The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition

Fascinating story made even more enthralling with all the beautiful photos.

Bookstores are flooded with various titles covering Shackleton's Endurance expedition, but I heartily recommend starting with this excellent release from Caroline Alexander. The narrative is a well told accounting of the origins of the voyage, the expedition itself, and a good epilogue that feeds your desire to know what became of these guys after the completion of the journey. Alexander did her homework here - she talked to the few remaining crewman still alive after all these years as well as the family members of those crew members that have passed away. However, what sets the book apart from the rest of the field is the lush, magnificent printing of 170 of Frank Hurley's stunning photographs. The photos do more than any words can to enhance the readers understanding of the stunning polar conditions and deprivations suffered by the crew. Flip through any of the other books about the Endurance, and you'll find a only small sub-set of Hurley's photos, usually notable only by their poor reproduction quality (Shackleton's own 'South' memoir springs to mind). In addition to its intrinsic value in describing one of the foremost adventurers of the Polar Age, the book is also helpful to anyone looking to learn about leadership. Shackleton took his responsibilities of leadership very seriously & practiced the art long before anyone like Peter Drucker or Tom Peters came along to give it a name and study it. Shackleton's tendency to be inclusive rather than exclusive and his expert reading of the personalities that comprised the crew were the key differences between survival and death. Alexander does a wonderful job reporting the episodes that capture the essence of Shackleton's role as a true leader of men.

Superb writing that holds you to the story. The author delves into the reasons Shackleton picked the crew he did and it makes sense. The adventure is weaved throughout the historical story and it is intense. I learned a lot and am even more impressed by Shackleton's handling of the situation. He was a superb leader and knew what he was doing. This book is very difficult to put down because you become totally engrossed in the events. It is almost as though you are a member of the crew.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. Just an incredible story about an exploration trip that got into serious trouble but through the incredible leadership and determination of the crew all of them made it home. A photographer was brought on the trip, an incredible feat itself given the load, so the book is not only an incredible story but has pictures throughout. This is an inspirational book about taking risks, preserving during hard times and determination to solve the problem that confronts one.

Enjoyed this book tremendously. Made me feel I was right there with them through it all.

Shackleton is one of my favorite explorers. His epic return from shipwreck is one of the most inspiring adventure tales. Caroline Alexander's fine volume is augmented with numerous brilliant images that bring home the expedition's predicament.

This is an excellent photo and text over-view of the Endurance journey and the associated drama that followed its sinking. The photos are the key to this version of the story, giving something to the epic that words alone cannot give. I have long been fascinated by the Endurance expedition and this book is a "must have" to complete any collection of, or visit to, this story. The fusion of multiple versions of the story gathered from many different persons and the compilation of various types of data and historic sources also make this book a unique and special read. Though space and publishing would not allow inclusion of all available photos, one flaw might be that the author was not able to include more photos. I found this to be a great addtion to a Shackleton/Endurance collection.

This is a great account of one of the most heroic self-rescues of all time. It offers many photographs of conditions on site. It is also serves as an example of brilliant leadership under arduous conditions. Highly recommended for nonfiction lovers.