Download South The Story of Shackleton Last Expedition 19141917 Ernest Shackleton 9780486833132 Books
Hailed as "a rousing read" by The New York Times, this breathtaking chronicle of Antarctic exploration was written by expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton. In 1914 he and his 28-man crew boarded the ship Endurance and sailed away to do something no one had ever done to traverse and chart the mostly unknown territory of the South Pole. But within weeks of their arrival, their vessel became trapped in ice, drifting helplessly for months before sinking and leaving the crew stranded on a melting ice floe.
This account of the expedition's two-year struggle in one of the world's most uninhabitable regions relates a near-miraculous escape from multiple dangers thousands of miles, traveled in lifeboats across tempestuous seas and in unforgiving landscapes of glaciers and icebergs; relentless cold; and the constant threat of starvation. A century later, Shackleton's firsthand account of the crew's harrowing experiences and their triumphant survival remains among the most thrilling adventure stories ever told.
This account of the expedition's two-year struggle in one of the world's most uninhabitable regions relates a near-miraculous escape from multiple dangers thousands of miles, traveled in lifeboats across tempestuous seas and in unforgiving landscapes of glaciers and icebergs; relentless cold; and the constant threat of starvation. A century later, Shackleton's firsthand account of the crew's harrowing experiences and their triumphant survival remains among the most thrilling adventure stories ever told.
Download South The Story of Shackleton Last Expedition 19141917 Ernest Shackleton 9780486833132 Books
"I probably would have given 3 stars had I not already read "Endurance". This exposition by Shackleton himself is not nearly as "gripping" as it is more in the way of a relatively dispassionate diary/journal. It does serve to flesh out some areas of "Endurance" as well as add some details of the expedition not in "Endurance"."
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Tags : South The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917 [Ernest Shackleton] on . <DIV>Hailed as a rousing read by <I>The New York Times, </I> this breathtaking chronicle of Antarctic exploration was written by expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton. In 1914 he and his 28-man crew boarded the ship <I>Endurance</I> and sailed away to do something no one had ever done to traverse and chart the mostly unknown territory of the South Pole. But within weeks of their arrival,Ernest Shackleton,South The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917,Dover Publications,0486833135,Antarctica - Discovery and exploration - British,Antarctica;Discovery and exploration;British.,Endurance (Ship),HISTORY / Expeditions Discoveries.,Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition,Shackleton, Ernest Henry - Travel - Antarctica,TRAVEL / Polar Regions.,General Adult,HISTORY / Expeditions Discoveries,History/Expeditions Discoveries,Non-Fiction,TRAVEL,TRAVEL / Polar Regions,TRAVEL / Special Interest / Adventure,Travel Guide,Travel/Special Interest - Adventure,shackleton; south pole; endurance; sir ernest shackleton; frank hurley; exploration; antarctic exploration; the antarctic
South The Story of Shackleton Last Expedition 19141917 Ernest Shackleton 9780486833132 Books Reviews :
South The Story of Shackleton Last Expedition 19141917 Ernest Shackleton 9780486833132 Books Reviews
- Sir Ernest Shackleton's last expeditions, headed South, from 1914 to 1917. Shackleton's increasingly dangerous adventures would destroy him one day, everyone said. Now you can read the actual narrative of Shackleton's ill-fated polar expedition, from the pen of the Endurance's captain himself Sir Ernest Shackleton. A life lived for impossible accomplishments, his exploits read as if part adventure fiction, part survivalist canon -- but every word, Shackleton swore as true. This towering British explorer kept a detailed journal which remains as a gripping testament to heroism and survival despite all the odds. If today's long-distance minute-by-minute bulletins keep you glued to your cell phone, here's something much better no fake news, not even in its day, but real exploits to inspire and stoicism to emulate. Give this to a loved one, boy or girl, man or women, for the holiday and on any special day, then offer to discuss it with them when they're done and watch eyes shine.
- This is the epic real-life adventure of the Shackleton expedition to the Antarctic that goes wrong in every way possible. Their story becomes one of self sacrifice for their comrades and endurance against impossible odds. There is genuine heroism, and there is real humanity here. Not an easy read, because it is composed largely of daily logs, and not in the form of an adventure novel, but the slow pace accentuated by these catastrophes give a real sense of just how torturous this expedition was.
- Very worth reading.
For the armchair traveler who becomes fully immersed in their reading, this book will take you to the Antarctic to experience, in detail, the heartbreak, determination, hope, despair, and sheer determination of men who survived in and returned from a hopeless place - not because they didn't give up, but because they never all gave up at the same time, they had strong intelligent leaders, and they worked together even when they did not entirely agree with, or like each other.
Full of interesting true details too of how an expedition was formed, and ships were procured, provisioned and staffed before we had such things as freeze-dried foods, refrigerators, steel, antibiotics, .... all the stuff that simply did not exist in the early 1900s.
Anyone heading into desolate polar regions on a vacation excursion today owes it to themselves to read this fascinating book, before you go.
You'll have a much better appreciation that you are going there with very high assurances of returning whole, healthy and on schedule, having seen (and endlessly photographed) some of the wonders of that savage world in the comfort of warm dry clothes, on well-planned landings from a ship where you are well fed, and sleep warm & safe at night. - Enough has been said about the story to make any further comment redunday. That said, Shackleton's style is one for the reader. His narrative is engaging and he never bogs down in scientific gobbledegook. It is simply the recounting of an expedition gone disastrously wrong. He doesn't embellish nor does he wallow. Things are bad enough without having to make them seem worse and the bravery his leadership inspired needs no exaggeration.
The expedition was in several parts, Shackleton's being just one, and each had their tales of woe. The reader that complained about being bored at the end is just missing the point.
The edition is virtually typo free and very much recommended. The lessons learned are used today in managerial circles. It's incredible to think that we are learning things now that were known about so long ago.
Leaders like this are a rare breed and stories like this are rarer still. Wonderful, thrilling reading and for the princely sum of nothing at all, how can you go wrong?
As a thought, the diagrams and pictures would have been a nice addition to this book but I did see on the Windows 8 version a list of maps and illustrations. Maybe that's for PC only but I'm not complaining.
Now to read about Scott. - I probably would have given 3 stars had I not already read "Endurance". This exposition by Shackleton himself is not nearly as "gripping" as it is more in the way of a relatively dispassionate diary/journal. It does serve to flesh out some areas of "Endurance" as well as add some details of the expedition not in "Endurance".
- The first hand story of an amazing survival story based on Shackleton's memory and journals (his and others). I actually found it helpful to read both this book and the one by Alfred Lansing - "EnduranceShackleton's Incredible Voyage" to get a complete picture. Lansing includes much more detail from the other participants' journals as well as personal interviews with some of the survivors. But, to get the first hand account of one who was actually there this book by Shackleton is wonderful.
- The whole Shackleton saga reminds me of Apollo 13. The goal of the mission itself "failed", but in spite of "impossible" circumstances the teams
returned home safely!
In Shackleton's account, it seems minimalist in comparison to some other more extensive biographies of the topic. This opinion applies to this reading. I have the regular hard copy of "South", which appears much larger but have not yet compared the two. This I don't know if the version is abbreviated. For one thing, there are no photos or maps in the version. With this type of event, I like to have maps to refer to. Nonetheless it was nice to add this to my collection of Antarctic/Arctic exploration readings.