The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party [Hardcover]

Kelly Tyler-Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2006

The excruciating tale of the Ross Sea party, the other side of Shackleton's Endurance expedition

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed south aboard the Endurance to make history by crossing the Antarctic continent. Shackleton's story is legend, but few know the harrowing story of the Ross Sea party, Shackleton's support group dispatched to the other side of the continent to build a lifeline of food and fuel depots to bear his crossing.

"I had not anticipated that the work would present any great difficulties," Shackleton wrote. Yet everything went tragically wrong when the Ross Sea ship, the Aurora, tore free of her moorings and disappeared in a gale, leaving ten men marooned with only the clothes on their backs and few provisions. With little hope of rescue from a world embroiled in World War I, the men decided to accomplish their mission against all odds.

Long overshadowed by the mission these men bargained their lives to sustain, this heartrending story of survival against all odds now gets its due in this definitive, surprising account of the final journey of the heroic age of polar expedition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While the story of Ernest Shackleton's crew of the Endurance is well known, the fate of Shackleton's Ross Sea support party has largely been forgotten—until now. Charged with laying supply depots for Shackleton's aborted 1914–1916 trans-Antarctic trek, the Ross Sea party became stranded when its ship tore free of her moorings and disappeared in a gale. Cambridge historian Tyler-Lewis's account of the 10-man party's plight relies heavily on the men's journals, which are amazingly detailed, considering the physical (snow blindness, scurvy, frostbite) and mental (depression, paranoia) problems they faced. The men's decision to lay the depots despite the obstacles demonstrates their courage, but Tyler-Lewis's narrative doesn't focus solely on heroics. Instead, the heart of the book lies in Tyler-Lewis's dissection of the men's relationships with one another. As friends are made, alliances formed and resentment festers, humanity is never lost, even amid inhumane conditions. Given the collection of military, civilian, scientific and blue-collar personnel that made up the expedition, it's compelling to see how each man deals with his fate. Add in the party's adventures of sledding in subzero temperatures with the sociological aspects of being stranded for nearly two years in such an inhospitable place, and the result is a gripping work. Maps, illus. (Apr. 24)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Many books tell the story of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition across the Antarctic aboard the Endurance. Tyler-Lewis focuses on his supply team, the Ross Sea party, whom Shackleton sent to the opposite side of the continent to support his crossing with food and fuel. While Shackleton traveled south, the Ross party were to sail aboard the Aurora into the Ross Sea and set up supplies for Shackleton every 60 miles. But the Aurora was torn from its moorings in a storm and washed out to sea, leaving 10 men stranded on the shore. They were finally rescued after two years. Tyler-Lewis writes that in the face of catastrophe they persevered, and contrary to the very instinct of survival, with most of their clothing, food, and equipment gone, the stranded men chose to risk their lives, marching 1,300 miles to build a lifeline of depots for Shackleton's party. Tyler-Lewis, a historian, located the diaries and logs of 16 survivors. She also found public records and private papers and interviewed the families of the Ross Sea party members. An exciting book. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1St Edition edition (April 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670034126
• ISBN-13: 978-0670034123
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #852,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Shackleton, Ernest

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Antarctic Adventures, Part 2, April 29, 2006

By 

C. Hutton "book maven" (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party (Hardcover)

In 1998, Caroline Alexander published "The Endurance", her classic re-telling of Ernest Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic. Stranded for two years on the south side of the Antarctic, Shackleton led his entire crew back to Argentina. And here, Ms. Alexander story comes to the end with a brief epilogue. The tale of his re-supply expedition concurrently stranded on the northern side of the Antarctic was mentioned in passing. The Ross Sea Party has been ignored historically, possibly because Shackleton was a larger-than-life figure, or because there was a visual record of his expedition (the photographs accompanied Ms. Alexander's text) or because Shackleton reached civilization first with his adventures before going back to rescue the second expedition.

Ms. Tyler-Lewis redresses this neglect in "The Lost Men." The mission of the Ross Sea expedition was to lay supply depots on the northern half above the South Pole. Shackleton meant to transverse the entire continent from the south to the South Pole to the Ross Sea -- he needed those depots to survive the journey home. Ironically, neither expedition was aware that the other was stranded. With no radio communication, the Ross Sea Party went ahead and walked 1,300 miles to established supply depots that were no longer needed. Ms. Tyler-Lewis superbly utilized the diaries of the survivors to describe their emotional and physical suffering for two years. "The Lost Men" is a well-told tale of the will of these men to accomplish their mission and to survive against the elements.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Nonfiction Adventure, August 3, 2006

By 

ninjasuperstar (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party (Hardcover)

Kelly Tyler-Lewis' The Lost Men is the first full account of the Ross Sea Party side of Ernest Shackleton's attempt to cross Antarctica during World War I. The book simultaneously tells a harrowing tale of adventure as well as exemplifying outstanding historical research. Until this book, the men of the Ross Sea Party were truly lost and voiceless. Tyler-Lewis located diaries, photographs, and even film that no other historian could find. The result of her research is an outstanding, clear, and concise work of nonfiction.

The book also has the feel of a good novel. Tyler-Lewis skillfully blends research with a great adventure story. She sculpts the narrative to keep a heightened sense of suspense and wonder. She develops the complicated characters of the men in dramatic fashion, often using their own words (from their diaries and other sources) to great effect. The reader truly gets a sense of what was going through their minds and what motivated their actions.

I suggest not viewing the photograph section of the book until you have finished, because it gives away events that occur later in the book. This is a difficult thing to do, indeed, because you grow attached to these men and want to see what they looked like.

The only complaint I have is that the chapters detailing the crew of the ship Aurora are not nearly as interesting as the chapters about the men who are actually on Antarctica. But this is a small complaint. Overall, I was interested from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book and look forward to other works by Kelly Tyler-Lewis.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Strong Men, January 8, 2007

By 

R. Feenstra (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party (Hardcover)

I have read nearly every book in print dealing with the exploration and saga of Shackleton and his men. Kelly Tyler-Lewis' book The Lost Men rates as one of the best. The "harrowing story" of these hearty men stranded in the desolate Ross Sea is incredible, for lack of words.

Duty-bound, these men laid the stores for a transantarctic voyage that would never materialize. These were men who risked their own lives to ensure the safety of others whose whereabouts were unknown.

The Lost Men is an epic struggle of man versus the ravages of nature and reveals the triumphs and the tragedies involved. It is a book of determination, leadership and accountability.

Of special interest are the generous notes included dealing with such issues as diet (e.g., Their diet lacked nearly all essential vitamins necessary for such a feat), body temperature (e.g., One man recorded a body temperature of 94.2), and navigation of pack ice (e.g. in 2002 it took two Coast Guard ships over two weeks to break through ice roughly thirty miles to Hut point.)

The Lost Men is an exciting and riveting book. As a two-time traveler to McMurdo Sound, I highly recommend this work.