Endurance : Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic - Hardcover

Alfred Lansing

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 029782919X ISBN 13: 9780297829195

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001

Synopsis

'A thrilling reading experience! One of the greatest adventure stories of our times' - New York Times Book Review. In 1914 Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men, sailed for the South Atlantic on the 'Endurance' with the object of crossing the Antarctic over land. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways in one of the world's most savage regions. This gripping book based on firsthand accounts of crew members, describes how the men survived, living together in camps on the ice for 17 months, how they were attacked by sea leopards, had to kill their beloved dogs whom they could no longer feed, and suffered disease with no medicines (an operation to amputate the foot of one member of the crew was carried out on the ice). Their extraordinary indefatigability and their lasting civility towards one another in the most adverse conditions shines through.

About this title

About the Author

Alfred Lansing as a native of Chicago. After serving more than five years in the Navy, he enrolled at North Western University, Illinois and majored in journalism. Until 1949 he edited a weekly newspaper in Illinois. He then joined the United Press and in 1952 became a freelance writer. Endurance was his first book. He died in 1975.

From the Inside Flap

'A superb account of the greatest survival story of our time' - Chris Bonington The story of Ernest Shackleton's epic journey to cross the Antarctic overland has now been turned into four hours of gripping television with Kenneth Branagh playing Shackleton.

Shackleton's mission failed, but the resulting adventure became one of the most celebrated accounts of man's survival against unbelievable odds.

In August 1914 the Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their objective, the ship was trapped, then crushed in the ice. Twelve hundred miles away from land, drifting on ice packs, Shackleton and his men survived the next five months on a diet of dogs, penguins and seals. When the ship eventually sank they were forced to escape by lifeboat. Shackleton then travelled another 850 miles in an open boat across the stormiest ocean in the world to reach help. Every single man got home safely.

Miraculously, throughout this ordeal, the expedition's photographer, Frank Hurley, protected his negatives and photographs from destruction. It is these extraordinary photographs that are among those produced in this illustrated edition of Alfred Lansing's harrowing and inspiring classic.

Edition details

• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 029782919X
• ISBN 13: 9780297829195
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288