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I have always been
fascinated by the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance expedition.
For years, the dramatic story of this triumphant failure has been largely forgotten, but
now a sort of Shackleton revival is underway. Learn about the Endurance saga in
these excellent books:
The Endurance by Caroline
Alexander tells the story of the expedition, beautfully illustrated by the photography of
Frank Hurley, the official expedtion photographer. Although every book about the
expedition features at least some of Hurley’s magnificent photographs, this one is
packed with them, and they compliment the text perfectly. A must-have.
The expedition told in
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s own words. Shackleton was a man of great courage and a leader
of rare qualities. After the disaster of being frozen into the pack ice and having the Endurance
crushed and sunk, Shackleton saved every single one of his men.
The above edition is a
trade paperback; this is a somewhat less expensive pocket paperback edition of South.
Heart of the
Antarctic is Shackleton’s book about his earlier expedition, in which he and
three others came within 100 miles of the South Pole. This appears to be a facsimile
edition of the original printing, but the appendices detailing the scientific discoveries
of the expedition have been left out. Also, the choice of a picture of the Endurance
for the cover is a curious one.
Frank Worsley was the
captain of Shackleton’s ship Endurance. After the ship was crushed and sunk
Worsley’s excellent navigation and skill at sailing small boats proved absolutely
vital in the success of the small boat journey to South Georgia island across the roughest
seas in the world. An enthralling story of one of the greatest adventures of the 20th
century.
Endurance is
Frank Worsley’s more complete account of the expedition, beginning when Shackleton
laconically informed him, “What the ice gets, it keeps” (the horrified
Worsley’s first knowledge that his ship was going to be crushed to death in the ice),
through the long trek to Elephant Island, an abbreviated account of the boat journey to
South Georgia, and some of Worsley’s adventures in World War One (in command of a
Q-ship, he rammed and sank a German U-boat) and his final expedition with Shackleton after
the war. The original preface by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe is worth reading, but
the publishers evidently felt that to be trendy they had to get Patrick O’Brian of
the tedious, tendentious, boring, and subliminally homoerotic Aubrey/Maturin series of sea
stories to contribute a “modern” and disturbingly error-ridden introduction.
Ignore that; enjoy Worsley.
Shackleton is
Roland Huntford’s excellent biography of the great explorer and covers his entire
career from his early days in the British merchant service through his quest for the South
Pole with Sir Robert Falcon Scott, the tragic Endurance expedition, and his final
expedition aboard the Quest, during which he died and was buried on South
Georgia, scene of his greatest triumph.
In closing, here are some words by Frank Worsley about
Shackleton, from his book Shackleton’s Boat Journey:
“Six years later, when looking at
Shackleton’s grave and the cairn which we, his comrades, erected to his memory on a
wind-swept hill of South Georgia, I meditated on his great deeds. It seemed to me that
among all his achievements and triumphs, great as they were, his one failure was the most
glorious. By self-sacrifice and throwing his own life into the balance he saved every one
of his men—not a life was lost—although at times it had looked unlikely that one
could be saved. His outstanding characteristics were his care of, and anxiety for the
lives and well-being of his men.”
In enervated times like these, we can
not go far wrong than to learn from the courageous example of men like Shackleton and
Worsley.
If you’re interested in learning more about Sir Ernest Shackleton, visit my Shackleton site at Sir Ernest Shackleton.
