South [Paperback]

Ernest Shackleton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 1999

Shackleton's South is one of the great books of exploration. written by a national hero, about what he called 'the last great journey on earth' - his Antarctic expedition in which then Endurance was crushed by the ice, and he and his men made a 600-mile trek across ice and ocean to solid land, and then a 700-mile journey in an open boat to South Georgia, followed by an epic crossing of the uncharted mountains of that island. His account is superbly written, and the book has never ceased to enthral readers since it was first published in 1919. Since that time, however, Shackleton's life - and his account of the expedition - have been dramatically revalued by scholars and biographers, and it emerges that South conceals much of the truth about his great feat. In this edition Peter King, who has examined the latest research on the entire episode, presents in his additional notes a much more detailed picture of what really occurred. In addition, the book contains over a hundred beautifully produced photographs by Frank Hurley, the official photographer of the expedition as well as other contemporary illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sir Ernest Shackleton, who was born in Ireland, became one of the great explorers of his day, itself a golden age for British Exploration. He was a member of Robert Falcom Scott's Antarctic expedition of 1901-04, and in 1907-9 he commanded an expedition that came within a hundred miles of the South Pole (first reached by Amundsen in 1911), located near the magnetic pole, and climbed Mount Erebus. His attempt in 1914-16 to cross the Antarctic is described in this book. He died on board the Quest, on his fourth exhibition to the area in 1922. Peter King has edited a number of travel books, principally those of George Nathaniel Curzon, whose writing included the classic Persia. Together with Maria Aitken, he has also written about Lady Travellers. His biographies include a study of Curzon and Kitchener in India.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Random House (November 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0712664122
• ISBN-13: 978-0712664127
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,680,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Shackleton, Ernest

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literally Chilling!, March 14, 2001

By 

Patrick Woosley (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-17 (Paperback)

My good friend Antonia Martin just gave me this book for my birthday. Antonia, you are an absolute Treasure!

I have become fascinated with the Shackleton story, not only for the awesome testament to dogged determination to succeed in the face of seemingly daunting odds that it is, but because apparently my Grandfather knew him quite well and worked on the planning of the journey back in London. Somewhere we have a signed original of the book from 1919 amongst Mother's belongings, back in England.

This is a bone chilling visual and literary step by aching step trudge through the most inhospitable place on Earth. As the Endurance, their ship, died so their own endurance was born. And what an endurance that was!

As my eyes wander the pages in the warm comfort of bed my mind is wind-whipped by the Antarctic blasts Shackleton and his team ultimately survived! It is quite simply one of the most amazing stories it has ever been my pleasure to absorb. I am in awe of the achievement described and pictured in this book.

Everybody should read it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book with pictures, January 11, 2007

By 

Edward Davey "decembereveryday" - See all my reviews

This review is from: South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-17 (Paperback)

I'm rather obsessed with Antarctic exploration at the moment, and reading material is harder to come by than I had first anticipated. This book has many good pictures and lots of diary entries, etc, from Shakleton and others. Well worth it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting at times, but the writing is lacking, January 17, 2010

By 

Eugenia A. Van Bremen "avid reader" (nyc, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-17 (Paperback)

I think I've been spoilt by reading dramatic non-fiction like Capote's In Cold Blood. This book came across as very dry to me. There was some good writing, but much of it was tedious, as parts were a day-to-day chronicle of Shackleton's expedition in the South. Interesting, from a historical perspective, but it gives the book a strung-together-with-pedantic-filler feeling.

The description of the book that I read implied that there would be more discussion as to exactly why the expedition had problems. Although many of those issues are mentioned, it wasn't as in depth as I expected. Perhaps the historical documentation used to fill the book out wasn't as rich as the author originally anticipated. Whatever happened, the result is a book that feels choppy and stilted in too many places.

There were some excellent pictures, and parts of the book were briefly exciting, but it was an uninspiring read overall.