“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.”
A friend recommended this Antarctica adventure while we were talking about my upcoming Patagonia travels. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage is one of the best adventures of the last century and I can’t believe it’s a true story. I can only imagine what a movie this journey would make!
In August 1914, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton boarded the Endurance and set sail for Antarctica, where he planned to cross the last uncharted continent on foot. In January 1915, after battling its way through a thousand miles of pack ice and only a day's sail short of its destination, the Endurance became locked in an island of ice. Thus began the legendary ordeal of Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men. When their ship was finally crushed between two ice floes, they attempted a near-impossible journey over 850 miles of the South Atlantic's heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilization.
In Endurance, the definitive account of Ernest Shackleton's fateful trip, Alfred Lansing brilliantly narrates the harrowing and miraculous voyage that has defined heroism for the modern age.
Discussion Guide
How do you think Shackleton’s experience influenced his leadership? His knowledge of “those that burdened themselves with equipment to meet every contingency had fared much worse than those that had sacrificed total preparedness for speed” impacted his leadership style. How would you have made that decision?
The story ends almost 2 years after they set sail. How does their determination bring them through their crossing?
Shackleton was particularly aware of how important the crew dynamics were in the midst of their obstacles, the ice and the sea. Discuss the almost magical connection between the crew members.
The proposed crossing of the continent served no useful scientific purpose or goal - like climbing Mt. Everest, it was attempted simply to prove it could be done- Shackleton’s goal was partly to achieve fame and fortune. Was it worth it?