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Beasts, Men and Gods

by Ferdinand OSSENDOWSKI (1876 - 1945)

15 - The March of Ghosts

“Beasts, Men and Gods” is an account of an epic journey, filled with perils and narrow escapes, in the mold of “The Lord of the Rings.” The difference is: it’s all true. Ferdinand Ossendowski was a Pole who found himself in Siberia and on the losing side during the Bolshevik Revolution. To escape being rounded up and shot, he set out with a friend to reach the Pacific, there to take ship back to Europe. During his journey he fell in with dozens of other military men who shared the same objective… but nearly every one of them perished on the way. It’s up to you to decide whether Ossendowski was threatened most by the beasts, by the men, or by the gods, or indeed, by the severe and uncompromising landscapes of Siberia, Mongolia, and China. That he survived at all seems improbable. The mystical mysteries and magics of Buddhism, “The Yellow Faith”, were woven about and through his sojourn and had no little part in his survival. Time after time he was put in the delicate position of being the bargainer between warring groups, and ultimately, only incredible luck and his friendship with the Hutuktu of Narabanchi Monastery saw him through. When published in the United States, this book caused a sensation and became a best-seller. (Summary by Mark F. Smith)

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Listen next episodes of Beasts, Men and Gods:
16 - In Mysterious Tibet , 17 - PART II, Mysterious Mongolia , 18 - The Mysterious Lama Avenger , 19 - Wild Chahars 20 - The Demon of Jagisstai , 21 - The Nest of Death 22 - Among the Murderers , 23 - On a Volcano , 24 - A Bloody Chastisement , 25 - Harrassing Days , 26 - The Band of White Hunghutzes 27 - Mystery in a Small Temple , 28 - The Breath of Death , 29 - PART III, On the Road of Great Conquerors , 30 - Arrested! 31 - Traveling by "Urga" , 32 - An Old Fortune Teller 33 - Death From a White Man Will Stand Behind You , 34 - The Horror of War 35 - In the City of Living Gods , 36 - A Son of Crusaders and Privateers , 37 - The Camp of Martyrs , 38 - Before the Face of Buddha , 39 - The Man With a "Head Like a Saddle" PART IV 40 - In the Blissful Garden of a Thousand Joys , 41 - The Dust of Centuries 42 - The Book of Miracles , 43 - The Birth of the Living Buddha 44 - A Page in the History of the Present Living Buddha 45 - The Vision of the Living Buddha , 46 - The Subterranean Kingdom 47 - The King of the World Before the Face of God , 48 - Reality of Religious Fantasy? 49 - The Prophecy of the King of the World in 1890