I have always been fascinated by the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance expedition. For years, the dramatic story of this triumphant failure has been largely forgotten, but now a sort of Shackleton revival is underway. Learn about the Endurance saga in these excellent books:
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The Endurance by Caroline Alexander tells the story of the expedition, beautfully illustrated by the photography of Frank Hurley, the official expedtion photographer. Although every book about the expedition features at least some of Hurley�s magnificent photographs, this one is packed with them, and they compliment the text perfectly. A must-have.
The expedition told in Sir Ernest Shackleton�s own words. Shackleton was a man of great courage and a leader of rare qualities. After the disaster of being frozen into the pack ice and having the Endurance crushed and sunk, Shackleton saved every single one of his men.
The above edition is a trade paperback; this is a somewhat less expensive pocket paperback edition of South.
Heart of the Antarctic is Shackleton�s book about his earlier expedition, in which he and three others came within 100 miles of the South Pole. This appears to be a facsimile edition of the original printing, but the appendices detailing the scientific discoveries of the expedition have been left out. Also, the choice of a picture of the Endurance for the cover is a curious one.
Frank Worsley was the captain of Shackleton�s ship Endurance. After the ship was crushed and sunk Worsley�s excellent navigation and skill at sailing small boats proved absolutely vital in the success of the small boat journey to South Georgia island across the roughest seas in the world. An enthralling story of one of the greatest adventures of the 20th century.
Endurance is Frank Worsley�s more complete account of the expedition, beginning when Shackleton laconically informed him, �What the ice gets, it keeps� (the horrified Worsley�s first knowledge that his ship was going to be crushed to death in the ice), through the long trek to Elephant Island, an abbreviated account of the boat journey to South Georgia, and some of Worsley�s adventures in World War One (in command of a Q-ship, he rammed and sank a German U-boat) and his final expedition with Shackleton after the war. The original preface by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe is worth reading, but the publishers evidently felt that to be trendy they had to get Patrick O�Brian of the tedious, tendentious, boring, and subliminally homoerotic Aubrey/Maturin series of sea stories to contribute a �modern� and disturbingly error-ridden introduction. Ignore that; enjoy Worsley.
Shackleton is Roland Huntford�s excellent biography of the great explorer and covers his entire career from his early days in the British merchant service through his quest for the South Pole with Sir Robert Falcon Scott, the tragic Endurance expedition, and his final expedition aboard the Quest, during which he died and was buried on South Georgia, scene of his greatest triumph.
In closing, here are some words by Frank Worsley about
Shackleton, from his book Shackleton�s Boat Journey:
If you�re interested in learning more about Sir Ernest Shackleton, visit my Shackleton site at Sir Ernest Shackleton.