Endurance:  Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Alfred Lansing (1959)

THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

Alfred Lansing's Endurance is the definitive account of the failed expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1914 to cross the Antarctic continent and the subsequent two year struggle for survival by the 28 man crew.  The trip was meant to be the next great exploration feat for this region, following Roald Amuldson's first expedition to make it to the South Pole.  Endurance was coincidentally the name of the boat that was eventually crushed by ice, leaving the men stranded for over a year in amazingly harsh Antarctic conditions.  Ultimately the full team was able to get to Elephant Island, and from there, a smaller group reached South Georgia island 650 nautical miles away, allowing them to return three months later to rescue all of the remaining crew.  Everyone survived but no one ever even set foot on the continent.  The story has been told by many, but Lansing's research makes this one the best; he personally spoke with ten of the survivors to painstakingly understand what they endured.  All in all, it is an amazing example of heroism and survival. 
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A5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THOSE WHO LIKED THIS BOOK

GREAT QUOTES:

“Shackleton's unwillingness to succumb to the demands of everyday life & his insatiable excitement w/ unrealistic ventures left him open to the accusation of being basically immature & irresponsible. & very possibly he was-by conventional standards. But the great leaders of historical record-the Napoleons, the Nelsons, the Alexanders-have rarely fitted any conventional mold, & it is perhaps an injustice to evaluate them in ordinary terms. There can be little doubt that Shackleton, in this way, was an extraordinary leader of men.” 
​- Alfred Lansing, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • In 1999 and again in 2000, NOVA (a popular science television typically broadcast on PBS) traveled to the ice-choked waters of the Antarctic to follow in Shackleton's footsteps.  For more information on the journey, click here.
  • One of our top recommendations on adventure travel covers another tragic arctic exploration, led by fellow polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott just a few years earlier.  The Worst Journey in the World is a story about Scott's voyage, in which he and four other men died after reaching the South Pole.
  • Read the New York Times article on leadership lessons from the expedition by clicking here.
  • This book is one of our favorite books on exploration.  Click here to see our full list of recommendations on adventure travel books.