Product Description

The legendary tale of Ernest Shackleton's grueling Antarctic expedition, recounted in riveting first-person detail by the captain of HMS Endurance. "You seriously mean to tell me that the ship is doomed?" asked Frank Worsley, commander of the Endurance, stuck impassably in Antarctic ice packs. "What the ice gets," replied Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition's unflappable leader, "the ice keeps." It did not, however, get the ship's twenty-five crew members, all of whom survived an eight-hundred-mile voyage across sea, land, and ice to South Georgia, the nearest inhabited island. First published in 1931, Endurance tells the full story of that doomed 1914-16 expedition and incredible rescue, as well as relating Worsley's further adventures fighting U-boats in the Great War, sailing the equally treacherous waters of the Arctic, and making one final (and successful) assault on the South Pole with Shackleton. It is a tale of unrelenting high adventure and a tribute to one of the most inspiring and courageous leaders of men in the history of exploration.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #155822 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780393319941
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
"If we were killed, at least we had done everything in our power to bring help to our shipmates. Shackleton was right. Our chance was a very small one indeed, but it was up to us to take it."

The voyage of HMS Endurance is legendary in the annals of polar exploration. In August 1914 the ship set sail for Antarctica, where she became trapped in the pack ice and eventually sank. The last of her stranded men were not rescued until August 30, 1916. Originally published in 1931, this tale by F.A. Worsley, captain of the Endurance, captures all the tension of the doomed expedition. Written in the first person, Worsley's prose makes you feel as if you were struggling alongside him as he watches two icebergs plowing their way through the pack ice toward their camp; desperately slides down an icy mountainside in pitch darkness, traveling some 3,000 feet in less than three minutes; and wrestles with the admiralty bureaucracy when trying to rescue the remainder of the crew. His relief is palpable when, after a series of setbacks, triumphs, and narrowly avoided disasters, all hands survive the two arduous years.

While this book is filled with adventures, its real strength is the highly affectionate portrait of Sir Ernest Shackleton, leader of the expedition to cross Antarctica, by his "good old Skipper." In Worsley's words, Shackleton "did the most dangerous things but did them in the safest way"--and his leadership and careful planning saved the lives of his men. Patrick O'Brian, author of the popular Aubrey-Maturin saga of the 19th-century English navy, has written a new introduction for this edition. Worsley's tale of survival against all odds will thrill sea dogs and landlubbers alike. --C.B. Delaney

Review
Worsley was continually at Shackleton's side, and he, in this long, very highly detailed book, is the man to write about him. -- Patrick O'Brian, author of "Master and Commander" and "Blue at the Mizzen"

About the Author
A native New Zealander, Frank A. Worsley served as a reserve officer in the Royal Navy before becoming captain of the Endurance. He commanded two ships in World War I, for which he was decorated, sailed with Shackleton again in 1921, and in 1925 was the joint leader of the British Arctic Exploration. Worsley died in 1943.

Customer Reviews

The greatest adventure of the 20th century
Frank Worsley starts his book just as he realizes that his ship Endurance is doomed to be crushed in the ice, and that's a good place to start, for the adventure was only about to begin. Worsley not only discusses the events of the Endurance expedition but his own adventures in WWI, during which his Q-ship rammed and sank a German U-boat and his final expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1922 aboard the Quest. Read this, also read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" also by Worsley, and of course Shackleton's own book "South." My only complaint about this new edition of Worsley's book is the addition of a preface by the tendentious, currently trendy, wildly overrated Patrick O'Brian, who clearly doesn't have the faintest idea what he's writing about. Read the original intro by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe, ignore O'Brian, and then learn what courage and leadership truly are.

6 Stars - Incredible strory, A Great Book
An absolutely unbelievable expedition and survival story. Cleary the greatest exploration of all times. Fantastic and gripping description of the hardship that the Endurance crew of 28 men had to face for one year in the harshest terrian in the world.

There are many books written on the epic voyage of Edurance. This one written by F A Worsley, the captain of the ship, who was constantly by Shackelton's side is definitely a thorough description of the entire journey, their troubles, their struggle, their joys and hope thru the voyage.

A must read for everyone. especially those interested in adventure travel, exploration and expeditions.

Also a great book on leadership lessons.

One of the greatest adventures of the 20th century
Frank Worsley begins his book just as he realizes that his ship Endurance is doomed to be crushed in the ice, and that's a good place to start, for the adventure was only about to begin. Worsley not only discusses the events of the Endurance expedition but his own adventures in WWI, during which his Q-ship rammed and sank a German U-boat, and his final expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1922 aboard the Quest. Read this, also read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" by Worsley, and of course Shackleton's own book "South." My only complaint about this new edition of Worsley's book is the addition of a preface by the tendentious, trendy, wildly overrated Patrick O'Brian, who clearly doesn't have the faintest idea what he's writing about. Read the original intro by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe, ignore O'Brian, and learn what courage and leadership truly are.