Adventure, shipwreck, storms and survival on the high seas.
ENDURANCE is the story of one of the most astonishing feats of exploration and human courage ever recorded. In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail for the South Atlantic on board a ship called the Endurance. The object of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice.
For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways on one of the most savage regions of the world. This utterly gripping book, based on first-hand accounts of crew members and interviews with survivors, describes how the men survived, how they lived together in camps on the ice for 17 months until they reached land, how they were attacked by sea leopards, the diseases which they developed, and the indefatigability of the men and their lasting civility towards one another in the most adverse conditions conceivable.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
If Scott's deification was almost instantaneous, Shackleton's descent into obscurity was more of a slow fade than a sudden death. He achieved a certain amount of acclaim when South, his own account of the Expedition, was published, but his legend seemed to die with him when he suffered a fatal heart attack on another trip south in 1922. His memory deserved much better. Not only was he a far better explorer than Scott, both in terms of his technical and man management capabilities, but the story of the Transantarctic expedition read like an epic out of a Boys Own annual. With his boat crushed, he led his men across the pack-ice, sailed them in open boats to Elephant Island. Once he realised there was no chance of rescue, he and four crew mates sailed a further 600 miles across the southern ocean to South Georgia where they were shipwrecked. The five men then made the first crossing of the island to reach the whaling station at Stromness. Three attempts and three and a half months later, Shackleton returned to Elephant Island to pick up the remaining men. Not a single member of either party was lost.
So we have Lansing to largely thank for Shackleton's rehabilitation. But herein lies the problem. Shackleton's story has been now been so well told both in books--especially Roland Huntford's definitive biography, and in film and TV, that even though Lansing's thrilling account, making liberal use of the diaries of several expedition members, was the first to be published it now feels all terribly familiar and adds nothing to what we already know. Even Frank Hurley's exquisite photographs which illustrate the book now engender a slight feeling of déjà vu--not least because they have already been better reproduced in a single volume published by Bloomsbury. But Lansing deserves his day in the snow and no polar library would be complete without this book. And if, by any chance, you've never previously read a word about Shackleton, this is as good a place as any to start. --John Crace
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 3.19
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. New item in gift quality condition. 99% of orders arrive in 4-10 days. Discounted shipping on multiple books. Seller Inventory # mon0001239384
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 1453405-n
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780753809877
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0753809877xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail for the South Atlantic on board a ship called the Endurance. The object of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways on one of the most savage regions of the world. This utterly gripping book, based on firsthand accounts of crew members and interviews with survivors, describes how the men survived, how they lived together in camps on the ice for 17 months until they reached land, how they were attacked by sea leopards, had to kill their beloved dogs whom they could no longer feed, the diseases which they developed (an operation to amputate the foot of one member of the crew was carried out on the ice), and the extraordinary indefatigability of the men and their lasting civility towards one another in the most adverse conditions conceivable. A narrative of a feat of exploration and human courage. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780753809877
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. In stock ready to dispatch from the UK. Seller Inventory # mon0000068201
Book Description Condition: New. pp. 304. Seller Inventory # 5282892
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Adventure, shipwreck, storms and survival on the high seas. Seller Inventory # B9780753809877
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Seller Inventory # 9780753809877-GDR
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 738f85c3ece435f5cd7d0025db61333c