South: The Endurance Expedition (Paperback)

by Ernest Shackleton (Author) "I HAD DECIDED to leave South Georgia about December 5, and in the intervals of final preparation scanned again the plans for the voyage to..." (more)
Key Phrases: percent blue whales, percent fin whales, transcontinental party, James Caird, Cape Evans, Hut Point (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Endurance Expedition 1914-1916. Sir Ernest Shackleton is considered by some authors as the greatest of all Antarctic explorers. Quite all his live was lived with the polar ice as a goal and even after his death, the destiny wanted him to be buried in the whaler s cemetery on South Georgia. The story of the Endurance expedition is as well an epic Antarctic adventure never rivaled by any other record of polar exploration during the so called Heroic Age. The Endurance was trapped in the pack ice for ten months until it was swallowed by the sea. The account of the rescue is extraordinary. This book is a facsimile from the 1919 edition. We included photographs taken by Frank Hurley, perhaps the photographer that left the most important work about an Antarctic expedition of all time. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451198808
• ISBN-13: 978-0451198808
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #518,946 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #11 in

  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( S ) > Shackleton, Ernest

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shackleton's own story of his famous expedition, June 12, 2000

By	Susan Paxton (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

Although there have been a number of new books and reprints recently focusing on the Endurance expedition, this is the one book everyone should read, Sir Ernest Shackleton's own story of the tragedy he turned into a triumph. Shackleton fully covers the expedition from its inception, through the loss of the Endurance, the stranding of the men on desolate Elephant Island, the majestic small-boat journey in search of rescue to South Georgia, the many attempts to evacuate the men from Elephant Island, and the little-known story of the Ross Sea Party of the expedition, who established a base on the opposite side of the Antarctic continent to lay depots for the planned Antarctic crossing and in spite of horrible deprivation caused when their ship was swept out to sea in a storm, managed to complete all their work laying the groundwork for a trip that never happened. After rescuing his men on Elephant Island, Shackleton had to rescue this party as well, something pretty much ignored in most modern books about the expedition. Very much worth reading; also read "Heart of the Antarctic," Shackleton's book about his earlier expedition.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, as much a story of community as courage, September 4, 2000

By	K. Percy "percyoak" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What is even more interesting than the astonishing day to day labor of mere survival in hostile elements, is the way in which these men kept up their morale, how they faced those chanllenges. Fascinating reading, every page describes hardships you can't imagine not being fatal, and yet it's written in humble and straightforward narrative. At one point when clearly they were near death from starvation, thirst, cold and exhaustion, and floundering through unmarked wilderness a last bid to reach civilization or die, he remarks merely, "We were very tired". Interestingly, at one point when he and three others are crossing a mountain pass in jeopardy of their lives on a 3 day trek trying to find a camp, each of them had the lingering feeling that there was a fourth person with them, but they only realized this when they compared notes after they reached safety. Again Shackleton refuses to sentimentalize the moment, even though he clearly believes God was literally guiding them, saying only that thanks must be given to the appropriate parties. This is dry English manliness of the type you rarely see except in parody anymore. What speaks best of these explorers qualities is that immediately after returning to civilization, after months of being in literal despair for their lives in unimaginable hardship, they rushed to enlist in the war. You'd think they would feel themselves entitled never to rise from a featherbed again. You would at least expect that their struggle for life in the rawest elements would have given them an aloof distance from mere human conflicts, or made them reluctant to kill other men. This book definitely has what The Perfect Storm lacked in excellent, tight, compelling narrative.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Adventure, July 19, 1999

By	Richard E. Meier (Houston) - See all my reviews

This is the most astounding tale of survival I can recall. They weren't stranded in the Antarctic for days or weeks, or even months, but years. I'd only say that it is impossible for a reader to fully comprehend the degree of misery and privation these men endured. How do you fully describe the experience of living for 22 months in a single set of clothes, on ice, in rotting reindeer hide sleeping bags? If you liked Jon Krakauer's book, you will love this. I read this account, as well as the version by Caroline Alexander, and would recommend this version. Although this version had some photographs, Alexander's version had more extensive photographs.