Rating: 
Summary: A good introduction to the Endurance epic
Review: This is the book that really started the current round of "Shackleton-mania" and it is a good introduction to the story of the Endurance Expedition, well written, researched, and, of course, beautifully illustrated with the classic photography of Frank Hurley. But it's important to view it only as an introduction. Heacox' "Shackleton-The Antarctic Challenge" goes into more detail, and Shackleton's own books "South" and "Heart of the Antarctic" are also must-reads, while Lennard Bickel's "Shackleton's Forgotten Men" chronicles the little-known adventures of the Ross Sea party of the Endurance Expedition. So if this book leaves you wanting more, go on to those other titles. Alexander's book also suffers badly from not having an index. I still highly recommend it for its writing style and the wonderful reproductions of Hurley's photographs.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, great pictures, great leadership
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful and Vivid Book
Review: This is a tale that's hard to mess up-- stunning in the sheer awesome size of the challenge that these men faced. This book stands out from the pack for two reasons: first, the attention to detail and character that brings these men alive in all their human strength and frailty; second, the absolutely stunning photography. You will find yourself paging through this book again and again, taking in the images here, both terrible and beautiful all at once.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book! Amazing pictures!
Review: This book is about an expedition that is controlled by Ernest Shackleton. He has a crew of twenty-seven people and they are in the pursuit of the last prize in the history of exploration: the first crossing on foot of the Antarctic continent. On August 8 of 1914, the Endurance set sail from Plymouth. They traveled all the way to Buenos Aires, stopped for reloading of resources and then they headed for South Georgia, which would be their last stop before the final push. After one month in Georgia they left freshly provisioned and perfectly rested. The ice conditions were said to be bad but they kept on going and only stopped at the sea of ice that surrounded their destination, the Vahsel Bay. The endurance got stuck as the ice formed around the ship due to a very cold night. The crew after that saw that there was no chance of them getting out of there. They starting making camps outside the boat and just waited for it to vanish into the packs of ice. One day the packs of ice moved, compressing the boat and turning it all into small pieces. The sailors now had no way back. They fought with nature trying to survive for 22 months until a rescue ship finally rescued them. They were made heroes of Britain on their return. All of the characters in this story were important because they were all one crew and everyone worked together as a team. However, I would say that the most important character in the story is Ernest Shackleton. He is the person who put this entire expedition together and worked hard for it to happen. Another important character in the story would be Frank Hurley, the photographer of the expedition. There are many other important characters in this book. In my opinion all are equally important with the exception of Shackleton and Hurley. I thought that this story was very exciting as it told a story of a real expedition with real people and not some fiction type of nonsense. The book is based on a true story and is basically a documentary about the entire expedition with diary entries and photographs of the journey. I kind of identify myself with the other characters because I am the type of person that always likes a new adventure and I think that if I was called up for it at that time I would most certainly do it. I learned from this story that teamwork, cooperation and patience is everything that a group of people needs in order to get through the hard times. This goes for everything in life. I give a number 10 grade for this book. It was very well written and the pictures in it were just amazing! It certainly made me feel like I had actually been there.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping Tale.....
Review: I received the set of cassettes from my sister-in-law, and was not sure I would enjoy listening to them. I drive quite a bit, and am now wondering what I can do to replace the enjoyment these tapes have provided me over the past weeks. If this were a work of fiction, it would hardly be believable. The opportunity to read about real people who endured so much, and lived to tell about it with their photographs and personal diaries is something no one should pass up. There are lessons to learn about life here too...great achievements don't necessarily mean great recognition, what constitutes real leadership, and so much more. I really loved this work, and I plan to read more about Shackleton's adventures. The only thing missing with the tapes are the photographs, which I plan to view as soon as I can.
Rating:
Summary: The Nature of Man
Review: I enjoyed this book tremendously, and I don't usually like adventure stories. This book took me from cynicism ("Why would anyone want to do something so dangerous?") to admiration for the courage, determination, ingenuity and strength displayed by these men, back to cynicism. When they were rescued, many of these men immediately signed up to fight in WWI. One died three weeks after enlisting, blown to pieces in a battle. What a waste, and what a telling examination of men's character.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing tale
Review: Two incredible stories in one. Outstanding pictures prove an otherwise unbelieveable journey. You don't have to have an interest about the high seas to enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning Achievement in Historic Photo Reproduction
Review: I had the pleasure of searching through 110 years of historic photographic plates and memorabilia at Cooke Optics Ltd. in England about a year ago and came across some material related to the Shackleton expedition which prompted my interest in it. Caroline Alexander produced a beautifully rendered and detailed compilation of Frank Hurley's photographic record of the adventure. The quality of the photos--having been reproduced direct from the original plates--were better than any previously published in books I have seen on the Shackleton Expedition. I was happy to see Cooke lenses credited as those used by Shackleton's photographer, Frank Hurley, since the quality of the photos show just how good the lenses were then and continue to be today, (now handcrafted for major motion picture 35mm photography.)
Rating:
Summary: awsome
Review: This book just shows you that your life is not bad... at all... unless your are freezing, starving, tired, frost-bitten, and unshaven, then maybe. For twenty nine guys who had not set foot on real land for 500+ days they had enough to sit in front of a camera and get apicture taken. Awsome book, well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Not Only to Endure But to Prevail
Review: If you were to select the best single volume from which to learn about the Shackleton Antarctic expedition, this is it. What you have is a seamless blend of narrative with photographs, most of them taken by Frank Hurley throughout the expedition. The volume has been beautifully produced by Alfred A. Knopf. However, with all due respect to aesthetics, the "story" of that legendary expedition, brilliantly told by Caroline Alexander, is what invests this volume with its compelling appeal. With skills worthy of Homer, Dante, and Melville, she traces a series of voyages which began on August 14, 1914, when Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 27 set sail for the South Antarctic "in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in the history of exploration: the first crossing on foot of the Antarctic continent." Two years later, on August 30, 1916, Alexander concludes her "story" with the rescue of those crew members whom Shackleton was forced to leave behind on Elephant Island. He and a few others rowed out to sea in the one remaining boat, thus beginning another "story" which had a happy ending. Later, en route home from Elephant Island, in a letter written to his wife, Shackleton observes: "I have done it. Damn the Admiralty....Not a life lost and we have been through Hell." No brief commentary such as this can possibly suggest the nature and extent of heroism, terror, ingenuity, and (yes) endurance which Alexander describes so vividly. They are all here in a single volume, waiting for you to experience them almost as if you yourself were a member of the crew.
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