JOGI Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 Hi Mantaspook. Thanks again for your links to the books. I found the synopses of the Cuban crisis and Bleriot very interesting. I appreciate your time and effort. Digressing now, your mention of the A.T.C. reminds me of a recent neighbour who's sole topic was of this, in some form of leadership. If you're interested please p.m. me. Regards. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantaspook Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi Jogi, On your recommendation I've just finished reading 'The Long Walk' by Slavomir Rawicz - I really enjoyed it - a very interesting book, the story of the 4000 mile trek is told in a simple, straightforward way and the main theme of the human spirit surviving in such a hostile environment is portrayed well. However, some incidents didn't ring true e.g: When they stumble across the two seven foot tall yetis, the length of time they took to traverse the Gobi desert without any water at all and the incredibly, almost mystical discovery of the oasis sowed doubts in my mind - it just didn't seem to add up. I've no doubt that some of the incidents are true, for instance, the extraction of a confession by the soviet authorities as absolute proof of guilt which is sought with an almost religiously zeal is mentioned in many other books. (Their reasoning being that a confession is 'gold standard' and is superior to other evidence which could be contested.) Further digging around on the internet reveals that the story may be a fake, there is evidence that a British intelligence officer did meet three men in India that purported to have escaped from Siberia but he couldn't recall any of their names. A man called Witold Glinski says that the events in 'The Long Walk' actually happened to him. He claims Rawicz read an account of his voyage in the Polish embassy in London, and based the book on that recollection, although personally I'd question why Glinski waited until 2009 (5 years after Rawicz's death) to tell us this - the original book was first published in 1956. Allegedly, according to a BBC Article(30/10/2006) Rawicz was repatriated by the Russians in 1942, so could not have made the incredible journey in the book. Here is a further assessment by William Merritt and the Wikipedia entry for Slavomir Rawicz. It certainly is a fantastic story, but not necessarily all of it appears to be true, I guess you just have to read it and make your own mind up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Rich Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Although i'm in my 80's, i'm now getting more time for reading books(having been a 24/7 carer. For instance, i'd like to read up on the Cuban crisis/JFK. Do I just go the Central Library and look in the C section or is there a more sophisticated modern way of tracking books down. This is not just a one off as I would like to catch up on my lost years. Would appreciate any help.Thanks The Central Libray staff will be able to help if you can't find it on the shelves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Rich Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Although i'm in my 80's, i'm now getting more time for reading books(having been a 24/7 carer. For instance, i'd like to read up on the Cuban crisis/JFK. Do I just go the Central Library and look in the C section or is there a more sophisticated modern way of tracking books down. This is not just a one off as I would like to catch up on my lost years. Would appreciate any help.Thanks This will sound like advertising but if you go to our site you will find many books on History subjects. Go into http://www.epublishingonline.co.uk, click on the ebook link, and on the left hand side you will see History in the drop down menu. I'm sure you will find many books of interest in this section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drannerz Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 I'm sure plenty of people will mention it, but wikipedia is often a good place to start. There are discussion tabs on all subjects, so these often point you in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOGI Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 Hi, Many thanks to the latter posters for the advice on book-tracing. Also like to apologise to any former posters that i failed to respond to, due to Hospitalisation. Hope to keep in touch now. Regards. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantaspook Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 I'd just like to resurrect this thread to mention Peter Weir's new film 'The way back' which is currently showing at the cinema and is based on Rawicz's book 'The Long Walk' It's always interesting to see how a book is translated into film, especially when the director is as good as Weir, he did an excellent job with Patrick O'Brian's 'Master & Commander' It will probably be worth seeing on the big screen for the huge panoramic shots alone. Film Review (The Telegraph) Imbd trailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.