Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
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Book Reviews of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Book Review: amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, I know I'm just another one, continuing the string of raving reviews, but I couldn't resist putting my two cents in. This truly is an incredible adventure story. Growing up in the comfort of the late 20th century, it was nearly impossible for me to even try to place myself in the situation described in the book: a man and his crew, struggling for their lives in one of the harshest environments on earth, with the knowledge that no help from the outside is coming, the outside world not even being aware of the predicament. I imagine it would be hard for a great deal of us to understand the feeling of having one's very life in their own hands, having to survive solely on one's own mental and physical strength, and that of the few companions that become one's entire world. At times the whole thing feels like too much; I had to remind myself that this really happened, people really survived this, otherwise I would have started to assume it was straight out of Hollywood.The book is well researched and well written by Lansing, and the use of journal entries and interviews makes the crew become real people, rather than just names. The story of Ernest Shackleton and his crew is one of the greatest adventure stories I know of, in book, film, or any other form.
Book Review: Gripping, harrowing, triumphant
Summary: 5 Stars
The story of the ill-fated 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, bent on glory, but ultimately humbled to the barest thread of survival. The Endurance becomes locked in an ice pack in the Weddell Sea, and is eventually crushed and sunk. The ship goes screaming into the icy deep. The men scurry for safety onto the surrounding ice. And that's just the beginning. I'm frankly surprised ANYONE survived this horrendous ordeal; if this were a novel, I'd say it's far-fetched. But it happened, and all hands survived. Imagine an acute scarcity of food, months on end in darkness, an interminable landscape of featureless whiteness, no sanitary facilities, and all through this you're cold and wet, and it's windy, and the temperature's below zero. You eat your sled dogs. You're nauseated from undercooked food. Your face and hands are frostbitten. You shiver even in your sleep. And no one knows you're marooned. Your only escape is to travel by open boat through the gale-wracked Drake Passage-the most treacherous body of water on Earth. Imagine your fingers are frozen numb, and yet you must chip off ice from the sail, and raise the sail, and tie the lines fast. Otherwise you'll sink and die. These men did the impossible-and they lived to tell about it.Book Review: One of the finest adventure chronicles ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazing, awe-inspiring, gripping. Expertly explores the immensity of the human spirit. Condenses a huge subject matter into a heart-stopping escape. Ideal as a vehicle for getting anyone interested in the history of polar exploration. The Best of the Best.
It's been years since I last read this account, but it still causes me to shiver when I recall the adventure of the men of the Endurance.
It is mind-boggling that men such as these existed less than 100 years ago. Daring, heroic, determined, and intelligent...and caught up in a time before the widespread use of some of our most common and powerful technologies...like internal combustion engines and instant communications...their story is practically without equal in the annals of adventure writing.
Whenever I feel I am having a difficult time, I think back to this story and these events, and it certainly helps me to put things in perspective.
People who have never known a time without radio, motorized travel, telephones, 911, or rescue helicopters will hardly be able to believe the true events chronicled in this book.
A more exciting, tension-filled, true-life chronicle will be very difficult to find.
Book Review: Top Adventure of All Time!
Summary: 5 Stars
Without a doubt Lansing's book chronicles the top adventure of all time! Rarely, if ever, in the history of survivability have so few men battled so many challenges. A classic Londonian "man vs. nature" theme immediately thrusts the reader into the heart of this quest. The technological advances enjoyed by modern action/adventure "extreme" explorers always seem to fall short of Shackleton's journey given his resources at the time. A true test of personal perseverance--the adventurers simultaneously endure being wet, cold, hungry, and abandoned without hope of rescue in a barren, desolate area of the world. There are so many things to like about this adventure, particularly noteworthy, however, is Shackleton's reliance on his leadership ability not only to motivate but also select the right people at the right time to do the right task. Some may view the whole quest as foolhardy to begin with and therefore dismiss it with a wave of the hand, but remember this--the truest test of a man's spirit may indeed be his ability climb out of a situation spiraling out of control while all the while maintaining steadfast integrity. In my view--> The Top Adventure of All Time--5 Stars!Book Review: a must read
Summary: 5 Stars
Forgive the cliches, excuse the platitudes. This tome is a must read. This story proves beyond any doubt that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. If it were a work of fiction, nobody would buy into it. What happened to the men of this expedition far transcends any reality we could possiblly comprehend. The men of this ill fated Antarctic expedition endured more hardship in any one week over an almost two year period than one would think even a super human being could handle. Day after day; week after weeek, month after month in miserable condtions, never knowing what misfourtune the next day would bring and all the while knowing that nobody else in the world knew they were even alive. I highly, highly recommend this incredible story of human courage. UNDAUNTED COURAGE by Steven Ambrose is also a great testament to the spirit of human survival, but ENDURANCE is even better, and believe me, as a huge fan of Ambrose, I do not make that statement without great thought and introspection.
It's been a while since I read ENDURANCE, but it still astounds and inspires me. Read this book. Pass it on to a friend. You will never regret it; you will never forget it.