The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age.

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.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the summer of 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set off aboard the Endurance bound for the South Atlantic. The goal of his expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland, but more than a year later, and still half a continent away from the intended base, the Endurance was trapped in ice and eventually was crushed. For five months Shackleton and his crew survived on drifting ice packs in one of the most savage regions of the world before they were finally able to set sail again in one of the ship's lifeboats. Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage is a white-knuckle account of this astounding odyssey.

Through the diaries of team members and interviews with survivors, Lansing reconstructs the months of terror and hardship the Endurance crew suffered. In October of 1915, there "were no helicopters, no Weasels, no Sno-Cats, no suitable planes. Thus their plight was naked and terrifying in its simplicity. If they were to get out--they had to get themselves out." How Shackleton did indeed get them out without the loss of a single life is at the heart of Lansing's magnificent true-life adventure tale.

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"Endurance is one of the most gripping, suspenseful, intense stories anyone will ever read." --Chicago Tribune

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Product details

File Size: 29665 KB
Print Length: 292 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; Anniversary edition (April 29, 2014)
Publication Date: April 29, 2014
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
Language: English
ASIN: B00IC8VF10
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,807 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Ships (Kindle Store)
- #2 in History of Arctic & Antarctica
- #4 in Antarctica Travel Guides

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Customer reviews

5 star		87%
4 star		10%
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Bama Fan

The book gave me several adrenaline rushes...it's that well written.

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is an amazing account of Shackleton's journey that went into intricate details about the twists and turns every step of the way for this small group of brave explorers. It reads like a thrilling fiction novel, but the fact that it is non-fiction makes it even more astounding. The description really paints a true picture of the hellacious conditions that they continued to face time and time again. This book really put into perspective what a challenge truly is. A simple headache that we might get now is nowhere near getting your sleeping bag drenched and still having to sleep in it in temperatures near 0 when you don't know how the weather or current is going to change while you try to sleep. Great read and really hard to put down because even though you think you know what's going to happen, you still have to find out how. Would highly recommend if you're looking for a good book that you will have trouble putting down.

26 people found this helpful

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Twostory

Cold

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very cold. Always cold. This is a very detailed (true) story about men trying to survive in a very hostile environment in c. 1915. Stark and full of detail, the reader almost gets to feel the cold, hunger and pain the crew experienced while trying to survive Antarctica and return to civilization. it's amazing that anyone survived this ordeal let alone all of them. Sadly, many creatures and peaceful animals paid the price for mans survival. The details often are so descriptive and redundant due to the scope of the story, that it sometimes becomes repetitive and familiar. This is because of the constant distress and horrible conditions the crew experienced for such a long time. It's a well documented and exciting story with a bit of a history lesson that really held my interest. It's a popular book that is deserving of its high ratings.

15 people found this helpful

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Dataman

A Riveting True Story of Adventure, Survival and Hope

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on an expedition to make the first land crossing of the barren Antarctic continent from the east to the west coast. The expedition failed to accomplish its objective, but became recognized instead as an amazing feat of endurance. Shackleton and a crew of 27 (plus one stowaway) first headed to the Weddell Sea on the ship Endurance. Their ship was trapped by pack ice short of their destination and eventually crushed. Forced to abandon ship, the men were trapped on ice floes for months while they drifted north. Once they were far enough north that the ice thinned somewhat, they were forced to journey in lifeboats they'd dragged off the ship. After six terrible days, they made it to uninhabited Elephant Island; from there Shackleton and five other men set off in an open 22-foot boat on an incredible 800-mile voyage across the notoriously tempestuous Drake Passage to South Georgia Island, where they hiked across the island’s mountain range to reach a whaling camp. From there, they returned in a ship to rescue the men left behind on Elephant Island.

That these men were able to survive in the harsh, barren conditions of Antarctica, where temperatures frequently fell below zero is amazing. It’s nearly unimaginable that these men could survive for almost two years, their lives marked by a seemingly endless stretch of misery, suffering, and boredom, not to mention the threat of starvation. At every turn, their situation seems to go from bad to worse. If this were a work of fiction, one would be inclined to claim the story was simply too far-fetched. But Endurance isn't just a tale of misery, it is a vivid description of their journey, the dangers they faced, and the obstacles they overcame. Through all of this, Shackleton has never lost a man.

Alfred Lansing's book, written in 1958 from interviews and journals of the survivors, is now back in print. It’s a riveting tale of adventure, survival and hope. It is also a rare historical, non-fiction book that is as exciting as any novel. I’ve read a number of stories of survival and would rate this as the best of all I have read. This is one of the great adventure stories of our time. Don’t miss it.

35 people found this helpful

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George E. Dawson

A REMARKABLE TALE OF SURVIVAL, SUPERBLY TOLD.

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

“There can be little doubt that Shackleton, in his way, was an extraordinary leader of men.” (p. 11).

There is no doubt in my mind that I would not be able to endure even one, the best, day of the unimaginable hardships that the men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Exposition (1914-17)—under the leadership of Sir Ernest Shackleton—struggled with for more than 400 days. They endured and survived some of the most incredible, unbelievable, conditions ever experienced; and Alfred Lansing captures the urgency, the deprivation, and the desperation, with spellbinding storytelling.

Recommendation: Best adventure story, ever. Should be read by all, especially those of high school age.

“In all the world there is no desolation more complete than the polar night. It is a return to the Ice Age—no warmth, no life, no movement.” (p. 46).

Basic Books. Kindle Edition, 268 pages.

11 people found this helpful

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Sam

I recommend this book to add to the collection of those ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

What a page turner. Lansing is a master for the description of those explorers hardships, desire to follow Shacketon' orders. I kept saying to myself that there are few humans today that are as tough as those men. I recommend this book to add to the collection of those books that give us the knowledge of what it takes to conquer a goal.

46 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Would recommend to a friend

11 people found this helpful

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Top international reviews

Mr. M. G. Wale

What an incredible book, impossible to put down

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2017

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This has to be one of the best books I have ever read, without doubt. It is utterly gripping, intricately and expertly written keeping you hooked on every word of every page. The story told here is simply remarkable and the attitude of the brave souls in it marvelously retold. Lansing simultaneously creates this hero image around Shackleton, and as a historian I know this is easy to do when one is being somewhat subjective with selecting what to include, but Lansing manages to create a very raw and real feel to Shackleton as a person and a leader. Crucially important however, he manages to encapsulate the characters, attitudes and morale of every man aboard the fateful expedition and fantastically weaves a tale of immense suspense and intriguing description. How this has not been made into a movie for the modern day is frankly beyond me. Incredible book.

11 people found this helpful

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Caribou

Superb, gripping account of an incredible journey

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2017

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I'm in the midst of a hugely enjoyable 'read lots of books about polar exploration' marathon - and having 'done' Scott, moved on to Shackleton. I obtained this book via one of Amazon's second-hand sellers and was so pleased with the price and condition of the book, which arrived very promptly indeed.

It's an amazing story of human endurance and spirit against seemingly overwhelming odds - well written and very detailed by an author who as well as using the diaries of the participants, actually interviewed some of the surviving ones some years after the event. As a result, you can see its authenticity.

I've also recently watched (available on C4 'All 4' or whatever it calls itself) the two part dramatisation of this story and I recommend it.

2 people found this helpful

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Dario McGeachy

A humbling experience

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2013

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Put simply, reading this book is an utterly humbling experience. In an age of epic heroism, of bravery incomparable to our modern day experience, the men of Shackleton's Trans-antarctic Expedition have provided us with perhaps the greatest example of the limits of human endurance in our history. `Endurance' tells their story with clarity, restraint and a deep respect for all involved and their incredible achievements.

I read this book on the back of a few extremely enthusiastic recommendations. Initially I wasn't so keen. I knew little of Shackleton and his story, plus recreations of real events tend to leave me cold. In my experience they can seem little more than long lists of stuff that happened. `So we went there, then we did this, then this happened, so he did that and I did this' etc etc. I'm not saying that there are not moments like this in Endurance, it's just that the events themselves are so awe inspiring, the stakes so high and the odds so stacked that in the words of my friend, `the book infects your mind'. It's as though every time you put the book down you've left the men stranded and the only way to get them out is to read and to keep reading. I was up late the night I finished it and even then it took 30 minutes of staring at the ceiling to shake the effect of the final few chapters.

The author Alfred Lansing, as well creating an important historical account, has written a real page turner by pairing the story down to just what is necessary to tell the tale. I have read reviews which bemoan the lack of context as a missed opportunity, that the events would have more weight if they were contrasted with the war in Europe and the sufferings of the young men in the fields of France. For me this would have dampened the profound feeling of isolation which was perhaps the most affecting aspect of the story. The men spent months marooned, camping on ice. They sailed in tiny boats at the mercy of the elements in the most hostile seas on the planet. All the while knowing nothing of the outside world and dealing constantly with the knowledge that nobody, not a single soul, knew where they were or that they were even alive. I get anxious if I misplace my iPhone. To Shackleton and his men there was no context save for the ice, the sea and their survival. Anything else would have only served to distract, to muddy the focus of events which need no embellishment. The author does allow himself some moments of florid prose but it's always just enough, never over the top and always justified.

I've chosen to give this book five stars for the simple reason that any other rating would require me to suggest improvements and I cannot. It is an incredible story told with clarity and an authority which comes from unprecedented access to the survivors and their diaries. It's a real and important achievement, a testament to those involved and a startling reality check for everybody in our mollycoddled society, the reading of which, if I had any say in the matter, would be mandatory.

7 people found this helpful

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Wow. Just wow. Cannot recommend enough

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2019

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Unputdownable, very well written. It’s as if the author was on the expedition himself. An incredible story of an incredible journey. Hats off to the author for capturing what seems an almost impossible journey in breathtaking detail.

2 people found this helpful

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Przemyslaw Korytkowski

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2020

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An incredible adventure. The beginning was a little tough for me to read but the deeper I went the more I couldn't put the book down. I've bought it because one YouTuber made a video about this story but after reading it I have to admit he failed to convey how challenging it really was. YouTubers name is Thoughty2.

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Stevie G

Superb .The best book ever.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2019

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I have just completed reading this epic true story and I cried at the end. Perfectly written in an easy to absorb style. So captivating in every way. It is as though you are there feeling all of the emotions involved . Should be read by everyone particlarly children. So inspirational.

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Jamie

The best book I've ever read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2018

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I'm not going to leave a long detailed review - this was the best book I've ever read.

I started waking up early before work to read as much as I could and was reading in bed until I could barely hold my eyes open. I only read non fiction as the learning is often what drives me, but non fiction by its nature is rarely a story and unless told well, it can be an active effort to get through.

This is the best parts of non fiction and fiction twisted together and its epic.

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Michael Galvin

Wow!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2016

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I was surprised as I started to read it how little I actually knew about Shackleton's voyage, and the hardship the men put up with. Lansing wastes no time in getting to the part where teh crew abandon ship after it becomes beset by ice and starts to break apart and then spends time cataloguing their quite miserable days, months and years. Its aided throughout by diary entries which lend an air of banality to the whole unbelievable situation. The final few chapters are absolutely gripping.

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Tigerdeano

Un-Be-Lievable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2019

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Despite the age of the book, Lansing has an easy style to read. That makes Endurance enjoyable. That said, it wouldn't really matter how well the book was written, the story itself is compelling. I have never read anything as dramatic and at times unbelievable as this tale. If ever I needed perspective in life - this book is it.

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Mrs AG

Totally gripping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2013

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Started this reluctantly for a book group but was soon gripped. Told in simple, spare prose, it felt all the more vivid for that, and amazingly cinematic - so much so that I felt quite exhausted by the time I got to the end. The journey to South Georgia in a life boat powered only by oars and with the simplest of navigational aids, is told almost wave by wave and is extraordinary. It's an incredible (certainly not too strong a word in this instance) story of human endurance and an example of how "failure" (they did not achieve their aim of reaching the South Pole) can be more interesting and bring forth more laudable feats of strength, physical and psychological, than so-called success. The story will stay in my mind for a long time.

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A. Perry

An Absolutely Incredible Story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2011

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The fates cast Shackletons expedition into an icy abyss. The story of how Shackleton led his team back from that abyss is one of the greatest stories of survival, endurance, skill and initiative ever told. Any single episode, such as the trip to South Georgia, would be incredible in itself. Put together with the other events, the challenges they overcame remain jaw-dropping, and will remain inspirational. This book tells the story based upon evidence and first hand accounts, with an easily read style, and a welcome lack of hyperbolae. The events described need no such embelishment, and as such, the reader is allowed judge matters for themself. This account is worth reading at any time, but especially if things are difficult, or the outlook bleak.

2 people found this helpful

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John Le Sage

Incredible Shackleton's Voyage ?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2013

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We read this in our (non fiction) Reading Group. Despite the monotonous nature of the main events, Lansing manages to create a well written and largely compelling account of the story. Indeed, I found it difficult to put down at times. The tension of their situation is well described and the conditions in which they had to survive seem almost unimagineable now. Our main discussion centred on Shackleton, the man. Should he ever have embarked on such a risky enterprise ? Was his personal and cavalier attitude to crew selection appropriate? Given that he got them all 'into such a mess', did he not show absolutely amazing qualities of endurance and leadership to get them out ? How much was luck ? How much was Worsley's incredible navigational skills ? The book presents us with all these fascinating questions. Highly recommended.

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Gerry Madden

A great read...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2019

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It took a while to get into this book but when I did, I could hardly put it down. By the time I got to the end, I felt that I was there with them and I was amazed at my own sense of elation at the end.

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duncan cameron

5 stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2012

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Very well structured account of the most epic of epic adventures. It would have been easy to portray the exploits of Shackleton and crew of 1916 as a drawn out study of human perseverance, instead we're treated to a lesson in the powers of discipline (aka stiff upper lipiline) and it's ability to conquer almost any circumstance.
The story itself is one of No panic here, only belief in survival based on science, hope and inspirational leadership.
Though hard to believe this is a true tale and although I'd read about it here and there, until this book I was ignorant to the true extent of actual events.

First class storytelling based on the diaries of these heroic survivors.

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johnL

Human Endurance and Leadership.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2019

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This book shows what men can do in the harshest of situations when they are lead by a brave decisive leader such as Shackleton, Churchill or Nelson. Highly recommended reading.

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