This is the time of the year that folks typically come down with a case of the "blah's". It's easy to get depressed and feel like the sun is never going to come out.

Here's a book that made me feel very blessed, warm and cozy in my house with the woodstove going. It will be difficult to complain about ANYTHING again after reading it. This is the story of Slavomir Rawicz, a Pole who was arrested by the Russians in 1939 and, after six months of torture, sent so a forced labor camp in Siberia with a sentence of 25 years. He and thousands of other prisoners were chained together and made to walk more than 30 miles a day, for over 1000 miles to the labor camp on the edge of the arctic circle. There they were fed 300 grams of bread a day and two cups of coffee, forced to do heavy logging from sunup to sundown.

Slavomir and six comrades escaped the camp and, in the dead of the Siberian winter (brrrrr!) began walking South. Their journey took them through the barren wastes of Mongolia, the Gobi desert (in summer! How long could YOU go without water? They did 12 days!), and the Himalayas. One year and 4,200 miles later they made it to British controlled India. Slavomir is still living today in England, aged 85.

This is a story that, if it were fiction, would not be worth reading. Being that it is a true account, however, it is an incredible testament to man's desire to be free, and to the limits of human endurance. This is a great middle of winter "must read".

-- Chuck (woah@mission4me.com), January 11, 2002

Answers

Really logging in siberia? i thought it was nothing but ice and cold. Bob se,ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@kans.com), January 11, 2002.

Makes me wonder about people that say they really want something but whine and complain because they CAN'T do it. Just goes to show if you REALLY want something bad enough you WILL find a way.

-- Lou Ann in KY (homes_cool@msn.com), January 11, 2002.

There is an unbroken tract of forest in Northern Russia that is almost as large in area as the continental United States. over 3 million square miles of forest.

Who says we're running out of trees?

-- Chuck (woah@mission4me.com), January 11, 2002.

Who says we are running out of trees! Well, dang it it thoughts like that that get my goat. Yes, there IS a VAST forest in siberia. Its known as the Taiga. If you want to think of it, it is simialar to the areas in canada and alaska- forested with pines and poplars, some occasional hardwoods. The area is and has been being- used by the russians. Railroads are now up and running, though this has been a new arrival to the area, linking siberia and its vast forests and mineral wealth to western areas. The area is being logged extensively. BUT the taiga isnt where the problem of "running out of trees" occurs- if that area is used wisely, it can be an almost inexaustible source of lumber and oxygen producing trees. The rain forests of equatorial regions is where we are running out of trees, not in temperate climates. The problem is the trees are not being so much as logged in these rain forests- many times they are NOT logged. Why are these areas cleared of trees and not logged??? Well, the trees cant be easily brought to market- many times that would require railways (which are scarce) sawmills (the people are dirt dirt poor and dont have sawmills) and good roads (which are almost non existant). What is happening to the rain forest? Next time you eat fast foods, beef in particular, keep this in mind. The "dirt poor people" living in these rainn forested regions clear an area of trees. They often just burn the trees that are cleared. They run cattle- which, unlike logs, CAN readily be brought to market (trees dont have legs, cattle do. Cattle also have 4 wheel drive). The cattle are then sold to - you might have guessed- the USA, for fast food beef and burgers. Beef produced in these areas is MUCH cheaper- including transportation- than USA beef. And fast food chains are always looking for profits, not sustainability. Now, Im not saying that NONE of the rain forest is being logged- some of it is. But the clear cut farmer does not convert the area he clears or even logs BACK to forest- he uses the land for cattle. The land, capable of producing HUGE trees with canopies stretching for literal acres upon acres per tree, is quickly exausted- grass and cattle fodder doenst do all that well. So the farmer, as the land becomes more and more barren, moves to yet another stretch of rainforest to convert to fields. Now, as the former land doesnt have any more trees on it, it causes the land down wind of it to become parched- the trees in the rainforest help to feed clouds, in turn, these clouds dump moisture and give oter trees moisture- a chain reaction. Cleared, devoid fields DO NOT have this chain reaction. In time, the area becomes desert. Did you know that the Sahara desert was once a lush tropical region? Yes, in the times of the making of the pyramids, it was, capable of supporting a large number of people and a whoole culture. What happened? they cut down the trees and desertification set in- look at it now! And the sahara desert is growinng in size yearly. Thats it about trees. Sounds like a good book. Another one- about escapees in russia is Louis Lamour's The Last of the Breed. It fiction, but might educate you about the region of the taiga. Lamour is known as a western write, yet this book is set at the end of the cold war, the beginning of the explotition of the taiga, and is very well researched. Another good book, which, if you actually think we are not running out of trees- you need to read, is Thom Hartmann's "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight."

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), January 11, 2002.

Thank you, Chuck, you have me interested in reading it. Any more book reviews?? Also, how did you paste the book picture into your response? That's pretty cool. I could use that technique on my homeschool boards.....

-- Sandie in Maine (peqbear@maine.rr.com), January 11, 2002.

Sandie,

I review lots of books on my website and you can find out how to put pictures in your posts by seeing an earlier posting of mine called How to post pictures - Part 1 and Part 2

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), January 11, 2002.

I've been soooo looking forward to reading that book but our library doesn't have it. Just finished "Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls" about shipwreck survivors and others, ugh, I feel like such a whiner over trivial things. Love my wood stove and full refrigerator!!

-- Julie (julieamc@eagleslair.net), January 11, 2002.

Dear Chuck, And I mean Dear. You have boosted my moral. Even tho I haven't read the book (yet). I am reminded that my plight is not nearly so bad. I live in America. The possiblities are bigger than I am. I am reminded of the lesson that there is more than enough to go around (whatever that is). I know I will have to move in April because I will no longer be able to pay rent in the spring. I lost my income but I still have my land up north. Even tho I have no house, I still have my travel trailer (picture me in it with 2 dogs, 2 cats and a horse-- ha!). Even tho I don't have a garden yet, I have the earth to plant in and a few apple trees and some cattails (for food). I'll have berries late next summer. I will have spring water to drink. I have God on my side. If I knew how, I could catch and eat wildlife (no, nevermind, I'm not that hungry yet). LOL. Thanks again! Blessings to you. And do some more reviews. Altho, the computer will be going away as I won't have electicity when I move to the woods in spring. Oh well. Thanks,

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), January 12, 2002.