Customer Reviews

Shackleton's Forgotten Men: The Untold Tale of an Antarctic Tragedy

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I have read many Artic and Antartic books and this is very high on my list. Bickel's style is compelling without being overly technical. The saga that these men went through to lay depots for their "boss" (Shackleton) is just as amazing as the Endurance story.

Although modern writers discussing the events of the Endurance expedition have indeed pretty much forgotten this side of the expedition, it should be pointed out that Sir Ernest Shackleton himself covered it in his own book "South." Bickel has used recently found documentation and other materials to put together the complete tale of the Ross Sea Party of the Endurance expedition. After their ship Aurora was pulled away from her moorings by a storm, the men left on shore brilliantly improvised stores and equipment to lay the depots required for the planned crossing the Antarctic continent. During their sledging journeys one man died, and the survivors had to struggle to save two more (who ultimately were lost through their own foolishness in crossing sea ice when a storm threatened). All in all this is a valuable contribution to the story of the Endurance expedition. I also very highly recommend "Mawson's Will" by the same author.

A well written work that reads like a novel about the members of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party whose mission it was to lay food and supply depots for Shackleton's crossing of Antarctica. The brave men united by adversity, experience such unimaginable hardships, that as the reader I found myself rooting for these brave and courageous men to abandon their mission and save themselves. Their persistance to carry on and complete their mission while enduring every suffering possible of the Antarctic is testament to the true character and grit of these men. For anyone who has read any of the published "ENDURANCE" works this book is a must read. The adventure will not be complete until you read this bone chilling tale of the human spirit, unbroken.

If you are a Shackleton fan, then this book is sure to delight you. The epic of Endurance has been given the most publicity but this story is every bit as captivating. These men, who had the responsibility to place food and supply depots for Shackleton's intended journey across Antarctica, endured hardship beyond description. They were totally dedicated to their task and their devotion to Shackleton is heartwarming. It proves, once again, his leadership prevailed even though he was almost 2,000 miles away from them. The writer gives a good insight into each of the characters and, as you read, you will feel you are enduring the journey yourself. It is without a doubt, one of the greatest stories of survival and a tribute to the toughness of the human spirit to prevail.

Having read about Shackleton several years ago I am glad to see more interest in this amazing story and people looking at Shackleton's leadership which was incredible.

I am troubled by one thing though, in almost everything I have seen and read (such as the Nova special, Caroline Alexander's Book, and Alfred Lansing's book) there is almost no mention about the crew on the other side of the Antarctica. In Shackleton's South, he wrote about checking on the men, but never went into the hardship they faced. I was disturbed that the Nova special did not even mention there was a crew laying supplies on the other side.

In some ways, I actually think their story is more amazing the story of the crew of the Endurance. The crew was to lay supplies almost to the pole and then one night a storm came in a blew the ship back out to sea and then the men on shore had a very small fraction of the supplies from the ship. They still had to lay depots for Shackleton as they did not know there were not going to make it. At one point in the book, the men start out on a sledging journey that to this day holds, the record for the longest trip in both miles and time.

If you are really into Shackleton, you MUST read about the other half of the story in this book.

I had read of Scott and Amundson but, I confess, I was not well-versed on Shackleton. I enjoyed this account of his other crew, the ones who were there to set up supply bases for the second half of his journey accross Antarctica. This book was based on the personal accounts of the participants, some recently discovered. It is a good overview of the Shacklton quest and it leaves the reader with a chill and an appreciation of the sacrifices these men suffered through. It seems incomprehensible that some of these men survived at all. Their ship disappeared in a storm leaving them with less than adequate provisions and no contact with the outside world. I was surprized that Scott's shelters, built some years earlier, were still is satisfactory condition. I discovered that it is best not to be in the same room where seal blubber is being fried. I was impressed with the story of these men's determination to get the job done even though they surely knew that their names were not going to go down in history. Of course, the reader is struck with the irony of knowing that their work was all to support a journey that would never take place. I thought this story was well-told with imagery that gave us a sense of the privations of the men.

This is the story of the less well known tragedy of the other ship involved in Shackleton's Antarctic expedition.
I could not put this book down, the stories of the men were so amazing, and even though just about everything that could have gone wrong did, these men struggled on, because they knew that Shackleton was counting on them, and they did not want to fail.
Hero is a word that could certainly apply here.

Rather than rehash what previous reviewers have already said, this book for me was very difficult to put down. Bickel does a great job of pulling the reader into the harshest environment on the planet by recounting the incredible physical and psychological barriers Shackleton's depot team had to endure to lay stores and supplies for Shackleton's ill-fated attempt to cross the continent.

The book is a chronicle to not only the incredible courage, loyalty, and physical stamina exhibited by these brave explorers, but to a lesser degree that glorious era of exploration and the final throes of the British Empire.

As a former research oceanographer, I identified with detailed descriptions of the journey over hostile waters. In the mid-80s while working on my MS degree in geochemistry, I was on the waiting list to work in Antaractica for six months to retrieve recently discovered Martian meteorites embedded in ice fields. I probably would have changed my mind had I read this book if it was available then.

Too many books and movies about Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance expidition end with Shackleton reaching South Georgia Island and returning to rescue his crew of Endurance. This book chronicles the story of the party who was to lay Shackleton's supply depots for his cross-Antarctic journey, a journey he never made. These men in many ways had an even harder task than Shackleton's party. They not only had responsibility for their own well-being, but (as far as they knew) Shackleton's as well. This book is a riviting account of their harrowing journey and what Shackleton found when he went back for THEM after rescuing his own crew. This book will make all other accounts of Shackleton's Endurance expidition seem incomplete.

Many people know of Ernest Shackleton's tragic Antartic expedition. His ship, the Endurance, becomes trapped in the ice and is eventually crushed. Shackleton and his men, make there way back to civilization through Shackleton's efforts. However, not many people know about the other group of men involved in that same expedition.

On the other side of Antartica, on the Great Ross Ice Shelf, a group of ten men sail and set up camp. Their task is to set up a number of supply depots for Shackleton's team. Once they cross the South Pole, the team would be abel to resupply at the depots established by this other team of men.

Unfortunately, their ship is lost and they are trapped. The fate of the Endurance is unknown to them and they struggle to complete there assigned tasks. It is a tale is suffering and incredible human endurance.