Customer Reviews

Shackleton's Boat Journey: The Narrative from the Captain of the Endurance

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To find yourself having no choice but to set out to sea, in the middle of a south polar winter, with the only hope of rescue 800 miles off would reduce most people to despair. It's a mark of the stuff that these men were made of that they reached their goal, intact, then went back to rescue their comrades. I find it difficult to imagine how they navigated in those low latitudes, in a roiling sea, howling gales and limited visibility; Worsley tells you how... He also has the writers' gift of transporting you from your comfortable chair to the freezing, wet, cramped conditions of their boat - and yet still bringing to life the thoughts and feelings of this rare breed of men. As Olivia Tsosie says, it should be recommended reading for all teenagers, so they understand what life can dole out and yet you can still turn the tables on fate, instead of sitting back and letting life ride roughshod over you.

Frank Worsley's description of the boat journey he made with Shackleton and two other crewmen of the Endurance is remarkable not only for the adventure it tells, but for the language it is told in and the largeness of spirit that it demonstrates. When I first read this--a battered copy in the local library--I felt that every teenager in the United States should have the opportunity to experience the strength of character, understanding and fine prose style Worsley demonstrates in this tremendously exciting adventure story. His description of Shackleton's leadership qualities is insightful and generous. His own navigational miracle of bringing this tiny craft across the wildest seas in the world to the relatively small island of South Georgia is understated. This book is inspirational in the best sort of honest and clear way. I have been to Elephant Island and S. Georgia and my admiration is increased by the experience.

I have read several books on Shackelton's expedition and this is by far the best. Worsley's wonderful description of the journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia will keep you turning the pages. Don't hesitate, buy it. You won't be disappointed!!

Frank Worsley, the Captain of Shackleton's Endurance, is a surprisingly competent writer with a style that has a knack for the wonderous details of nature as well as the humorous side of things needed in desparate situations.

The book begins with the 3 boats making the dash towards Elephant Island. Most of the book naturally details the journey of the James Caird to South Georgia. Worsley, though very quirky in personality, was an incredibly resourceful, couargeouse man and a navigator without peer. Without him there would have a loss of all lives.

Though at times Worsley may confuse the non-sailing reader with his descriptions of their sailing technique(especially the venacular terms), he nevertheless manages to make you feel you are right in the boat with them. His descriptions of waves, icebergs, etc. are brilliant. He also has a wonderful sense of humor. He has an ability to coin a phrase in that Edwardian period style that is almost poetic. He came from an educated family in New Zealand and it shows.

He also brings great detail to the shorter but still dramatic crossing of South Georgia.

Overall, it is a wonderful book that is alive with details and personal perspectives from a man with a superb mind and great heart.

This book is well written. I've read a great deal about Shackleton and seen videos, movies, DVDs and Hurley film. But this book provides detail where the second hand accounts do not. If you like sailing, you will especially love this book. The testament also highlights some areas of disagreement between Sir Ernst and Worsley, not of much import, but also not often discussed. Overall a required addition to any Expidetion library. But most of all, perhaps of the the greatest adventures ever told.

If you want to imagine cold -- real bone-numbing cold -- read Worsley's memoir of Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated voyage to the south polar regions during 1914-15. I first learned about Shackleton in the 2000 documentary The Endurance (narrated by Liam Neeson and quite a fine film), and I found I wanted to know more. And what better account than one written by Shackleton's friend, and the captain of the Endurance, Frank Worsley?

The real surprise is just how good Worsley's writing is! Despite the harrowing ordeal, the adventure really comes through — what it is that would make Shackleton want to venture into the south polar regions in the first place. And the truly amazing thing is that Shackleton managed to save every single last man from that star-crossed journey. They may have had to live on rotten seal meat, but they all lived to tell the tale.

Worsley's praise of Shackleton is at times almost ridiculously hyperbolic, but I suppose we can forgive him that, under the circumstances. And his writing is lively and entertaining at every turn. A wonderful ocean adventure tale.

This is an outstanding little book. Worsley, who was part of the adventure, writes in the first person and keeps the reader on the hook. Of course, Shackleton's adventure is well known and well covered by authors. However, Worsley's being there and telling stories of the crew is unique. If you are into Polar adventures, this book is a must read.

There are longer and "prettier" books out there of this amazing tale, most of which I own, but for me, it all started with Frank Worsley's little book. None read as fine as his. He speaks in the language of the time and hooks you on words like "hoosh" and "Yoicks", but never loses you. It's a very personal account that on occassion reads a little flat because he is, after all, recording a journey. On the other hand, during the worst of their wear, which is most of the time, he shares his take on everyone's thoughts, and then gives you an amazing piece of his own. I am rarely "goosebumped" by any author but Worsley finds a way. I've only read it once but it is "dog-eared" beyond belief thanks to all the friends I have passed it on to!

In the summer of 1914 Ernest Schackleton's ship Endurance became trapped in Antarctic ice in 53 degree below zero weather. The following winter, the ship was crushed and sank, leaving the crew to camp on the ice while eking out subsistence under unimaginable conditions. In April of 1916, the ice broke apart beneath their feet, and twenty eight men piled into the lifeboats they had rescued from the wreck of the Endurance.

These hair raising events are not part of the story of Shackleton's Boat Journey, but simply the preamble, described in less than a page, that sets the stage for the real action that is to follow.

The tale is told by F.A. Worsley, the Captain of the Endurance. And what a saga it is, as the entire crew barely makes it to Elephant Island and from there an advance party navigates across the raging, freezing ocean in a tiny boat, all the way to South Georgia Island, from which the balance of the crew are eventually rescued, without one man being lost.

What these men endured is beyond belief, yet Worsley recounts it humbly, with understatement, and with considerable grace. Here is an example of his prose:

"Squall by squall the wind grew fiercer and the sea heavier. Through a rift in the clouds the moon shone out on the stormy sea and for two minutes revealed the ghostly white uplands and glaciers of the island. Another squall blotted everything out. We heard whales blow right alongside. They may have been killers, but, whatever they were, a push from one of them would have capsized us. If they were killers we would have had a quicker end. Soon to our great relief they left us for some nobler quarry than dirty smelly little men in Burberry overalls".

It is amazing that in the midst of a Herculean struggle for survival the author was able to take note of beauty in what must have been a living hell, and to describe it so elegantly. Here for example, is his description of icebergs, "All the strange fantastic shapes rose and fell in a stately cadence, with a rustling, whispering sound and hollow echoes to the thudding seas, clear green at the water line, shading to a deep dark blue far below, all snowy purity and cool blue shadows above".

This combination of gripping action and poetic insight makes for a richly rewarding read.

Highly recommended.

This was an engrossing account of a most harrowing adventure. I couldn't put it down! Now I made the mistake of loaning it out and may have to buy another copy for my library!