9 h 2 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 2 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a scientist’s way out of revolution leads through wild forests, a warlord’s Mongolia, and legends beneath the earth?
In Beasts, Men and Gods, Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski tells of fleeing the Bolsheviks across Siberia and Mongolia. The Polish scientist and writer becomes a fugitive in a collapsing order. Cold, hunger, hiding places and long rides shape his account, as the need to escape carries him through forests, rivers and mountain country.
The journey brings him into the world of Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, a White Russian officer who makes himself a power in Mongolia. Alongside political violence, Ossendowski reports Mongol and Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, including Agharti and its King of the World. Eyewitness claims mingle with folklore in an adventure whose accuracy remains disputed.
What you’ll discover
- A scientist in flight Follow a chemist and geologist as revolution turns his life into a struggle for survival.
- Waiting in the wilds Enter the Siberian forests along the Yenisei, where escape demands hiding, patience and movement.
- A warlord in Mongolia Encounter Baron Ungern through Ossendowski’s portrait of an officer who seizes power amid upheaval.
- A kingdom beneath earth Explore the legend of Agharti as Ossendowski reports it from Mongol and Tibetan Buddhist belief.
- Adventure under question Weigh the pull of vivid testimony against the doubts that surround this traveller’s claims.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love true adventure, wilderness survival, and journeys through lands few outsiders have seen. It also suits readers curious about Mongolian monasteries and the Russian Revolution.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A fugitive learns to hide
- A violent man offers protection
- Work holds despair at bay
- Peace offers no shelter from violence
- Healing changes an armed encounter
- Agreements depend on armed restraint
- Ungern combines building with brutality
- Legends record belief rather than proof
- Witness and hearsay must stay distinct
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Beasts, Men and Gods
by Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski · 1922
A hunted man flees Siberia on horseback and ends up in Mongolia, face to face with Baron Ungern.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
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In short
Picture a half-burned hut in a Siberian forest. A hunted man shelters inside, passing himself off as a hunter.
Beasts, Men and Gods at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 15 min4 h 10 min fast, 6 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 74,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1922by Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hunted man becomes a trapper
Early in 1920 Ossendowski learns that twenty Red soldiers have surrounded his house in Krasnoyarsk. He borrows an old hunting suit and hurries through back streets to the open road. He buys an ax, a knife and a rifle, and settles in an abandoned, half-burned hut.
Five days later he returns to find two Bolshevik soldiers inside. He plays a simple hunter, shares their tea and hides who he is.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1922
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Ossendowski, Ferdynand Antoni. Beasts, Men and Gods. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/beasts-men-and-gods.
Ossendowski, F. A. (2026). Beasts, men and gods. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/beasts-men-and-gods (Original work published 1922)
Ossendowski, Ferdynand Antoni. Beasts, Men and Gods. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/beasts-men-and-gods.
@book{ossendowski2026beasts,
author = {Ossendowski, Ferdynand Antoni},
title = {Beasts, Men and Gods},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/beasts-men-and-gods},
note = {First published 1922}
}
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What is Beasts, Men and Gods about?
It is Ferdynand Ossendowski's account of fleeing Bolshevik Siberia in 1920, living as a trapper, and travelling through Urianhai, Mongolia and Tibet. It also describes Baron Ungern, Mongolian monasteries and the legend of a hidden kingdom.
Who was Baron Ungern in Beasts, Men and Gods?
Baron Ungern von Sternberg was a Russian general who fought for Mongolian independence and freed the Living Buddha in Urga. The author meets him in 1921 and portrays a stern, mystical man who trusts almost no one.
What is Agharti and the King of the World?
Agharti is an underground kingdom of sages that Mongolian and Tibetan Lamas described to Ossendowski. Its ruler, the King of the World, is said to speak with God and guide the fate of peoples.
The author
Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
1878–1945 · Polish explorer and writer
Polish explorer and writer.
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