Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (by Alfred Lansing)
I probably would have paid attention in my high school history class if they taught us about Sir Ernest Shackleton and his impressive voyage on the Endurance. This is an unbelievable story, and one that Alfred Lansing tells superbly in his book, Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage.
My interest in Shackleton and the Endurance began with an episode on the television show, Histories Greatest Mysteries. A crew was searching for the lost Endurance and the episode told the harrowing tale of Shackleton and his crew. A trailer of that episode is provided below.
I was intrigued by the story and wanted to know more details so I purchased the book, Endurance by Alfred Lansing, through my Audible subscription. I certainly learned a lot from this book. Shackleton, an expedition leader, was determined to reach the South Pole and establish a base on Antarctica’s Weddell Sea Coast. He and his crew of 27 men and 69 dogs set sail on December 5, 1914. They were to be the first to cross the continent.
Their adventure was troublesome with constantly being trapped in pack ice that made their progress extremely slow. On January 18, 1915, the Endurance became permanently stuck in the pack ice. Initially, they waited out the winter weather on the ship. Once the pack ice began damaging the ship, Shackleton and his crew had no choice but to abandon the Endurance. They established a camp on the ice floe, always intending to get to land. Navigating the ever changing ice floes and sailing in their smaller boats, Shackleton and his crew eventually reached Elephant Island, 497 days into their journey.
From there, Shackleton and five other men, set sail again for a whaling station 800 miles away. It took them 16 days. When they finally reached land, the weather had gotten them so far off course, they were on the opposite side of the island from where they intended. Shackleton and two men hiked, sometimes making progress, and sometimes having to retrace their steps until they finally reached the whaling station and all were rescued.
I’ve just provided you the gist of this unimaginable journey. It’s been widely publicized with television shows and news reports as the Endurance was finally discovered in 2022. Endurance, the book, will provide you with so much more information, and take you right into the lives of the men who fought extremely hard to survive. Alfred Lansing thoroughly did his research. Since everyone survived this expedition, people lived to tell their stories. They also kept journals, which provided valuable insight into their survival. I learned how they navigated the extreme weather conditions, hunted for food, and were forced to manage their dogs. The stories about the dogs broke my heart, and I understand the decisions they made. It wasn’t an easy decision. Learning about the roles different men played too, on the ship, and during survival was fascinating. They did an excellent job caring for each other. The conditions certainly took a toll on their attitudes. I would have been short-tempered, irritable, and disagreeable too. Hell, I probably wouldn’t have survived.
As I’ve previously mentioned, the Endurance has been found. Histories Greatest Mysteries produced another episode honoring this amazing discovery. I’ve included a trailer below for your continued viewing pleasure.
I don’t want to close out my book review with mentioning the audiobook narration by Simon Prebble. It was extremely good; he has the perfect voice for telling a story of this historic value.
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