Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World
 

I just finished reading this book and wow what a story. All 27 men survived the ordeal and then some of them went on to fight in WWI. I just cant imagine what this must have been like.


It's a survival story almost too incredible to believe, but it's the extraordinary true tale of endurance in the harshest environment on earth. Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set off from England aboard the ship Endurance, intending to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Instead, Endurance becomes icebound and sinks 100 miles from land, leaving Shackleton and his men to fight brutal perils on ice, land, and sea...or die trying. Through it all, Shackleton's mission never wavers: "But if you're a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you've got to keep going." Narrator Taylor Mali transports the listener into the heart of this death-defying adventure.

It is truly an incredible story. Also saw a very good documentary about Shackletons ordeal on TV a few years back but don't remember the channel.

no GPS,no radio,nobody coming for you..
I remember thinking..
somebody is going to eat somebody..

Rika

+1

They ate a lot of seal and penguin though. And cooked everything with seal blubber. The part where they found 50 undigested fish in the seal and it was like a gift from God to them…

Can you imagine what it would be like to be on ice that is constantly melting or in a small boat with spray coming over the sides, constantly wet for months on end in those low temperatures…

That story was incredible. Shackleton and a couple of his crew had to sail that small craft from Elephant island to South Georgia island. Then, try and hike from one end of South Georgia island to the whaling station on the other side!

An impossible example of endurance and will.

when men were men, and penquins were nervous.


Now people have Gortex and GPS and sat radios.

Where have the truly adventurer's gone? We've lost something........Gen X and kids of today just don't have the gumption and get dirt under their finger nails. or put the X-box down.

I have the book of photographs taken by Frank Hurley on the Endurance expedition. It's a great book and brings the whole ordeal into focus, the pictures are incredible. Unfortunately a lot of the plates were destroyed or left behind when they were rescued. I also saw the documentry in an Imax theater (B.C. museum in Victoria maybe?) and it was great. This is the book here..
http://www.amazon.com/South-Endurance-Shackletons-Antarctic-Expedition/dp/074322292X/ref=pd_sim_v_29

Crap, won't display the link. I'll try again.

See if this works...

South With Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917 - Frank Hurley - Shane Murphy - Gael Newton - Michael Gray - ISBN 9780747575344

It was a Nova program on PBS. Great story and the documentary was very well done......