Way Back

Way Back
DVD
with Ed Harris and Colin Farrell
based on the book
Long Walk
by
Slavomir Rawicz

This movie is loosely based on the true story of some prisoners who escape from a Stalinist gulag in Siberia and try to make their way to Mongolia. In their journey, they do not end up where they originally intended, but there is one whopper of a story in the telling of where they DO end up. I will try not to give too much of the story away. I am disappointed that there was a note at the very beginning of the credits dedicating the film to the real men who lived the story and in the dedication they give away a major plot point! What were they thinking? Why did they give it away?
So my recommendation is to NOT READ the words at the very beginning.
The warning at the beginning tells why this movie is classified as a PG-13 film. Even with the PG-13 rating I would recommend this movie to Boy and Girl Scouts, Y Guides, Boys Clubs, Girls Clubs, etc. because throughout the movie the men are surviving off the land and utilizing all kinds of survival skills. The landscapes are epic and this film left me wanting to know more about Asian geography and natural history - in particular, Asian geography circa 1940's.
If you liked "Into Thin Air" and if you like adventure/outdoorsy films, then this is a film for you.
The National Geographic is one of the parties involved in this film, so you have their endorsement as well.
I recommend this for most public libraries.

Somewhere Inside

Somewhere Inside
One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home

Adult nonfiction.

Reporter Laura Ling made the mistake of her life. In her excitement to get a story she set foot on North Korean soil. This book traces what happened next as American journalists and politicians work to have her freed from a life sentence of hard labor in this totalitarian communist country.
Throughout the whole book I kept thinking "How could you be SO STUPID?". She KNOWINGLY stepped into North Korea. We are talking about NORTH KOREA. Hello?
I do feel very bad for her family and friends that she might have been shot or sent to a labor camp for life. If not for the sake of yourself, then for the honor of your country DO NOT GO TO NORTH KOREA! This is the country that George Bush considered to be one of the Axis of Evil!
It is kind of like wondering about the people who walk around the city streets at 3 a.m. then get shot or raped. They have to know this is not a good idea.
She claims that although she knew she was crossing the line, she trusted her guide and reporters have to trust their guides. Have you ever heard that if your friends decide to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge then maybe you shouldn't jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, too?
This book does help to keep people informed about the current political climate in the Far East. As I write this the U. S. and South Korean navies are practicing war maneuvers in international waters near North Korea.

Enemies of the People

Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America
by
Kati Marton
nonfiction audiobook.
9 hours unabridged.

I wasn't certain if I would find this topic intriguing enough to listen to all nine hours, but I was pleased that it kept my interest over the course of a month of driving. Kati grew up in communist Hungary during the Cold War. Her parents were both Hungarian journalists working for the international press. Being the voice of truth in a country controlled by a totalitarian government has serious risks involved, however. They lived with a constant fear that they would be taken away at any time for being too friendly with Westerners, including Americans. Not surprisingly, they were, indeed, interrogated and imprisoned. What is it like to be a little girl and have your parents taken away? It is most people's worst nightmare.
The author worked with boxes and boxes of observations from the Hungarian equivalent of the KGB. They are now available to the next of kin of those observed. Her parents were under constant surveillance for years, so this is an unusual treasure trove of facts small and large about their everyday life. Kati's life proves that truth is weirder than fiction.

Wikipedia reports that this book is slated to be made into a movie. I hope it is a blockbuster.
P. S. She was married to Peter Jennings (reporter) and is now married to Richard Holbrooke (politician), so reporting and politics run in the family.