Selected Product:
| South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance (The Explorers Club Classic)
Paperback
Edition: 1st
Author: Sir Ernest Shackleton
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Release Date: 2008-06-17
ISBN-10: 1599213230
ISBN-13: 9781599213231
List Price: $19.95
Average Customer Rating:
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Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
ISBN-10: 078670621X
ISBN-13: 9780786706211
List Price:$14.95
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
ISBN-10: 0375404031
ISBN-13: 9780375404030
List Price:$29.95
Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
ISBN-10: 0393319946
ISBN-13: 9780393319941
List Price:$13.95
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This first-person account of the Endurance crew's famed odyssey across the frozen Antarctic is a classic tale of survival, resolve, and leadership.
British Stoicism
| Customer Rating: | SOUTH: THE LAST ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
Here is a list of equipment that Sir Ernest Shackleton did NOT have for his memorable Endurance expedition: GPS location finders; radio ; RADAR, SONAR; computerized navigation; professional medical care; thermal clothes; MRE'S (Meals Ready To Eat), double steel hull; air and logistical support, public relations agents; marketing proposals; lawyers.
Shacketon's crew navigated with a sextant; traversed the icecap with dog sleds instead of ski-doos, and ate canned herring, tinned meat, pemmican, biscuits and occasional seals.
What he did have was an old ship, a strong crew, an incredible work ethic, classic British stoicism and unerring sense of the right thing to do.
His book reads like a Robert Louis Stevenson or H.G. Welles story, but it is the unvarnished truth. His matter -of -fact account is brilliantly illustrated by Frank Hurley's dramatic black & white photos of The Endurance encapsulated in ice, its masts and spars dripping frozen water like the maritime apparition in Melville's "Benito Cereno."
I seriously doubt whether a modern expedition equipped with all the bells and whistles and sponsored with corporate money could duplicate what Shackleton's Endurance accomplished under the most adverse circumstances imaginable.
Because the Endurance expedition occurred in 1914-15 at the start of World World War I
Shackleton's accomplishment was largely overshadowed, and the Antarctic was all but forgotten until the `fifties and `sixties when its scientific and strategic value was rediscovered.
Now, as the Antarctic ice cap melts from global warming, one wonders at Shackleton's accomplishment.
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No one could tell this experience better than Sir Ernest Shackleton himself!
| Customer Rating: | | After more than a year of seeing pretty much nothing but ice and snow, and living in, at times, sub-zero temperatures, Sir Ernest Shackleton writes about his camp's current conditions; "Drifts four feet deep covered everything, and we had to be continually digging up our scanty stock of meat to prevent its being lost altogether... On this day, and for the next two or three also, it was impossible to do anything but get right inside one's frozen sleeping bag to try and get warm. Too cold to read or sew, we had to keep our hands well inside, and pass the time in conversation with each other." He's so matter-of-fact... no fluff here. He just tells it like it is. I love that about this book. The conditions worsen by leaps and bounds as the story continues, but I'll leave that for you to explore on your own. Anyway, the first few chapters are very informative regarding how the expedition was planned, where they were headed, how they got there, etc... for me, it started a little slow, but I understand why the writer wanted to include this information. So, then you get into the "meaty" survival stuff... and is it ever so fascinating. And for me, it's especially fascinating because it doesn't seem to be sugar-coated, as so many writers are proned to do when telling their story. In fiction, I don't mind so much the way a writer gives you every detail, written ever so eloquently, but when it comes to true stories... especially survival stories, I personally just want to hear the straight talk. A GREAT SURVIVAL STORY AND PERFECTLY WRITTEN for this reader. |
With a stiff upper lip - an adventure from another era
| Customer Rating: | When the Antarctic explorer ship Endurance became trapped by ice in the opening days of World War I, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his companions found themselves stranded for the winter. Months later, when the ice floe that had been their "home" became unstable as spring breakup began, the party - with their ship long since broken apart - took to their three open boats, and made their way to Elephant Island. There they set up a precarious camp, where most of the group waited while Sir Ernest and a few carefully chosen companions struck out for South Georgia. That South Atlantic island, 800 miles away, was known to have year-round British inhabitants.
Those are the bare facts of one of the great true adventures, a story told here by Sir Ernest himself. His dry writing style may take some slogging, at first, for contemporary (especially American) readers; but his wit is equally dry, and his descriptions vivid. I was especially interested to note the differences between the Shackleton party's attitudes and those of today. Not only is this a magnificent survival tale (NOT ONE of Shackleton's men died!); it's also a snapshot of how those quintessential English explorers of another era thought about the world they were discovering. For better or for worse, how times and attitudes have changed!
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Trust your money and your life but not your wife with Ernest
| Customer Rating: | | What an expedition! There is a lot to be learned about leadership and survival by the adventurers on this journey. If you like men against the elements, who survive by their wits and never ever give up, this is the tale for you. A great winter read. |
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