Title: Alas!
Product review: I purchased this book in a National Park bookstore. Given its glowing reviews I plunged in and read it in just a few days. It's a stunningread - - well written and understated. Several times during the process I was puzzled; eight days in the Gobi without water, thirty miles per day in rough going, etc. However, so absorbing is the book that I suspendedmy better judgment in the rush to advance the story. Only upon completion did the doubts surface. Upon rereading certain sections, it now seems clear that the story is a hoax. Furthermore, it is written bysomeone without much experience in hiking/walking in wilderness. I alsowondered why the USSR would "waste" one year in trying to get one individual to confess before shipping him to Siberia. I leave this to experts on the Soviet Union, but as one who has done just a bit of hiking in warm climates, I can say the "long walk" portion of this book is moreof a comic book story than a real one. A pity.
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