Book Description

Sir Ernest Shackleton's South is one of the great books of exploration. It is a harrowing account of what he called "the last great journey on earth"--the Antarctic expedition in which his ship, the Endurance, was crushed by ice, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a 600-mile trek across the ice to land, a 700-mile journey in an open boat to South Georgia, followed by an epic crossing of the uncharted mountains and glaciers of the island. His story is superbly written, and from its first publication in 1919, it has never ceased to enthrall readers. Since that time, however, Shackleton's life--and his account of the expedition--have been dramatically re-evaluated by scholars and biographers. In this edition, journalist Peter King presents highly revealing annotations to Shackleton's text, offering a more detailed picture of what actually occurred and shedding new light on what still remains a magnificent drama of leadership. South is complete with 120 compelling photographs by Frank Hurley, the expedition's official photographer. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Literally Chilling!
My good friend Antonia Martin just gave me this book for my birthday. Antonia, you are an absolute Treasure!

I have become fascinated with the Shackleton story, not only for the awesome testament to dogged determination to succeed in the face of seemingly daunting odds that it is, but because apparently my Grandfather knew him quite well and worked on the planning of the journey back in London. Somewhere we have a signed original of the book from 1919 amongst Mother's belongings, back in England.

This is a bone chilling visual and literary step by aching step trudge through the most inhospitable place on Earth. As the Endurance, their ship, died so their own endurance was born. And what an endurance that was!

As my eyes wander the pages in the warm comfort of bed my mind is wind-whipped by the Antarctic blasts Shackleton and his team ultimately survived! It is quite simply one of the most amazing stories it has ever been my pleasure to absorb. I am in awe of the achievement described and pictured in this book.

Everybody should read it! ... Read more

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Exemplary British expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton's (1874-1922) compelling account of his 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition consisting of two ships, the HMS Endurance and the HMS Aurora.The goal of the expedition (which it failed to achieve, but not for want of perseverance) was to cross the Antarctic by dogsled, exploring unknown territory and making scientific observations along the way.The plan called for the Endurance, with Shackleton aboard, to establish a base on the shore of the Weddell Sea, while the Aurora did the same at the Ross Sea on the opposite side of the continent.From the Weddell Sea base a six-man Transcontinental party led by Shackleton would set out for the Ross Sea base by dog sled.However, after arriving in Weddell Sea, the Endurance became trapped in ice floes and was eventually crushed, leaving the twenty-eight members of party to make their way 300 miles across the ice and establish a camp on Elephant Island.From there, Shackleton and five of his men courageously set out by small boat on a sixteen-day journey to Stromness Whaling Station on South Georgia Island to find help, enduring numbing cold, extreme thirst, two fierce gales, and a rogue wave of which he later wrote, ". . . I realized that what I had seen was not a rift in the clouds but [its] white crest . . . During twenty-six years' experience of the ocean in all its moods I had not encountered [one] so gigantic."On finally reaching Stromness, Shackleton immediately set about returning to Elephant Island to rescue the men he had left there. It is a tribute to Shackleton's leadership qualities that all members of the Weddell Sea party survived the extraordinary hazards and dangers encountered by the expedition.Though overshadowed at the time by the outbreak of World War I, the feats of Shackleton and his companions in this expedition are now recognized as ranking among the most memorable in the annals of Antarctic exploration. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A superior edition of Shackleton's first book
This is a very nice, somewhat abridged edition of "Heart of the Antarctic." Compared with the Carroll & Graf trade edition, this does have some bits edited from the expedition preparations and the account of the Furthest South journey, but, unlike the Carroll & Graf edition, it has Professor David's account of the march to the South Magnetic Pole and an account of the Northern Party journey and so is overall a better text. The selection of pictures is decent, although there is one photo that I suspect is from the 1912 Scott expedition (of a tracked motor-sledge; the Shackleton expedition had only a car with it). The story of the British Antarctic Expedition is just as exciting as the doomed Endurance voyage, and I would highly recommend this edition to everyone interested in Shackleton and his adventures. ... Read more

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After the conquest of the South Pole by Amundsen, who, by a narrow margin of days only, was in advance of the British Expedition under Scott, there remained but one great main object of Antarctic journeyings - -the crossing of the South Polar continent from sea to sea. ... Read more

Book Description

Blending historical, scientific, and literary scholarship with an impressive range of poetic forms, Melinda Mueller masterfully brings us the legendary tale of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Trans-Antarctic Expedition. What the Ice Gets is an adventure story, a requiem, and a love poem written to 28 heroes and the mythic landscape they set out to explore but that instead explored them. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Overwhelming story, finely crafted
The Shackleton story is amazing, but this accounting of it is stunningly thought through and executed. Read it over and over.

A stanza may be worth ten thousand words of prose.
This is a case where the economy of a well-crafted poetic line accomplishes what might take a page of prose. The imagery and emotion evoked by this slim volume more than capture the beauty and desperation experienced by Shackleton and his company. No space is wasted on mundane logistical cataloging and diary-keeping. Instead the reader is in the grip of perilous nature from beginning to end. The final section sketching the fate of the men after their great adventure on the ice shows that miraculously overcoming one peril does not innoculate you against life's other afflictions.

Shackleton Brought to Life
This epic poem brings Shackleton's attempt to reach the South Pole to life! Some of the chapters tell the story from the point of view of individual members of the expedition; some describe particular events. Each fact is documented. Its one thing to know that Shackleton and a part of the crew left the rest of the crew behind, and travelled 800 miles in a dory on a rescue mission. Mueller brings the situation to life, describing the plight of both the rescuers and the rescuees. And then, in a moving and haunting conclusion, she tells of some of the individual's lives after the voyage. In sum, its an adventurist's story, a naturalist's story, a poet's story. A book you will want to reread, read out loud, and give to your friends. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A hero with humour
This is my favourite book about Antarctic exploration - even surpassing Mawson's 'Home of the Blizzard'. The book captures the humour, insight and stubbornness of Frank Worsley from his upbringing in Akaroa, New Zealand, to his adventures with Shackleton and maritime career.

Worsley's skills as a sailor, navigator and writer made Shackleton's story possible and the book gives a clear insight into the personal qualities of heroic era adventurers 'when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel'.

A facinating and exciting book, well written and researched, with excellent photographs - this is my most frequently loaned book! [Incidentally, Frank Worsley's diaries can be seen at NZ's Canterbury Museum.]

Great
This book was great. Finally some one has given the credit to Frank Worsley that he deserves. The book tells everything from his days as a boy to the Trans-Arctic Expedition to his death. Read this book, it's great!

A definite must for polar collections
Frank Worsley was Ernest Shackleton's captain, so he is a name that is not commonly known. A common mistake for so many biographers of secondary expeditionary characters is that they get caught up in the relationship to the major character and the biography turns out to be about them. That was my main concern when I first picked up this biograpy of Frank Worsley - that his personality and achievements would be overshadowed by those of Shackleton. Not in this biograpy though - Thomson keeps his story firmly about Worsley, and this story is every bit as interesting as Shackleton's.

Worsley, you see, was Shackleton's captain in the Antarctic expedition that almost ended in disaster in 1914/15. A dreadful summer in the south meant that their boat, the Endurance, was trapped inescapably in pack ice and so began one of the most incredible, courageous and stoic journeys in all polar exploration history. Shackleton's story has been told many times - how the men survived on Elephant Island, and how, with Worsley and some others they sailed across the wildest ocean in the world in a tiny boat to South Georgia to get a rescue craft for the rest of the crew. Even then disaster after disaster struck, they were almost smashed on the rocky coast of South Georgia, once ashore they had to cross the mountainous and glacier ridden interior to reach help on the other coast, and then they had to endure several failed attempts to reach the rest of the survivors back on Elephant Island. This story is told again, but teasing out Worsley's perspective and contributions.

Worsley's story isn't solely about this one incident, dramatic as it is. His life from his childhood to his further expeditions to the Arctic with Shackleton and his first and second world war experiences are all here. I think Thomson really gets inside the man in this book. There are numerous photos and illustrations - most of the Endurance and Quest photos of Shackelton's are widely available in other publications though. There is also a good index and a good appendix if you want to read further information on Worsley or his companions.

An interesting biography of an interesting man
Frank Worsley is best known as the captain of the Endurance on Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914, but he led a full and very interesting life that included searching for treasure and sinking a German U-boat during WWI. Anyone who has read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" will want to know more about Worsley, and this book will fill many of the gaps. ... Read more