Rating: 
Summary: An Extraordinary Book About A Remarkable Story
Review: As the title of my review suggests, I can hardly offer enough praise for this book. Caroline Alexander's "The Endurance" is a fantastic book, masterfully bringing to life Shackleton's remarkable adventure. Prior to reading the book, I was familiar with Shackleton's expedition from various magazine and television specials and wondered if another account of the story was worth reading. With this book, the answer is absolutely yes. Ms. Alexander does a skillful job intertwining her narrative with diary and journal entries, written accounts such as books and articles, and interviews with family members. The book is well researched and written in a concise and enjoyable, storyteller's prose. In addition to the writing, the author includes numerous photographs from Frank Hurley, the expedition's photographer. These pictures are a great addition to the story. They allow the reader to "fill-in" visual images of the setting and the expedition, so that the author can concentrate on the story and the crew. The reader's time is not spent on overly drawn-out descriptions, but rather on the personalities of the crew, Shackleton's leadership skills, the perils of the journey and the human spirit displayed by all the men involved. Simply put, this book makes its readers feel good; you will admire these men and enjoy their story.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific book
Review: Well written and superbly documented book on Shackleton's heroic but ill-fated antarctic expedition. The photos are worth the price of the book by themselves--and even they have a dramatic story--they were retrieved by Hurley, the ship's photographer, after having been submerged in water for a number of days as the ship was finally breaking up. Hurley kept a detailed diary and his comments on the men are one of the most interesting aspects of the book. We learn that while the men were stranded on the pack ice, many of them often with very little to do at that point, the tireless and indefatigable ship's carpenter was hard at work patching up the two long boats--their only hope of rescue--with a combination of penguin fat and blood. And that the strongest man in the crew, (unfortunately I don't recall his name), although tough and dependable, occasionally caused friction among the men with his "bullying manner." Shackleton, who knew his men well, observed this and took steps to minimize it by keeping the man with him rather than leaving him alone with the rest of the crew. Shackleton comes across as a fine leader, almost singlehandedly keeping the morale of the men up despite knowing full well their desperate circumsances. The 800-mile voyage of the long boat from the pack ice where they were trapped to their landing on South Georgia Island, and their crossing of the interior of the island (which had never been done either), is one of the most amazing seafaring feats and tales of survival of all time. After having made the voyage, they could easily have perished in a crevasse or crevice crossing the interior of the island, but they survived this final dangerous crossing and made it to Norwegian whaling station on the other side of the island, where they were finally able to get help. Their meeting with the Norwegians, no strangers themselves to the dangers of arctic waters, and who were rightly amazed by this heroic feat, also makes for interesting reading. But the tale didn't stop there. Because of the war and beaurocratic delays, it was almost a year before Shackleton could get back to the pack ice to rescue the rest of his men--and with a steel Argentinian tugboat rather than a British ship. It took him three tries and even then he only just got them out before the pack ice closed up again. Overall, a dramatic and absorbing account of an amazing expedition. This is book to curl up with near the fire with a hot cup of tea on a cold wintry night, with the freezing wind howling outside like the groans of the Endurance as it was crushed by the pack ice.
Rating:
Summary: what humans endure
Review: This book is by far the epitime of the human spirit. How we can survive anything thrown at us; simply with a will to survive. i try and place myself in this situation and can not fathom how it was, not in the slightest. These men were heros dspite not accomplishing their goals. read it now and read it again read it to your children to prove to them anything can be done and to never give up
Rating:
Summary: When Authors Bring Respect to the Project, It Shows
Review: Ms. Alexander assembled a wonderful work that shows her appreciation for the determination that Shackleton and his crew possessed. I read this immediately after finishing Shackleton's memoir of the journey "South." Because Sir Ernest glosses over some of the personality conflicts within the crew, "Endurance" brought a new perspective to this amazing account of survival. I think the book personalized the struggle more. The result was a complete picture, factually and emotionally, of the entire expedition.
Rating:
Summary: A glorious and emotional read
Review: On p163 of this work, the Irishman Ernest Shackleton and two of his 27 colleagues are near the end of their harrowing journey fully 18 months since they had laid eyes on another human outside their own party. They come across the bodies of several seals bearing bullet wounds. Shackleton later wrote of this moment that the evidence of man was often " one of destruction". The tragic irony of this comment is not lost on the modern reader as over those 18 months his "betters" and European Royalty were engaged in the most horrific slaughter of millions of citizens in the "Great War" of 1914-1918. Despite the trials that Shackleton and his 27 colleagues endured, they lived. Much of a generation of young men in Europe did not.
Nevertheless, the abiding memory of this book and what makes it ever so much more than "overcoming adversity" or a "boy's own adventure" is the humanity evidenced by its participants, good and not so good, but always touching. Allow me to mention just two.
Henry "Chippy" McNish, a Scot, brought his cat along on the expedition. Let it be noted that without Chippy McNish and his carpentry skills the final 17 day 900 mile voyage of the seven metre James Caird through a hurricane encountered in the most challenging ocean on earth would have been impossible. But the overriding factor in the success of the rescue of all men was clearly Shackleton's leadership throughout including putting Chippy McNish in his place following the only rebellious note in the entire expedition. But Chippy could never forgive, and never forgave, Shackleton for killing his cat which had been done to in "the best interests" of the expedition's survival. How human is Chippy's response!
The second incident concerns the leader himself. In the period between his safe landing at King Haakon Bay, South Georgia Island on 19th May 1916 and his rescue of those remaining 22 team members waiting on Elephant Island on 30th August 1916, his hair turned white with worry in trying to organize their rescue against amazing Government and Admiralty intransigence. He wrote to his wife after the rescue " I have done it. Damn the Admiralty ... not a life lost and we have been through Hell.." (p. 185). How human is that!
This is splendid, splendid book that should be bought in hardcover. The American Museum of Natural History are to be congratulated on their support of this work. Caroline Alexander has done a wonderful job in telling the tale and Frank Hurley's original photographs add immediacy to the telling of it. It lacks an index. The IMAX film SHACKLETON'S ANTARCTIC VOYAGE, a 40 minute reconstruction of the event which is frankly rivetting, might be seen as complementary to this work.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Damn Survival Story Ever Told!
Review: I came across this book from an "Outside Magazine" review
and while searching for it,I came by coincedence another CLASS-X "Mawsons Will" and I read both back to back (no pun intended)
both stories were during the same era (1800's)and inter-twined
with the main charachters. In my opinion the Endurance is "The
Best Damn Survival Story Ever Told".
Rating:
Summary: "These are Men!"
Review: "Endurance" is one of the best books on Antarctic exploration - good research, the best reproduction of original photographs by Ponting and Hurley. But it was written by a woman and Antarctica before WWI was a man's world. Shackleton was mortified that Britain in the midst of WWI carnage was indifferent to the plight of his men stranded on Elephant Island. He had just completed the most difficult sea voyage of all time and Ms Alexander quotes the accolades of the Norse sea captains but omits the ultimate:"These are Men!"
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, a must for adventure readers!
Review: After reading Alfred Lansing's book "Endurance" multiple times (and buying it multiple times - since every time I lent it to someone it got passed along and didn't find its way back to me) I yearned for more. My husband gave this book to me for my birthday, and it has become part of my small, and prized, permanent book collection. Caroline Alexander's beautiful writing about this extraordinary journey, coupled with the photographs of Frank Hurley, the expedition's photographer, are what make this book really special. Don't wait - read it!
Rating:
Summary: Super Bowl victor's secret weapon?
Review: After his team's victory in Super Bowl XXXV earlier this month, New England Patriots Coach Bill Bilichick told reporters that one of the keys to his team's successful season was viewing a movie about Sir Ernest Shackleton's fateful adventure in Antarctica aboard The Endurance. That was all I needed to finally pick up and read this book I received as a gift a couple years ago. Why did it take me this long to discover what a wonderful book was sitting on my desk? Frankly, I thought it was merely an attempt by some publisher to coat-tail the success of the adventure-gone-awry phenomenon then in vogue, i.e., Into Thin Air, Perfect Storm, etc. I'll now admit to living under a rock for not being familiar with the Shackleton story. After reading this book and viewing its incredible photography, I am now in complete understanding of Bilichick's declaration of the Endurance as the definitive metaphor for boldly facing overwhelming adversity and unbeatable odds; and surviving. This book is rather unique, in that the quality and abundance of work done by photographer John Hurley during the trip enable the editor or designer to place the photography within the context of the narrative, rather than the usual grouping of photos within a defined section of a book. This apparently required the book to be published on a finer grade of coated paper than usual, which, along with its square shape, gives the book a near "coffee-table" feel without being oversized. Another design device adding a subtle statement that this is an "art" book is the designer's use of a rather severe ragged-right justification of type. While it is a book to behold, this is also a book to be read closely. Its use of source diaries and journals gives the story a sense of intimacy. I did not know how the story turns out (but assumed that at least some made it back to civilization with the diaries and photos) so I was lucky to be treated to a page-turner as well. By sheer coincidence, I read The Endurance immediately after reading the book Down the Great Unknown, a re-telling of John Wesley Powell's 1869 harrowing survey of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Both are amazing books of challenge, privation, tragedy and perseverance. Next time you want your team to make it to the Super Bowl, I suggest either of these books.
Rating:
Summary: The expedition failed, but its glory is in it's ending
Review: I knew of Shackleton's exploits before we cruised Cape Horn in December, 2001, but found this book in the ship's library that speaks of his 1914 expedition so near to where we were. South Georgia Island is in the same latitue nearly as the Falkland Islands. The ENDURANCE left South Georgia December 4th, and ran into ice in the same latitude as Cape Horn on the 7th, just 87 years before we rounded the Horn. We saw no ice, and the sea was calm. What a difference 87 years makes. Yet simply being there helped me to imagine more vividly the grandeur of Shackleton's achievements as a man and a leader. For nearly two years ENDURANCE'S crew were trapped in the ice, the ship was lost, as shown by Hurley's spectacular images, that put the men and dogs on the flows on which they drifted, with essentials saved from the ship, until months later they landed on Elephant Island. This is where the real adventure begins, the one that turned failure into incredible success for which the expedition and Shackleton will forever be known. The rescue required the sailing of a 22' ship's boat across the Southern Seas to South Georgia Island, and the scaling of a mountain range to reach the whaling station on the other side. Shackleton was at his best, but those who greeted him and his men cried to see him as he was. His incredible feat, as well as his frustrations, will capture your emotions as few books will. In the end all were saved; no lives were lost. Still, Shackleton was doomed to die on South Georgia Island while in his mid forties. He is buried there, appropriately, it seems, a man whose dream was not to be realized, but who instead will live forever because of the success he had in saving all who shared his experience. I cannot recommend the book enough to any who have a yen for adventure of the very highest order.
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