I suppose that I could write that, "Ernest Shackleton was a man among boys." But the thing is, I believe after reading "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" (SIV) that Mr. Shackleton had affection for his crew, call them "boys" if you must, as if they were his own offspring. To me it's nearly the only explanation on how everyone survived this beyond-harrowing journey. I believe that he felt complete responsibility for those men -- they certainly were men themselves and I couldn't have endured what they did -- and that's what drove him to find a way to bring them home.
It was certainly a different era over a hundred years ago when this journey took place and make no mistake, Mr. Shackleton called the shots. That's not to say that he was a tyrant about it though. I suppose his "genius" -- like Dr. Sheldon Cooper I've always said, "That word is thrown around a bit too much" -- was knowing who was good at what task, or who had the temperament to be good or even great in what scenario. So he leveraged those different men at different times to create a real team to bring them home.
Bring them home.
I've written it twice now partially as a mistake. But it seems like that was Mr. Shackleton's mantra. Early in 2024 I finally read the book, "Alive: the Story of the Andes Survivors" (SAS) and I surely waited way too long to take on that book. A very long time ago I watched the I-believe made-for-TV movie called "Alive!" but I recently also watched, "Society of the Snow" (SOS) an absolutely terrific film in nearly all ways. I suppose if I had one complaint of SOS it might be: "Maybe it should be a mini-series." But no matter. In two and a half or three hours it did a great job of telling mostly the story of the South American rugby team survivors.
Bring them home.
But the leaders of that sports team were thinking the same thing as Shackleton but over a half century later. As a matter of fact I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Andes survivors had read SIV when the first version released in the 1950s. This is all from memory and so I hope I'm right. Alfred Lansing wrote SIV around 70 years ago as of 2024 and while it did well at the time it supposedly really took sail, at least in sales, after he died. But in reality both SIV and "Alive!" should be required reading for at least high school students I think. Both books will make you realize, "My life ain't all that bad!" Indeed.
While the Andes survivors had to endure unspeakable hardship it seems that Mr. Shackleton and his crew maybe had it even worse, if that's possible. I'm splitting hairs because it's well known that the Andes survivors had no choice but to revert to cannibalism while the Shackleton crew did not. But Shackleton had to fight the ice in the Antarctic, build small boats to get most of the men to Elephant Island, take even a smaller crew to get to another island, and THEN he had to traverse unmapped terrain that included mountains to get to a known location where he knew he could find help. Shackleton's efforts were the worst of the sea, the worst of the land, and the worst of the mountains. And yet he somehow endured.
Shackleton got his men home.
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those that burdened themselves with equipment to meet every contingency had fared much worse than those that had sacrificed total preparedness for speed.Highlighted by 2,614 Kindle readers- Unlike the land, where courage and the simple will to endure can often see a man through, the struggle against the sea is an act of physical combat, and there is no escape. It is a battle against a tireless enemy in which man never actually wins; the most that he can hope for is not to be defeated.Highlighted by 2,241 Kindle readers
- For scientific leadership give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.Highlighted by 2,148 Kindle readers
- In some ways they had come to know themselves better. In this lonely world of ice and emptiness, they had achieved at least a limited kind of contentment. They had been tested and found not wanting.Highlighted by 1,795 Kindle readers
- And yet they had adjusted with surprisingly little trouble to their new life, and most of them were quite sincerely happy. The adaptability of the human creature is such that they actually had to remind themselves on occasion of their desperate circumstances.Highlighted by 1,794 Kindle readers
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Ernest Shackleton's Fight to Survive
Adventure stories can often be captivating if the story is told the right way. In the case of a non- fiction adventure, a solid bit of storytelling can leave the reader amazed and astonished, often in a more surprised state of mind than if the book was fictional. Such is the case with Endurance.For those not familiar with the journey, it all began on a relatively small, sea- going vessel. Ernest Shakleton was a man on a mission. He wanted to not just reach the South Pole- something that had already been done- but to traverse the entire Antarctic continent. He wanted to be the first person to accomplish such a feat, and he was bound and determined to make his goal a reality.Things did not go as planned, and Shackleton and his team were forced to focus on the only thing that mattered: Survival. Their shop was wrecked beyond repair and he and his crew were forced to live on floating ice sheets, food rations, seal blubber for fuel, and anything else to keep them alive. Their only hope was to reach one of the nearby outposts of civilization. But would they all make it back alive? Or would the merciless Antarctic cold prove too difficult an obstacle to surmount?I have heard about Ernest Shackleton and his voyage, but until I read this book, I didn’t know the specifics of how it turned out. The book is written in great detail and I found myself turning the pages quickly, anxious to know what would happen next. There were many points that would have caused some people to lose hope, but Shackleton was determined to get himself and his crew back to safety.This book’s strongest point is the writing itself. The descriptions are vivid, and chilling as expected. You feel like you are right there with Shackleton and his team; feeling the cold wind, yearning for a good meal, hoping to get the feeling back in your limbs, and dreaming of a good night’s sleep. But more than anything, your hope is to survive. Nothing matters unless you can escape the frigid conditions and eventually make your way back to civilization.One surprise with this book is that it includes a picture section. Like any good explorer, Shackleton made sure to have a team of photographers with him and the film managed to survive. There is one spoiler alert I should point out: If you want the suspense to continue, you may want to skip at least the last picture in this section, since it identifies the survivors.The Antarctic continent is among the harshest, if not the harshest, climate on the planet. Ernest Shackleton’s voyage to this unforgiving land and his attempt to rescue his crew are brought to life in the pages of Endurance. It’s a fantastic read and a story you will never forget.
