Customer Reviews

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

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There was a spate of Shackleton books, documentaries, and films not too long ago following the events of September 11, 2001. During that time, people couldn't get enough of the story of a man facing ridiculously insurmountable odds to save his men and return home from the Antarctic. Preceeding this surge in Shackleton love, this book appeared in 1998 and tells the story perfectly. I must admit that I fell in love with this book. Armstrong is a master here, breaking the monotony of the months the men spent waiting for the Endurance to be free from the ice flows by telling about the crew's practical jokes and games. The author is careful to include photographs only as they occur in the text. At the beginning of the trip, the ship's photographer takes a great many shots of life with the crew. Towards the end, photos are few and far between. In some books for children, this might be a huge drawback. Here, it works exceedingly well. The text grows more and more interesting as the photos diminish. I belive that if the author did not say right from the beginning that Shackleton and every single member of this crew survived, this book might be impossible to continue reading. The notes in the back are of some help, and the photos of the crew members are useful. What makes this book stands out is that it captures a group of people doing work that they are exceedingly good at. It is very satisfying to read about accomplished individuals. This book might or might not read well to children. I don't know how well it would do. Still, I would recommend it to anyone and pair it with books of fiction and non-fiction that deal with the Antarctic or exploration. The fact that this book wasn't given so much as a Newberry honor is an appalling fact.

The book Shipwreck at the bottom of the world is a very good book because it tells about the hardships Ernest Shackleton and his crew had to go through. This book tells their story in vivid detail and is very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and travel.

The tale of Ernest Shackleton and crew and their ill-fated South Pole expedition is an incredible one indeed. This version of that journey is spell-binding and certainly piques interest and anticipation. While Armstrong's "Shipwreck..." is basically an older children's book, it is great for adults as well. [Reviewer's note: The book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing provides a much more detailed version of this journey.] The photographs are bountiful and certainly contribute to the eerie realism of the challenges faced by this crew, vividly relaying the desperation of their predicament.

I was disturbed, however, by the author's commentary in one of the photo captions (see page 38 of the September 2000 paperback edition) where she takes extreme journalistic liberty regarding the early-century comedy practice, "blackface". Armstrong's thinly-veiled 'mini' "civil rights" commentary there is totally unnecessary and unprofessional. Her assertion does, however, illustrate the ease at which historical revisionism exerts itself. Such journalistic hubris reminds me of what Wrangler (Jean Company)did a few years ago in a sales advertisement when they air-brushed the cigarettes from the mouths of cowboys in a well-known, c. 1800's historical portrait. While it benefited them (Wrangler)to use the rugged "realism" of these cowboys, the "realism" of the current times (ie., anti-smoking) was not allowed---selective "truth", if you will (a Stalinesque technique). Only the politically correct version of history allowed here!

I picked up this book in the library two days ago wondering if I would enjoy it. My mom said to go ahead and check it out because she had enjoyed it and thought I would too. So I took it home and put it in my tape player. Boy, I can't stop listening to it. On our way up to our dog training class I couldnd't stop telling my mom about this, and that from the book. I would definetly reccomend this book to anyone who wants to read a GOOD BOOK.

I cannot tell you how fascinating this book was to me. I don't think I have ever read a book so fast. Very good I encourage anyone to read it.

This is the book that first got me interested in the misadventures of Shackleton and his crew. And I like to think this is what could get kids interested in a better-than-fiction adventure.

The events of the disaster are tackled in rather a heroic light, which should appeal to children. Besides, Shackleton and his men were certainly heroes. The book covers all the basics in an easy-but-remarkably-written expository text. Yet it reads almost like a story in parts, with lots of room for factoids, and that should attract both types of kids--those looking for a good story and those looking for facts. It's a great balance, and allows for a surprisingly emotional view of the situation.

The format is wonderful, too-- who doesn't like to look at pictures? It's almost remisiscent of a magazine, which adds to the appeal.

Great information, a great survival adventures, and perfectly packaged.

Wonderful, wonderful job.

This 1999 winner of the Orbis Pictus Award (given for outstanding nonfiction for children) is a detailed and well-researched account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's incredible 1914-1916 voyage to Antarctica. Jennifer Armstrong does an excellent job of creating interest all through the book, sharing interesting details about what the men ate, and the games and activities they use to passed the time. The book includes many photographs taken by the photographer on the expedition, giving a sense of realism and immediacy.

The author follows Shackleton's trip from England to South Georgia Island, then the failed attempt to get to the Antarctic continent. The ship becomes stuck in ice, but the ice migrates, moving the Endurance further north, toward the open ocean. Before they reach the sea the ice crushes the ship, forcing the men to abandon it. It is after the sinking of the Endurance that the narrative gets so exciting that the book is impossible to put down. The reader reads with growing horror of the crew's travail across the ice and out to tiny, barren Elephant Island.

When it seems that the men can't possibly have anything worse ahead of them, Shackleton and five men sail a small lifeboat eight hundred miles back to South Georgia Island. Armstrong's description of the harrowing fifteen days spent in the lifeboat holds the reader in a vise-like grip. She winds down the tension with a very satisfying epilogue relating what the crewmembers did with the rest of their lives. The captioned photograph at the end of the book showing the entire crew shortly after their return to civilization is a perfect touch.

Shipwreck at the bottom of the world was a very interesting book. I learned a lot about how it is hard to be part of a ships crew. I also learned about how cold the world really is and how to survive. I espically liked the part about the whales blubber and how they burn it to keep warm.

If you ever think your job is hard, or you feel like complaining about the traffic or the weather or that your Internet connection is slow, just stop. Stop and consider the ordeal and misery suffered by the 28 men on Ernest Shackleton's 1914-16 Antartic expedition.

Nothing will seem so bad then.

The Shackleton expedition is probably the greatest survival story ever. After their ship became trapped in ice, the men were forced to spend a winter aboard in the cold and darkness of Antarctic winter. Then their ship was crushed, and they were forced to drag their belongings across the ice by foot. Then things got bad.

They tried to pull their lifeboats across the ice to open water, but found it impossible. Food supplies dwindled and they survived by eating penguins and seals. The ice floes split beneath their feet. They were constantly cold and wet. Then things got worse.

They finally reached the ocean and survived a torcherous six-day ride across raging seas, with little sleep or drinking water, reaching a barren island with their throats parched with thirst. One man had frostbite on his toes. Then, six of them took an even more impossible voyage, a 16-day sail to reach help on South Georgia Island. But even when they got there, they weren't done -- they still had to climb a mountain range.

The Shackleton story has been told many times. This version, by Jennifer Armstrong, is aimed at youth readers, but anyone would enjoy it. The story here is enhanced by nice use of pictures. If you like this, you can move on to the longer, more detailed, books on the expedition.

This amazing story was made all the better for me with the pictures that were included in the book. I read parts of this book to sixth graders, and they loved seeing the pictures as I read the text. The straight forward story was great to read too. I've read other accounts of this adventure and thoroughly enjoyed this one the most.