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stonypockets's review
4.0
I picked up this book by accident, thinking it was the Alfred Lansing account. I ended up reading them both, and am glad I had this version, from the Nat'l History Museum, to supplement the other. About a third of it is pictures, and they are amazing. The other, more famous book has only 4 or 5 slides. The text is very similar, with the Lansing version being a little bit more readable. An interesting tidbit I got from my chance reading of this book is that one of the famous pictures from the ordeal, called 'The Rescue,' (showing a boat approaching the island where the men were marooned, the men's arms raised in cheers, victory) was actually the complete opposite scenario, 'The Departure.' It was the men seeing off Shackleton in his valiant attempt to cross 850 miles of open ocean in essentially a big rowboat to reach a less remote island. The photographer thought he needed a more climactic picture of their rescue. But the author made a good point about the truth being much more compelling than the fiction. Here these men are, after about a year and a half of enduring the harshest environment on our planet, knowing that not a soul on the earth knows where they are, and how all their hopes of survival rest on this little dingy, practically a suicide mission, and they are still able to raise their fists in a sailors' cheer. It's bravery in the face of such desperation and resignation.
jwilder's review
5.0
I read this book obsessively, possessed by the unfathomable, epic story of the 27 men who set out in late 1914 on the eve of World War with the goal of completing the first land crossing of Antarctica. Just when you think their saga cannot possibly become any more insane, it does so, and then does so again, with the result that any hopes you might have had of leisurely reading this book over the course of multiple sittings are dashed completely, and you’re stuck there with the explorers, seemingly physically, until the bitter end.
Many of the crew journaled assiduously throughout the entirety of their journey, and the author has woven their voices into the text seamlessly. Those, plus the incredible photographs of Frank Hurley, bring their ordeal to life.
Theirs is easily one of the most impressive survival feats in human history, and the author does their story justice and then some. Plus, Alexander has done a great job enabling the reader to get to know many of the crew besides just Shackleton, and their quirks and personalities made a gripping story all the more captivating.
I likewise appreciated that the author treated her subjects objectively, Shackleton in particular. He was a complex character and she pulls no punches.
An excellent, riveting read. Cannot recommend enough.
Many of the crew journaled assiduously throughout the entirety of their journey, and the author has woven their voices into the text seamlessly. Those, plus the incredible photographs of Frank Hurley, bring their ordeal to life.
Theirs is easily one of the most impressive survival feats in human history, and the author does their story justice and then some. Plus, Alexander has done a great job enabling the reader to get to know many of the crew besides just Shackleton, and their quirks and personalities made a gripping story all the more captivating.
I likewise appreciated that the author treated her subjects objectively, Shackleton in particular. He was a complex character and she pulls no punches.
An excellent, riveting read. Cannot recommend enough.
nycsquirrel's review
5.0
Shackleton's expedition is legendary for a reason -- every time the crew survives something phenomenally difficult they're presented with the next round which would seem to be unsurvivable. Printed to accompany what must have been an incredible exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, Alexander does a great job of weaving the men's diaries of their experiences with Frank Hurley's incredible glass plate photos (how remarkable that either survived the journey) to create a fascinating tale of an expedition which occurred without much notice as WWI happened on the other side of the world, but which has since garnered the attention it deserves.
jmg_pacheco's review against another edition
4.0
En la segunda de encierro, y por la inspiración de @sebas_alvaro, empapado en la colosal aventura de Shackleton ––muy recomendable ahora–– con el magnífico relato de Caroline Alexander y fotografías de Frank Hurley, junto al capítulo de la expedición en «Al filo de lo imposible».
brianbegan's review
3.0
Reading about the hardship and adventure these people went through was interesting. But like the title, it took some endurance to read. It was quite understated and dry despite the impressive adventure.
karlenehe's review
2.0
I really like this story but Caroline Alexander does not capture the feeling I had when I first read the story. Too many details on every person and not enough emotion.
nkmeyers's review
5.0
The exhibition catalog for the exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History is more than a coffee-table book, this beautifully photo illustrated history of the Endurance expedition is a must read/must see for anyone interested in the history of polar exploration.
Alexander, who writes so ably and knowledgeably about polar exploration also recently penned The Race to the South Pole in National Geographic's Sept 2011 issue.
Illustrations and photos like this one by Herbert Ponting below from National Geographic collection, as well as many others from the National Library of Norway's Picture Collection & The Royal Geographical Society help Alexander bring the article's age of exploration back to life for today's readers:
Photograph by Herbert Ponting, National Geographic Stock
More about this photo at National Geographic
Alexander, who writes so ably and knowledgeably about polar exploration also recently penned The Race to the South Pole in National Geographic's Sept 2011 issue.
Illustrations and photos like this one by Herbert Ponting below from National Geographic collection, as well as many others from the National Library of Norway's Picture Collection & The Royal Geographical Society help Alexander bring the article's age of exploration back to life for today's readers:
Photograph by Herbert Ponting, National Geographic Stock
More about this photo at National Geographic
barbarahowe's review
5.0
On 5 December 1914, a ship, aptly named The Endurance, set out from South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic with twenty-eight men aboard—sailors, scientists, explorers, and a photographer. The leader of the expedition, Sir Ernest Shackleton, intended for the ship to set him and his exploring party ashore at Vahsel Bay in the Weddell Sea, and from there to cross Antarctica on foot. If they had succeeded, it would have been one of history’s last great feats of exploration. They never reached the continent. The pack ice in the Weddell Sea never broke up in that southern summer, and by the middle of January 1915, the Endurance was trapped in it.
The story of the next twenty months is an epic tale of survival against the odds. They drifted on the currents for hundred of miles before the ship was crushed by the ice in October 1915, then camped on ice floes, crossed open ocean in lifeboats, and endured storms, starvation, hypothermia, and frostbite. Miraculously, all twenty-eight men survived.
The account of that saga includes true events that, if this was a work of fiction, would have you shaking your head and thinking, Oh no, you can’t expect me to believe that. The accompanying photographs—remarkable in themselves for surviving a journey in an open lifeboat and months buried in snow—help bring the story to life. We see these men as real people, and glimpse the grandeur and bitter cold of the Antarctic.
The book raises questions about the wisdom of the expedition’s aims, and their readiness for Antarctic conditions, but the focus is on Ernest Shackleton’s leadership abilities, and what it took to bring all of them home. In the end, this is more than just an adventure story, it is a paean to the human spirit.
This review was first published in This Need to Read
The story of the next twenty months is an epic tale of survival against the odds. They drifted on the currents for hundred of miles before the ship was crushed by the ice in October 1915, then camped on ice floes, crossed open ocean in lifeboats, and endured storms, starvation, hypothermia, and frostbite. Miraculously, all twenty-eight men survived.
The account of that saga includes true events that, if this was a work of fiction, would have you shaking your head and thinking, Oh no, you can’t expect me to believe that. The accompanying photographs—remarkable in themselves for surviving a journey in an open lifeboat and months buried in snow—help bring the story to life. We see these men as real people, and glimpse the grandeur and bitter cold of the Antarctic.
The book raises questions about the wisdom of the expedition’s aims, and their readiness for Antarctic conditions, but the focus is on Ernest Shackleton’s leadership abilities, and what it took to bring all of them home. In the end, this is more than just an adventure story, it is a paean to the human spirit.
This review was first published in This Need to Read