerosene
09-27-2010, 20:07
I found it incredibly hard to believe that he and his troupe would be able to survive as long as they did without water. It seemed very far-fetched to me.
generoll
09-28-2010, 07:35
well, as I recall the book, they didn't all survive the desert trek. There's also the story of the crew of the "Lady Be Good" in WW2 which came down in the desert. Most of their bodies were recovered after the war and from diaries it appeared that some of them at least did survive for a few days at least.
Which of course has nothing to do with the truth or absence of truth of the book.
Rain Man
12-01-2010, 09:33
Looks as if the book has been made into a movie, starring Colin Farrell and Ed Harris. The title is "The Way Back" and its release date is December 29, 2010.
Newsweek article. (http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/26/movies-colin-farrell-in-the-way-back.html)
Rain:sunMan
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warraghiyagey
12-01-2010, 09:46
Path Withouut Destination - by Satish Kumar
Take Me With You - Brad Newsham
Best hiking books I've ever read. . . :sun:sun:sun
Rain Man
12-01-2010, 12:25
Path Without Destination - by Satish Kumar
Take Me With You - Brad Newsham
Best hiking books I've ever read. . . :sun:sun:sun
Thanks for the recommendations. They look interesting. May go on my Christmas list. I wonder how many Americans even know what Jain is. Fortunately, reading is a way to broaden the mind and expand the horizons.
Rain:sunMan
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I read books once, but that was before Netflix.
Here is a similar story, also purported to be true. Not bad, but some parts were also hard to believe.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/As-Far-as-My-Feet-Will-Carry-Me/70068024
No Yeti in this one, though.
http://www.amazon.com/Touching-Void-Story-Miraculous-Survival/dp/0060730552/ref=pd_sim_b_1
A good TRUE story of survival.
Rain Man
12-01-2010, 21:57
http://www.amazon.com/Touching-Void-Story-Miraculous-Survival/dp/0060730552/ref=pd_sim_b_1
I have the DVD. Amazing movie, even if you know the ending.
Rain:sunMan
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warraghiyagey
12-02-2010, 00:55
Thanks for the recommendations. They look interesting. May go on my Christmas list. I wonder how many Americans even know what Jain is. Fortunately, reading is a way to broaden the mind and expand the horizons.
Rain:sunMan
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:sun:sun . . . .
This article (http://www.mikaelstrandberg.com/2010/12/10/the-long-walk-to-freedom/)tells the story of three young men who followed the general route that Rawicz claimed to have followed. They say this:
So as for the Gobi, Mongolia, the Himalayas –we were there, we saw it, we experienced it. And I can say that, to my disappointment, at least this part of the “Long Walk” was written by somebody who has never been there…
They do feel, however, that another Pole may have made a similar journey. See the link for more information.