Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Ratings169
Average rating4.5
I'm slowly working my way through all the polar expeditions that have gone awry. Turns out there's a lot of them, and they always seem to go poorly. Can't imagine why that is... it's a bit cold, sure, and there's not a lot of food to be had, but surely this one will turn out differently!
It doesn't.
Shackleton puts together a crew to reach the South Pole, but doesn't make it. They get stranded in ice long before they reach their goal, and end up drifting with it for quite some time until they send out a party to go for help. In the meantime, we get to know (some of) the crew of 27, and what it took to survive on the pack ice they were stuck on for so long.
I've read quite a few arctic expedition books at this point, and while this one was a great read, it lacked some of the flair and panache of some of the other books. Part of it is because this was originally written in 1959 from diaries and first hand accounts from the survivors, which is great, but some of the writing is a bit stale. I like that Shackleton actually seemed capable of leading his crew (unlike some others... *coughcough*Stefansson*coughcough*), and the crew actually seemed fairly capable and steady when compared to some of the other disasters I've read about.
This was really an interesting read, a bit stale in the writing, but otherwise kept my attention.
I am absolutely speechless. Couldn't put the book down. How can such a story be real is beyond me.
make sure you get a paper version with photos because A. ur an illiterate toddler, and B. australian frank hurley took hundreds of photos on the expedition, and these frozen seascapes are fabulous
list of things i hope to face in real life:
bannock, hoosh, dog pemmicin, sugar lumps, pack ice, rime
shoutout to the belgians for doing the same thing but crazier, stupider, and with rats.
On one hand, this is a classic tale of grit and determination. An inspiring testament to the strength of the human spirit. On the other hand, it's yet another tale of an overconfident white man who dragged himself and an entire crew into a life threatening situation in order to feed his own ego.
Wow. What a terrific written account of the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and of the character of Ernest Shackleton and his crew. The name of the ship, “Endurance”, came from Shackleton's family motto Fortitudine vincimus (“By endurance we conquer”), but it was the ideal name for the vessel, which fought so hard against the crushing ice floes before ultimately succumbing and sinking to the bottom of the Weddell Sea. There were several major stages of the Shackleton expedition's escape from certain death - beginning with the loss of their ship. From there, they were cast adrift on various ice floes for months, before they were able to launch their lifeboats. This began the arduous sea voyage to the desolate Elephant Island. Once there, the group was as safe as they could be, and Shackleton took five others with him on board the best of the lifeboats, the James Caird, to sail to South Georgia Island - 1,200km's away. Using nothing more than a sextant, a compass, and some charts, with occupants that were tired, starving, freezing, wet, and suffering all manner of maladies, they found South Georgia - and the rest is history.
Lansing pulls from a variety of sources, and tells a fair and balanced narrative of the expedition. Brilliantly written, filled with excitement and tension, Endurance tells the most incredible survival story of the greatest antarctic explorer who ever lived.
Lansing has done a fantastic job of his painstaking research to bring this book to life. The level of detail, and personal detail he has been able to include is testament to his poring over the diaries of the men, extracting the detail and pulling it into a coherent context.
The story is well known enough - Shackleton's 1914 Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition set out from England in the Endurance upon the outbreak of war, having offered the ship and crew into naval service, and been asked by Churchill to continue on their expedition.
After leaving the South Georgia Islands, Endurance entered the pack ice and for two weeks made its way through the ice. battling away with the engine to try and reach an open passage, became fast in the ice-floe.
On 18 January, the ship became bound up in the ice, and here the men lived within the bounds of the ship, as the ice continually tested the strength of the hull. Endurance withstood the pressure of the ice for many month, until Eventually the ice won over and started to tear away the sternpost and allow water to enter the hull. Pumping was barely able to keep pace, and with the next surge in pressure beams broke and decks buckled, and the rudder as torn free. The ship was abandoned.
On November 21, 1915, 25 days after leaving the ship to camp up on the ice, Endurance was briefly raised by the ice sheets, and then sunk below the surface. Within 10 minutes the ice had closed over the opening...
This was, however, only the start of Shackleton's story - along with the other 27 men.
For a relatively short book, the story is epic.
I can't recommend this enough for anyone remotely interested in the power of human spirit, endurance, optimism and determination. An Antarctic survival story which would never have been accepted if it were written as fiction.
5 stars.
Take my review with a large dose of salt, because if you like exploration stories, I have nothing useful for you. I generally find them boring. I know this could have been LESS boring, because the epilogue was very concise! A boat got sent out to rescue the party from Elephant Island, and the author didn't include directions every time the wind blew! Or describe every chunk of ice the boat had to pass!
This book was quite repetitive, though I know the actual surviving of this journey was ridiculously repetitive and I'll give Lansing the benefit of the doubt, because #mood. Also I am very glad I am not in Antarctica, because lying down and dying Jack London-style would have been preferable to having my toes removed or being soaking wet for like two years straight. But, it is indeed amazing that everyone survived, and how strong the instinct and will to survive is.
Holy smokes, just read this. You won't be sorry. What an amazing read about an almost unbelievable tale.
I can hardly speak with more admiration than for that of Shackleton's journey. This beautiful and entertaining book does an awesome job of telling their story. Amazing!!!!
Excellent read, the first book in a long time that I've thought about at work all day wanting to get home and pick it up again.
A minor complaint is that I would've liked to read an epilogue detailing what each of the men got up to, how did they assimilate back into normal life, etc. I felt like I had grown to know them so it was sad to read in another polar exploration book afterwards that Tim McCarthy signed up for the war effort three weeks after he arrived back in England. He died a few months later when his ship was torpedoed by the Germans. I found it devastating to know he went through that incredible feat of survival, only to die not too long after.
Really epic story. I found myself audibly gasping, laughing, and cringing while reading this book. How much ice, wind, and nearly freezing water can these guys handle? Turns out... quite a bit.
At the risk of sounding gauche: Did you like Andy Weir's The Martian? This is the true story of The Martian on Earth—one absurdly challenging mental and physical obstacle to survival after the next.
What an amazing story. Imagine being stuck on an ice flow for over a year. 100% isolated. Incredible story of survival.
If I read a synopsis of this book, I'd have classified it (incorrectly) as fiction. Shackleton's voyage is a remarkable adventure. Lansing did extensive research to make this book factually accurate, and thanks to the many surviving journals of the crew, he had the resources to succeed.
Hands down would recommend.
This is truly a 5 star book, especially the audible edition. Such a captivating story. The straight facts about the journey are engaging enough, but Alfred Lansing writes the story in such a way to amplify the events and the challenges of Shackleton's voyage to make it into something special. I felt like I experienced a real part of the stresses and a real part of the joys as this book played out. I felt cold when they felt cold, despaired when they felt despaired and relieved when they felt relieved.
Awesome book!
Tip #1: If you're not familiar with the details of the story, do NOT look at the second set of pictures before you've read the text.
Tip #2: Save this book for reading on a hot, muggy subway... reading about the ice and cold will literally cool you down.
This is an amazing book. It's a testament to the human spirit. You have to be 100% certified badass to survive for so long under such awful conditions.
