South: The Endurance Expedition

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Saltwater Boils (aka pips or pigeons)...a condition where grit and dirt from clothing (usually around the wrists) create small abrasions that become infected and cause severe pain if not treated. These things were mentioned as a casual, passing comment and all I could think was “they had to suffer through those for months with no medical attention and only making them worse.” [No photos of this. A little too gross] The introduction alone was so striking, I listened to it four times. Narrated by Simon Prebble, it reads like the BBC Planet Earth documentaries, beautiful and riveting. Dogs, Penguins and Sea Leopards...oh my. The only diet these men had for over a year consisted of penguins, one sea leopard and, eventually, their own dogs. This last part was incredibly moving because the men, for all of their hunger, were reluctant to resort to these brave animals that had been their stout companions throughout the ordeal. In the end, they did what they had to and the animal lover in me had zero issue with it. Respectful, sad and necessary. Toda esta información la podéis encontrar en internet con solo mover el ratón. Pero, amigos lectores, cualquier artículo que se lea sobre esta aventura palidece ante este libro que la cuenta como una novela basada en los diarios de los protagonistas. Tanto si conoces la historia como si no, vas a disfrutar de un libro épico donde los límites humanos se ponen a prueba.

I listened to the audiobook and the narration by Simon Prebble was excellent. I delayed this review until I could borrow the 100th edition Endurance. I'm glad that I waited for the ebook, but I almost missed the photographs in the "inserts." Added poignancy came from the images of the men and the animals. Main article: Voyage of the James Caird Launching the James Caird from the shore of Elephant Island, 24 April 1916 The Antarctic climate was, of course, a challenge. The resultant icy environment sunk their ship. During the spring break-up of ice, the surface below their tents spontaneously fissured and sleeping men plunged into the frigid waters.

I often referenced maps of the expedition and ended up researching the various legs of the journey in greater detail—the photos alone are captivating. The whole story is phenomenal, and awe-inspiring—I really can't recommend this enough. It is no spoiler to say that this is a story of survival – that fact is known to the reader at the outset. The story is well told and conveyed by Lansing, who had access to surviving ships logs and crew diaries – he also interviewed at length surviving members of the crew of the ‘Endurance’. I am sure Ranulph Fiennes is an excellent chap and I’m sure this may well be a very balanced view of things given his own adventurous and extraordinary achievements (which actually scream privilege and elite narcissism to me). In the end I simply could not get over the boys cub what what tally ho let’s just stomp all over wherever we fancy cause we are British boys and bugga the consequences mindset. Alfred Lansing’s writing is first rate and the book’s structure is impeccable, especially toward the end where the author presents first the story of the 22 men on Elephant Island, and then relates what happened on the trip to South Georgia and the rescue efforts. I listened to an audio version, and Simon Prebble’s narration was spot-on. On the book itself, the narrative was written by piecing together all the events experienced by the crew of the Endurance, accomplished via combing through every diary kept during the expedition and extensive interviews with almost all the surviving crew members. I believe this enabled the author to put forth an in-depth and intimate account of this most incredible and perilous voyage, which lasted almost two years. The audiobook narration added to the experience as the narrator was adept in modulating his delivery to suit the moment - be it desperation or acquiescence, excitement or relief. He also injected a bit of character to the different crew members through nuanced voices.

Koehn, Nancy (2017). Forged in Crisis: The Making of Five Courageous Leaders. New York: Scribner. p.75. ISBN 978-1-5011-7444-5.

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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. Dr Dobson should probably instead have concluded this great story of adventure by commenting on the tragedy of survival against the odds but without true eternal hope, instead of trying to turn this into a Christian book/turn these into Christian men when they don't seem to have been. There was a (male) cat named Mrs Chippy that belonged to the carpenter Harry McNish. Mrs Chippy was shot when the Endurance sank, due to the belief that he would not have survived the ordeal that followed. [86] [87] Loss of Endurance The book, as the expedition, is a sobering, frightening story of unrelenting suffering, challenges on a super-human scale, seemingly unrelenting and insurmountable obstacles, overwhelming odds against survival; but ultimately it’s very much truly inspirational story of hope, of never giving up. It’s a story about man’s incredible capacity for survival.

However there is an amazing documentary filmed and photographed by one of the crew on You Tube which I have linked below. The entire complement of 28 men safely reached Elephant Island, just off the tip of the Palmer peninsula, after one week. It was the first time in nearly 17 months in which they were actually on land as opposed to an unstable surface of ice. The cost of their journey was to lose one of their three small boats. Endurance departed from South Georgia for the Weddell Sea on 5 December, heading for Vahsel Bay. As the ship moved southward navigating in ice, first-year ice was encountered, which slowed progress. Deep in the Weddell Sea, conditions gradually grew worse until, on 19 January 1915, Endurance became frozen fast in an ice floe. [88]From there a small party, including himself, would set out on the first crossing of the continent, ultimately arriving at the Ross Sea, south of New Zealand, where another group would be waiting for them, having laid depots of food and fuel along the way. Koehn, Nancy (2017). Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times. New York: Scribner. p.38. ISBN 978-1501174445.

But the sea is a different sort of enemy. 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. Potash and Perlmutter, the comic rag trade merchants of Monatague Glass, were all the rage amongst New York Jews. Stacpoole is the author of The Blue Lagoon of the film fame (some would say infamy) and Flowerdew used his novels to proselytise on the rights of women: On November 21, 1915, 25 days after leaving the ship to camp up on the ice, Endurance was briefly raised by the ice sheets, and then sunk below the surface. Within 10 minutes the ice had closed over the opening... And old Norwegian whaler recorded the scene when the three men stood before the station manager Thoralf Sørlle:For anyone who is not familiar this story – quite simply, this must be the greatest true story of survival against all the odds and is simply unparalleled in our times.