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South: The Endurance Expedition

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The names of a couple of other members of the crew have gone down in exploration history. Frank Worsley, captain of the Endurance, did a mind-boggling job of navigating first to Elephant Island and then on to South Georgia, using minimal equipment and water-logged charts, and compensating for frequent unintended changes in direction resulting from the 80 MPH winds that roared through the region. And the photos taken by Frank Hurley are gorgeous, bringing a level of reality to an event that may be hard to comprehend.

Al poco de adentrarse en el mar de Weddell, el Endurance quedó atrapado en una banquisa de hielo. Todos los esfuerzos de salir de esa prisión fueron en vano, después de meses intentándolo, la naturaleza engulló el barco. Así empieza la aventura, así empieza el libro. He was constantly thinking about his men, and how to keep their spirits up, and how to keep them working together as a team.

It’s difficult to write about this book without discussing the outcome of the voyage. So if you don’t already know what happened to the crew of the Endurance, and you don’t want to know at this time, stop here – just know that it’s a great book. On November 21, 1915, 25 days after leaving the ship to camp up on the ice, Endurance was briefly raised by the ice sheets, and then sunk below the surface. Within 10 minutes the ice had closed over the opening... A truly inspirational saga of men prevailing over seemingly impossible odds and nightmarish conditions and making this sacrifice at the alter of the human need for exploration and the conquering of the unknown. I chose Endurance to add symmetry to my list. Earlier this year I read In the Kingdom of Ice, Hampton Sides' excellent book about a doomed expedition to the North Pole, and I thought I should balance the hemispheres by reading about a South Pole expedition. Lansing's book was highly rated by GR friends, and justifiably so. Alfred Lansing’s writing is first rate and the book’s structure is impeccable, especially toward the end where the author presents first the story of the 22 men on Elephant Island, and then relates what happened on the trip to South Georgia and the rescue efforts. I listened to an audio version, and Simon Prebble’s narration was spot-on.

And old Norwegian whaler recorded the scene when the three men stood before the station manager Thoralf Sørlle:Holy persevering manliness Batman, I was wincing, shuddering and cringing just reading about this ordeal from the creaturey comfort of my toasty, warm bed while maintaining a glass of wine within reaching distance. Now I’m not a non-fiction, survival story expert, but this has to be pretty close to the absolute limit of human endurance, both physically and psychologically. This is one of the stories that will reset your perspective on what the human animal is capable of and I highly recommend you avail yourself of the opportunity to reboot your mind-set. This really is an amazing adventure story. I'd even go so far as to say that were I to have been told that this was a work of fiction I'd have dismissed it as overblown and way too far fetched to be believable. The story is brilliantly told and I enjoyed it all the more for having had no pre-knowledge of these events. It's been pieced together from first hand accounts handed down through interviews with members of the crew and from diary entries (some of the crew kept diaries throughout the ordeal). I found myself totally gripped by this account. The terrible conditions the crew faced and the many acts of daring, bravery and stoicism reported here are truly humbling.

I can't recommend this enough for anyone remotely interested in the power of human spirit, endurance, optimism and determination. An Antarctic survival story which would never have been accepted if it were written as fiction. Prior to reading Sir Ernest Shakelton’s harrowing voyage aboard the Endurance I knew few facts other than he obviously survived to pen his memoir. The environment is expertly portrayed and transports the reader directly into the scene. I drank lots of hot tea during the reading of Endurance. The author also renders an excellent picture of the day-to-day life of these people, including how the men live, pass the time, and work to keep their spirits up when not on the seas. It is no spoiler to say that this is a story of survival – that fact is known to the reader at the outset. The story is well told and conveyed by Lansing, who had access to surviving ships logs and crew diaries – he also interviewed at length surviving members of the crew of the ‘Endurance’. For those not familiar with the journey, it all began on a relatively small, sea- going vessel. Ernest Shakleton was a man on a mission. He wanted to not just reach the South Pole- something that had already been done- but to traverse the entire Antarctic continent. He wanted to be the first person to accomplish such a feat, and he was bound and determined to make his goal a reality.The book, as the expedition, is a sobering, frightening story of unrelenting suffering, challenges on a super-human scale, seemingly unrelenting and insurmountable obstacles, overwhelming odds against survival; but ultimately it’s very much truly inspirational story of hope, of never giving up. It’s a story about man’s incredible capacity for survival. Preston, Diana (1997). A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions. London: Constable & Co. ISBN 0-09-479530-4. This is a slow burner of a read but at the same time compelling and intense. What amazing courage and stamina these men had, they must have had nerves and bodies of steel and withstand so much. Main article: Voyage of the James Caird Launching the James Caird from the shore of Elephant Island, 24 April 1916

Between the general reference section and the exploration books I’ve squeezed in two non-fiction books, one by the socialist JB Askew and one by Alfred Dreyfuss. Koehn, Nancy (2017). Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times. New York: Scribner. p.38. ISBN 978-1501174445. I listened to the audiobook and the narration by Simon Prebble was excellent. I delayed this review until I could borrow the 100th edition Endurance. I'm glad that I waited for the ebook, but I almost missed the photographs in the "inserts." Added poignancy came from the images of the men and the animals. Unfortunately, despite such an obvious embarrassment of riches when it comes to descriptive narrative possibilities, this was as good as it got.I'm a wimp. I'm spoiled. I would never make it in a catastrophe. I whine when the air conditioner goes out on a hot day, or the power goes out, leaving me with no lights or stove upon which to cook.

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