Beasts, Men and Gods

Ferdinand Ossendowski (1876 - 1945)

“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)

Genre(s): Travel & Geography, Memoirs

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 00 - GLOSSARY Mark F. Smith
00:07:21
Play 01 01 - Into the Woods Mark F. Smith
00:11:30
Play 02 02 - The Secret of My Fellow Traveler Mark F. Smith
00:10:53
Play 03 03 - The Struggle For Life Mark F. Smith
00:09:16
Play 04 04 - A Fisherman 05 - A Dangerous Neighbor Mark F. Smith
00:08:48
Play 05 06 - A River in Travail Mark F. Smith
00:08:14
Play 06 07 - Through Soviet Siberia 08 - Three Days on the Edge of a Precipice Mark F. Smith
00:14:18
Play 07 09 - To the Sayans and Safety Mark F. Smith
00:14:32
Play 08 10 - The Battle on the Seybi Mark F. Smith
00:14:57
Play 09 11 - The Barrier of Red Partisans Mark F. Smith
00:07:31
Play 10 12 - In the Country of Eternal Peace Mark F. Smith
00:14:55
Play 11 13 - Mysteries, Miracles and a New Fight Mark F. Smith
00:13:16
Play 12 14 - The River of the Devil Mark F. Smith
00:10:53
Play 13 15 - The March of Ghosts Mark F. Smith
00:08:59
Play 14 16 - In Mysterious Tibet Mark F. Smith
00:14:08
Play 15 17 - PART II, Mysterious Mongolia Mark F. Smith
00:22:36
Play 16 18 - The Mysterious Lama Avenger Mark F. Smith
00:15:54
Play 17 19 - Wild Chahars 20 - The Demon of Jagisstai Mark F. Smith
00:24:06
Play 18 21 - The Nest of Death 22 - Among the Murderers Mark F. Smith
00:18:13
Play 19 23 - On a Volcano Mark F. Smith
00:14:48
Play 20 24 - A Bloody Chastisement Mark F. Smith
00:08:11
Play 21 25 - Harrassing Days Mark F. Smith
00:24:26
Play 22 26 - The Band of White Hunghutzes 27 - Mystery in a Small Temple Mark F. Smith
00:14:59
Play 23 28 - The Breath of Death Mark F. Smith
00:14:15
Play 24 29 - PART III, On the Road of Great Conquerors Mark F. Smith
00:27:53
Play 25 30 - Arrested! 31 - Traveling by "Urga" Mark F. Smith
00:16:58
Play 26 32 - An Old Fortune Teller 33 - Death From a White Man Will Stand Behind You Mark F. Smith
00:16:15
Play 27 34 - The Horror of War 35 - In the City of Living Gods Mark F. Smith
00:20:15
Play 28 36 - A Son of Crusaders and Privateers Mark F. Smith
00:22:02
Play 29 37 - The Camp of Martyrs Mark F. Smith
00:09:15
Play 30 38 - Before the Face of Buddha Mark F. Smith
00:20:12
Play 31 39 - The Man With a "Head Like a Saddle" PART IV 40 - In the Blissful Garden of a Thousand Joys Mark F. Smith
00:22:30
Play 32 41 - The Dust of Centuries 42 - The Book of Miracles Mark F. Smith
00:13:21
Play 33 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 Mark F. Smith
00:12:26
Play 34 46 - The Subterranean Kingdom 47 - The King of the World Before the Face of God Mark F. Smith
00:19:36
Play 35 48 - Reality of Religious Fantasy? 49 - The Prophecy of the King of the World in 1890 Mark F. Smith
00:11:38