First read this book, "The Long Walk" in the 80s while holed up during a grueling 21-day trek in a canvas tent during howling winter winds in Idaho. The story, which covers a survival march across Siberia, the Gobi Desert, and Tibet, delves into the account of Gulag escapee Slavomir Ravich.
Reading the book lessened the cold at my back and made me appreciate the woodstove in the corner. Now it turns out that the 1956 book was not entirely accurate and large parts, if not the entire story, were fictional.
The movie titled, "The Way Back" should make for a riveting movie but we'll see? Stars Ed Harris and Colin Farrell. The movie centers on Janusz, a Polish prisoner of war accused of sedition by his Soviet interrogators and sent to a gulag near the Arctic Circle. His escape is a story of human endurance as he and some other prisoners make their way across the landscape.
I'd be interested in hearing feedback on the movie. We only have one theater in town and it's unlikely it will make it here. The book is still worth checking out as the author had some knowledge of cold-weather survival skills despite his fanciful storytelling.
Tony
