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The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton's Endurance
The extraordinary firsthand account of the discovery of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, the ship that gave its name to the world's most famous survival epic, told by the man who led the search.
On November 21, 1914, after sailing more than ten thousand miles from Norway to the Antarctic Ocean, the Endurance finally succumbed to the surrounding ice. Ernest Shackleton and his crew had navigated the 144-foot, three-masted wooden vessel to Antarctica to become the first to cross the barren continent, but early season pack ice trapped them in place offshore. They watched in silence as the ship's stern rose twenty feet in the air and disappeared into the frigid sea, then spent six harrowing months marooned on the ice in its wake. Seal meat was their only sustenance as Shackleton's expedition to push the limits of human strength took a new form: one of survival against the odds.
As this legendary story entered the annals of polar exploration, it inspired a new global race to find the wrecked Endurance, by all accounts "the world's most unreachable shipwreck." Several missions failed, thwarted, as Shackleton was, by the unpredictable Weddell Sea. Finally, a century to the day after Shackleton's death, renowned marine archeologist Mensun Bound and an elite team of explorers discovered the lost shipwreck. Nearly ten thousand feet below the ice lay a remarkably preserved Endurance, its name still emblazoned on the ship's stern.
The Ship Beneath the Ice chronicles two dramatic expeditions to what Shackleton called "the most hostile sea on Earth." Bound experienced failure and despair in his attempts to locate the wreck, and, like Shackleton before him, very nearly found his vessel frozen in ice.
Complete with captivating photos from the 1914 expedition and of the wreck as Bound and his team found it, this inspiring modern-day adventure narrative captures the intrepid spirit that joins two mariners across the centuries--both of whom accomplished the impossible.
On November 21, 1914, after sailing more than ten thousand miles from Norway to the Antarctic Ocean, the Endurance finally succumbed to the surrounding ice. Ernest Shackleton and his crew had navigated the 144-foot, three-masted wooden vessel to Antarctica to become the first to cross the barren continent, but early season pack ice trapped them in place offshore. They watched in silence as the ship's stern rose twenty feet in the air and disappeared into the frigid sea, then spent six harrowing months marooned on the ice in its wake. Seal meat was their only sustenance as Shackleton's expedition to push the limits of human strength took a new form: one of survival against the odds.
As this legendary story entered the annals of polar exploration, it inspired a new global race to find the wrecked Endurance, by all accounts "the world's most unreachable shipwreck." Several missions failed, thwarted, as Shackleton was, by the unpredictable Weddell Sea. Finally, a century to the day after Shackleton's death, renowned marine archeologist Mensun Bound and an elite team of explorers discovered the lost shipwreck. Nearly ten thousand feet below the ice lay a remarkably preserved Endurance, its name still emblazoned on the ship's stern.
The Ship Beneath the Ice chronicles two dramatic expeditions to what Shackleton called "the most hostile sea on Earth." Bound experienced failure and despair in his attempts to locate the wreck, and, like Shackleton before him, very nearly found his vessel frozen in ice.
Complete with captivating photos from the 1914 expedition and of the wreck as Bound and his team found it, this inspiring modern-day adventure narrative captures the intrepid spirit that joins two mariners across the centuries--both of whom accomplished the impossible.
11 pages, Audiobook
First published October 25, 2022
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April 28, 2023
I've never been invited to join an expedition. I think the expedition-inviters spy on possible invitees and thus I will never be asked to go on an expedition. Why?
The followingconversation monologue is from yesterday's walk with my partner, at 48° (9°C) and sunny:
Beginning of walk:
Jenna: Oh my god I'm freezing. I should have worn a coat, I knew I should have worn a coat. Or at least gloves and a scarf. Why didn't you tell me to wear gloves and a scarf?
S: 😐
J: Man, it is cold, I hate the wind. Why does the wind have to blow so much? Can't it stop blowing while we're on our walk. I'm freezing. Aren't you freezing?
S: 😐
J: Oh, look! There's a goose. I wonder why it's by itself. I hope it's not hurt and can't fly with the others. I bet it's cold. I'm cold. This sucks, this stupid wind, I hate it.
3.5 minutes later:
J: Wow, I'm getting hot. That sun is hot.
S: 😐
J (Unzipping jacket): Whew, it's really hot out here. I wish the wind would blow.
30 seconds later:
J (Rolling up sleeves and flapping bottom of shirt): Oh my god it's so hot, that sun is freaking hot. I'm suffocating, aren't you suffocating with your jacket on?
S: 😐
J: I hate the sun, I really hate the sun. Why does it have to be so hot, why can't there be clouds until we're done. It's too hot.
J (ripping off jacket and rolling up pant legs): I wish I was on the treadmill. It's too hot out here and I'm sweating and there are bugs and this really sucks. Aren't you hot yet? I don't know how you're not hot. I'm stifling. I can't stand this. I hate the sun. Oh my god I'm going to scream I'm sweating so bad.
S: 😐
J: I have to pee.
S: 🤦♀️
Poor S. I don't know how she puts up with me. She's got perseverance. She might get invited on an expedition.
The only way I can enjoy one is through books, and really, that's the only way I want to enjoy one: while sitting on a comfortable couch in my nice temperature-controlled home, with a warm cup of tea or cold cup of fizzy water.
And that is exactly how I enjoyed the expedition to find Shackleton's sunken ship Endurance.
The author, Mensun Bound, led a couple of trips to find the missing ship in the frozen waters of the Weddell Sea, what Shackleton called 'the most hostile sea on Earth'.
It was exciting to follow along, and especially to read about the technology they used to hunt for it. Mr. Bound writes engagingly and intertwines the story of Shackleton's "failed" expedition to be the first to cross the Antarctic with the modern day hunt for the Endurance.
He added excerpts from the diaries of Shackleton and several of his men, and I could almost feel the cold and see the barren surroundings.
There is hunting involved and I had to skip those parts. It was necessary for the survival of Shackleton and his team, but I still didn't want to read about it.
Other than that, I enjoyed this book. There is a photo section that made it all the more real. It was exciting to see Endurance resting on the ocean floor, especially after reading how much went into finding it.
If you like tales of endurance (ha, ha), this is an interesting book. You won't find any complainers on board any of the ships, further proof that I will never get invited on any expedition.
Image: The stern of Endurance, resting on the ocean floor. Source
The following
Beginning of walk:
Jenna: Oh my god I'm freezing. I should have worn a coat, I knew I should have worn a coat. Or at least gloves and a scarf. Why didn't you tell me to wear gloves and a scarf?
S: 😐
J: Man, it is cold, I hate the wind. Why does the wind have to blow so much? Can't it stop blowing while we're on our walk. I'm freezing. Aren't you freezing?
S: 😐
J: Oh, look! There's a goose. I wonder why it's by itself. I hope it's not hurt and can't fly with the others. I bet it's cold. I'm cold. This sucks, this stupid wind, I hate it.
3.5 minutes later:
J: Wow, I'm getting hot. That sun is hot.
S: 😐
J (Unzipping jacket): Whew, it's really hot out here. I wish the wind would blow.
30 seconds later:
J (Rolling up sleeves and flapping bottom of shirt): Oh my god it's so hot, that sun is freaking hot. I'm suffocating, aren't you suffocating with your jacket on?
S: 😐
J: I hate the sun, I really hate the sun. Why does it have to be so hot, why can't there be clouds until we're done. It's too hot.
J (ripping off jacket and rolling up pant legs): I wish I was on the treadmill. It's too hot out here and I'm sweating and there are bugs and this really sucks. Aren't you hot yet? I don't know how you're not hot. I'm stifling. I can't stand this. I hate the sun. Oh my god I'm going to scream I'm sweating so bad.
S: 😐
J: I have to pee.
S: 🤦♀️
Poor S. I don't know how she puts up with me. She's got perseverance. She might get invited on an expedition.
The only way I can enjoy one is through books, and really, that's the only way I want to enjoy one: while sitting on a comfortable couch in my nice temperature-controlled home, with a warm cup of tea or cold cup of fizzy water.
And that is exactly how I enjoyed the expedition to find Shackleton's sunken ship Endurance.
The author, Mensun Bound, led a couple of trips to find the missing ship in the frozen waters of the Weddell Sea, what Shackleton called 'the most hostile sea on Earth'.
It was exciting to follow along, and especially to read about the technology they used to hunt for it. Mr. Bound writes engagingly and intertwines the story of Shackleton's "failed" expedition to be the first to cross the Antarctic with the modern day hunt for the Endurance.
He added excerpts from the diaries of Shackleton and several of his men, and I could almost feel the cold and see the barren surroundings.
There is hunting involved and I had to skip those parts. It was necessary for the survival of Shackleton and his team, but I still didn't want to read about it.
Other than that, I enjoyed this book. There is a photo section that made it all the more real. It was exciting to see Endurance resting on the ocean floor, especially after reading how much went into finding it.
If you like tales of endurance (ha, ha), this is an interesting book. You won't find any complainers on board any of the ships, further proof that I will never get invited on any expedition.
Image: The stern of Endurance, resting on the ocean floor. Source
December 28, 2022
Mensun Bound’s book tells two fascinating stories: that of Shackleton’s shipwreck and against-all-odds survival and an account of the expeditions a hundred years later to locate Shackleton’s ship, The Endurance, beneath the Weddell Sea.
In spite of the fact that we know the outcome of each - Shackleton and his entire crew miraculously survived and Endurance was found and photographed – both, in their different ways, are suspenseful tales of courage and ingenuity in a hostile environment.
The raw material for this book is wonderfully epic and, in spite of its shortcomings, it is well worth reading. It is, however, repeatedly let down by the writing.
Bound jumps from the events of 1915 to the 2019 expedition with detours via his earlier career and passages of vague environmentalism.
His account is heavy laden with acronyms:
‘Once the ROV was back at 1830 hours, CTD and coring work was conducted at Station No. 2, following which AUV 9 was launched for further tests.’
It is studded with odd metaphors: ‘We have 25 scientists on Agulhas II: the full petri dish, you might say’, and at times it reads more Mills & Boon: ‘Ray is a rough, tough, spit-in-your-eye Texan with a physique straight out of Stonehenge.’
Bound was the Director of Exploration on the expedition to locate Endurance. It is ironic that his greatest insights are from his study of the Shackleton expedition, particularly the diaries of Shackleton’s crew, rather than from the expeditions he lead to find it. At one point he writes, ‘Shackleton['s diary] is probably the most irritating of all because he, potentially, has the most to say, but he does not say it.’ That is just how I feel about Bound.
In spite of the fact that we know the outcome of each - Shackleton and his entire crew miraculously survived and Endurance was found and photographed – both, in their different ways, are suspenseful tales of courage and ingenuity in a hostile environment.
The raw material for this book is wonderfully epic and, in spite of its shortcomings, it is well worth reading. It is, however, repeatedly let down by the writing.
Bound jumps from the events of 1915 to the 2019 expedition with detours via his earlier career and passages of vague environmentalism.
His account is heavy laden with acronyms:
‘Once the ROV was back at 1830 hours, CTD and coring work was conducted at Station No. 2, following which AUV 9 was launched for further tests.’
It is studded with odd metaphors: ‘We have 25 scientists on Agulhas II: the full petri dish, you might say’, and at times it reads more Mills & Boon: ‘Ray is a rough, tough, spit-in-your-eye Texan with a physique straight out of Stonehenge.’
Bound was the Director of Exploration on the expedition to locate Endurance. It is ironic that his greatest insights are from his study of the Shackleton expedition, particularly the diaries of Shackleton’s crew, rather than from the expeditions he lead to find it. At one point he writes, ‘Shackleton['s diary] is probably the most irritating of all because he, potentially, has the most to say, but he does not say it.’ That is just how I feel about Bound.
June 7, 2024
Fascinating. This is actually two stories. The author's two attempts to find Ernest Shackleton's ship, The Endurance and Shackleton's story - one of the most amazing tales in Polar Exploration.
Shackleton left England just before to WW I began to attempt to become the first expedition to cross Antarctica, stopping at the South Pole along the way. The previous trips to the south pole had been out and back. Before he could make land fall, his ship got stuck in the ice and was eventually crushed and sank. Shackleton was able to get his men off the ice and on to an island and from there, with 4 companions undertook an 800 mile journey over some of the stormiest seas on the planet to the Falkland Islands in an open boat. When he arrived he was on the wrong side of the island, so he had to cross an imposing mountain range in the winter to get to a permanent settlement. He was successful and got all of his men out.
The author of this book was the head archaeologist of the expedition to find the Endurance on two different attempts, 2019 and2022. It written in a diary style, the chapters is one days account of the two expeditions. The author relates the problems his expeditions faced from technical, weather, just where the Endurance was, etc. While telling the search story, the author also interweaves Shackleton's story.
One point the author makes about Shackleton and his leadership is that in all his polar expeditions, Shackleton never lost a man.
I found this fascinating. Solid four stars
Shackleton left England just before to WW I began to attempt to become the first expedition to cross Antarctica, stopping at the South Pole along the way. The previous trips to the south pole had been out and back. Before he could make land fall, his ship got stuck in the ice and was eventually crushed and sank. Shackleton was able to get his men off the ice and on to an island and from there, with 4 companions undertook an 800 mile journey over some of the stormiest seas on the planet to the Falkland Islands in an open boat. When he arrived he was on the wrong side of the island, so he had to cross an imposing mountain range in the winter to get to a permanent settlement. He was successful and got all of his men out.
The author of this book was the head archaeologist of the expedition to find the Endurance on two different attempts, 2019 and2022. It written in a diary style, the chapters is one days account of the two expeditions. The author relates the problems his expeditions faced from technical, weather, just where the Endurance was, etc. While telling the search story, the author also interweaves Shackleton's story.
One point the author makes about Shackleton and his leadership is that in all his polar expeditions, Shackleton never lost a man.
I found this fascinating. Solid four stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2024
i mean it was okay, but i thought it was going to be more about the shackleton expedition too and less of mensun bound's day-by-day diaries
March 6, 2023
A really great read about the team that found the wreck of Shackleton's Endurance and what it took to both get there and then actually find it. While the author discusses aspects of the original voyage, I highly recommend that you read the excellent Alfred Lansing book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" to get the full story [and the full craziness of that whole trip and the subsequent survival story] before diving into this book.
While there are parts that were pretty technical [and may or may not have made my eyes glaze over a tad], overall, it is a very good read and a perfect companion to the Alfred Lansing book. I have to admit to being pretty excited when they finally find the wreck; I cannot even imagine how cool that must have been. Well done.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mensun Bound and Mariner Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
While there are parts that were pretty technical [and may or may not have made my eyes glaze over a tad], overall, it is a very good read and a perfect companion to the Alfred Lansing book. I have to admit to being pretty excited when they finally find the wreck; I cannot even imagine how cool that must have been. Well done.
Thank you to NetGalley, Mensun Bound and Mariner Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 30, 2022
Fascinating account of the logic and research that went unto finding Endurance. Already fascinated by Shackletons doomed journey, I feel I have a richer understanding of the journey itself, as the author has access to material I don't, and has has read everything that I haven't got round to yet.
The rollercoaster of the modern expeditions were also thrilling to follow. Personally, I really liked the authors style which felt more like we were having a conversation. All round a most enjoyable read on a fascinating topic.
The rollercoaster of the modern expeditions were also thrilling to follow. Personally, I really liked the authors style which felt more like we were having a conversation. All round a most enjoyable read on a fascinating topic.
July 30, 2023
A fascinating look at a modern voyage to the Antarctic, contending with some of the very same icy hazards and weather risks as the ship this mission was seeking, even amid climate changes. At the same time, it was tempered by boring stretches, and some of Bound's opinions and thoughts I didn't particularly care for.
March 7, 2023
Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for accepting my request to read and review The Ship Beneath the Ice -- The Discovery of Shackleton's Endurance.
Published: 02/28/23
This was a miss for me, personally. I am a long-time Shackleton follower. I've read, watched, and studied Shackleton my entire adult life.
Bound told too much of Shackleton's story. The book is finding the Endurance. I see two parts, two separate entities.
If I was gifted this book, I would be happy and shelve it. However, I wouldn't pick it up for myself. After reflecting for several days, I decided I've reached a point with Shackleton where it's out with the old and in with the new. How many people will Google Endurance? Shackleton?
Published: 02/28/23
This was a miss for me, personally. I am a long-time Shackleton follower. I've read, watched, and studied Shackleton my entire adult life.
Bound told too much of Shackleton's story. The book is finding the Endurance. I see two parts, two separate entities.
If I was gifted this book, I would be happy and shelve it. However, I wouldn't pick it up for myself. After reflecting for several days, I decided I've reached a point with Shackleton where it's out with the old and in with the new. How many people will Google Endurance? Shackleton?
April 22, 2024
I have a love-hate relationship with the structure of the book. It got seriously boring at times focusing on the minutiae of daily life on the expedition: weather made things difficult, technical issues, etc. Part of me just wanted to shout "Get to the good part! Find the Endurance already!" But then another part of me appreciated the focus on the minutiae, because it gives you a real sense of what a maritime archaeological expedition is like. And it's kinda fascinating.
March 9, 2025
I was unsure about this.
I followed the Endurance22 expedition avidly, listening to Dan Snow and History Hit’s podcasts and reading the almost daily updates, and I still remember first seeing the incredible photo of the Endurance under the ice: that striking and beautiful stern and how intact she still looked. It was almost formative for me, stoking a fire in me which was already burning significantly for polar exploration. The accompanying National Geographic documentary is absolutely amazing. I have read many books about Shackleton and even have his motto ‘Fortitudine Vincimus’ tattooed on me with an anchor and pole star.
But this book… It was a bit of a miss for me. Its strengths were in the insights into the historical Endurance and the famous expedition to Antarctica and its loss, followed by the open boat journey in the James Caird and the crossing of South Georgia. The actual re-discovery of the Endurance was exciting and touching. I was particularly struck by the part where Captain Knowledge gave a speech at the service at Shackleton’s grave.
I just couldn’t get into the modern exploration and the technology. There is a lot of jargon and the structure of a day-by-day diary didn’t really work for me as I couldn’t gel with the central voice. Shackleton and the story of the Endurance remain the most interesting things.
So definitely of two minds, but that doesn’t diminish how amazing this discovery was.
I followed the Endurance22 expedition avidly, listening to Dan Snow and History Hit’s podcasts and reading the almost daily updates, and I still remember first seeing the incredible photo of the Endurance under the ice: that striking and beautiful stern and how intact she still looked. It was almost formative for me, stoking a fire in me which was already burning significantly for polar exploration. The accompanying National Geographic documentary is absolutely amazing. I have read many books about Shackleton and even have his motto ‘Fortitudine Vincimus’ tattooed on me with an anchor and pole star.
But this book… It was a bit of a miss for me. Its strengths were in the insights into the historical Endurance and the famous expedition to Antarctica and its loss, followed by the open boat journey in the James Caird and the crossing of South Georgia. The actual re-discovery of the Endurance was exciting and touching. I was particularly struck by the part where Captain Knowledge gave a speech at the service at Shackleton’s grave.
I just couldn’t get into the modern exploration and the technology. There is a lot of jargon and the structure of a day-by-day diary didn’t really work for me as I couldn’t gel with the central voice. Shackleton and the story of the Endurance remain the most interesting things.
So definitely of two minds, but that doesn’t diminish how amazing this discovery was.
January 19, 2025
Interesting in that it covers both the search for the sunken Endurance in 2022 as well as snippets of the Shackleton team’s experience in 1915. Lots of descriptions of weather, seals, penguins, etc. I did not know that literally hundreds of penguins were eaten as food by the Shackleton crew while they waited to sail north on lifeboats.
October 13, 2024
An excellent read. The “unknown” author (in the original Goodreads listing, since corrected) is “Mensun Bound” who led two expeditions to try to find the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship the “Endurance”. I read “South”, Shackleton’s account of his doomed Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 some years ago, and watched Kenneth Branagh’s excellent dramatisation of that expedition on Channel 4 way back in 2002.
Whilst Scott of the Antarctic may be more famous, Shackleton is remarkable in that he never lost a man on any of his expeditions. Indeed, he could have become the first person to reach the South Pole but he turned back with only 100 miles to go because he knew if he continued that not all of his party would return alive. Once Amundsen reached the South Pole first and returned safely, closely followed by Scott, whose entire Pole party died on the return trip, Shackleton decided to try to become the first to cross the Antarctic.
However his party never even reached landfall. The Endurance got trapped in the ice floes of the Weddell Sea and was eventually crushed by the ice and sank into 3,000 metres of icy cold water. “South” is the story of how the party of 29 men managed to survive on the ice and use the ship’s boats to eventually sail to Elephant Island, then one boat went on to South Georgia, the crew having to then spend 36 hours crossing mountainous terrain to eventually reach habitation and start arranging a rescue party for those left behind on Elephant Island - which in itself took 4 attempts in different ships because of the ice conditions.
This book recounts the 2019 and 2022 efforts to find the wreck of the Endurance. Shackleton’s party was blessed in having a truly exceptional navigator on board in the form of New Zealander Frank Worsley. Without him it is unlikely that Shackleton would have successfully made it to South Georgia. It was also his famous positioning of the site where Endurance was when she eventually sank which was used as the basis for the search area used in 2019 and 2022. In the event she was found in the sea bed only about 4 nautical miles south of that point.
This book is largely based on diary entries made by Mensun Bound as the two searches were conducted. It is a fascinating read, covering the preparations for the expeditions, the large number of people involved, the search ship and her crew, the use of modern technology for underwater exploration, the decisions to be made on what search area to use and the trials and tribulations of getting the technology to work in the most difficult sea conditions in the world. They have to face the ever present danger of becoming locked in the ice themselves and only having very limited time in the search area, both due to the hiring time of their ship and the vagaries of the multi-year ice floes which force them off station and must always be respected. There are also frequent reminders of what Shackleton’s party went through at pertinent times.
Obviously the first expedition ended in failure when AUV 7 goes missing, along with all its data which can only be downloaded once it is recovered, but the second is a triumphal success and the author is more than pleased to know that if the first AUV had successfully completed its mission then it would have found Endurance too, in its second dive. That was particularly pleasing as armchair critics with much less knowledge of Shackleton’s expedition and no experience at all of the realities of working in the frozen Weddell Sea frequently criticised the chosen search area.
If my reading of this book hadn’t coincided with a family funeral I would easily have finished it in 5 days as it was very much a “moreish” read. Thoroughly enjoyable and a fantastic achievement.
Whilst Scott of the Antarctic may be more famous, Shackleton is remarkable in that he never lost a man on any of his expeditions. Indeed, he could have become the first person to reach the South Pole but he turned back with only 100 miles to go because he knew if he continued that not all of his party would return alive. Once Amundsen reached the South Pole first and returned safely, closely followed by Scott, whose entire Pole party died on the return trip, Shackleton decided to try to become the first to cross the Antarctic.
However his party never even reached landfall. The Endurance got trapped in the ice floes of the Weddell Sea and was eventually crushed by the ice and sank into 3,000 metres of icy cold water. “South” is the story of how the party of 29 men managed to survive on the ice and use the ship’s boats to eventually sail to Elephant Island, then one boat went on to South Georgia, the crew having to then spend 36 hours crossing mountainous terrain to eventually reach habitation and start arranging a rescue party for those left behind on Elephant Island - which in itself took 4 attempts in different ships because of the ice conditions.
This book recounts the 2019 and 2022 efforts to find the wreck of the Endurance. Shackleton’s party was blessed in having a truly exceptional navigator on board in the form of New Zealander Frank Worsley. Without him it is unlikely that Shackleton would have successfully made it to South Georgia. It was also his famous positioning of the site where Endurance was when she eventually sank which was used as the basis for the search area used in 2019 and 2022. In the event she was found in the sea bed only about 4 nautical miles south of that point.
This book is largely based on diary entries made by Mensun Bound as the two searches were conducted. It is a fascinating read, covering the preparations for the expeditions, the large number of people involved, the search ship and her crew, the use of modern technology for underwater exploration, the decisions to be made on what search area to use and the trials and tribulations of getting the technology to work in the most difficult sea conditions in the world. They have to face the ever present danger of becoming locked in the ice themselves and only having very limited time in the search area, both due to the hiring time of their ship and the vagaries of the multi-year ice floes which force them off station and must always be respected. There are also frequent reminders of what Shackleton’s party went through at pertinent times.
Obviously the first expedition ended in failure when AUV 7 goes missing, along with all its data which can only be downloaded once it is recovered, but the second is a triumphal success and the author is more than pleased to know that if the first AUV had successfully completed its mission then it would have found Endurance too, in its second dive. That was particularly pleasing as armchair critics with much less knowledge of Shackleton’s expedition and no experience at all of the realities of working in the frozen Weddell Sea frequently criticised the chosen search area.
If my reading of this book hadn’t coincided with a family funeral I would easily have finished it in 5 days as it was very much a “moreish” read. Thoroughly enjoyable and a fantastic achievement.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2022
Would you like to read someone's diary? Ok, but what if that diary is about finding a sunken ship under the ice of Antarctica? Now I have your attention, don't I?
Mensun Bound's The Ship Beneath the Ice follows two attempts by Bound to locate Endurance. Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated ship sank over 100 years ago and there are some pretty good leads about where it is exactly. Unfortunately, it is in the most inhospitable place on Earth.
Bound writes a day by day diary of his two missions to locate Endurance. You would have to ignore a lot of news to not know how the second mission finally turned out. Bound also intersperses insight from Shackleton's famous trip into his own experiences. This method of telling a story is very effective at first. Bound is open about his own self-doubt, his challenges, and what Endurance means to him. I enjoyed having a narrator who is so candid about his feelings and fears.
Unfortunately, it starts to slow the narrative down by the end of the book. Bound is still talking about the original Endurance mission in the final chapters and it gets distracting rather than enlightening. By that point, you just want to hear about the outcome of the mission and what it means. It doesn't ruin the book by any means, but it takes a little shine off the apple.
(This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 3/7/2023.)
Mensun Bound's The Ship Beneath the Ice follows two attempts by Bound to locate Endurance. Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated ship sank over 100 years ago and there are some pretty good leads about where it is exactly. Unfortunately, it is in the most inhospitable place on Earth.
Bound writes a day by day diary of his two missions to locate Endurance. You would have to ignore a lot of news to not know how the second mission finally turned out. Bound also intersperses insight from Shackleton's famous trip into his own experiences. This method of telling a story is very effective at first. Bound is open about his own self-doubt, his challenges, and what Endurance means to him. I enjoyed having a narrator who is so candid about his feelings and fears.
Unfortunately, it starts to slow the narrative down by the end of the book. Bound is still talking about the original Endurance mission in the final chapters and it gets distracting rather than enlightening. By that point, you just want to hear about the outcome of the mission and what it means. It doesn't ruin the book by any means, but it takes a little shine off the apple.
(This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 3/7/2023.)
January 31, 2023
This was very nearly a DNF.
The only parts I found interesting and well-written were the sections about Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Crossing. I didn't actually care about the discovery expeditions, they were quite dull and overburdened with technical minutiae about underwater search vehicles and hydrographic-related terminology, which the author in no way presented in a particularly accessible or exciting way.
I ended up skipping all of the present-day happenings (i.e. most of the book) in favour of the Shackleton section. This meant that Part 2 flew by in no time at all, as Bound's recounting of Shackleton's tale was over by then.
Though I'm aware the focus of the book is on the discovery of the Endurance, it's a shame we didn't get a fuller account of Shackleton's journey.
Who knew one could make an account of a shipwreck discovery so boring?
Turns out what I actually wanted to read was an account of Shackleton's journey.
The only parts I found interesting and well-written were the sections about Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Crossing. I didn't actually care about the discovery expeditions, they were quite dull and overburdened with technical minutiae about underwater search vehicles and hydrographic-related terminology, which the author in no way presented in a particularly accessible or exciting way.
I ended up skipping all of the present-day happenings (i.e. most of the book) in favour of the Shackleton section. This meant that Part 2 flew by in no time at all, as Bound's recounting of Shackleton's tale was over by then.
Though I'm aware the focus of the book is on the discovery of the Endurance, it's a shame we didn't get a fuller account of Shackleton's journey.
Who knew one could make an account of a shipwreck discovery so boring?
Turns out what I actually wanted to read was an account of Shackleton's journey.
July 23, 2023
Shackleton’s attempt to reach the South Pole is a fascinating account of bravery, perseverance, heroism, and, yes, endurance. This account of two expeditions to find Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, which became icebound and sank, leaving the men of the expedition stranded on the Antarctic ice, is just boring.
There are technical issues. There are weather issues. They get stuck in port waiting for parts to fix the underwater drone. What I cannot tell you is whether they eventually reached the Endurance, because I quit reading.
There’s an hour long documentary about these attempts on (I think) the Smithsonian Channel. Watch that instead.
There are technical issues. There are weather issues. They get stuck in port waiting for parts to fix the underwater drone. What I cannot tell you is whether they eventually reached the Endurance, because I quit reading.
There’s an hour long documentary about these attempts on (I think) the Smithsonian Channel. Watch that instead.
March 10, 2023
A Compelling Read
After reading The Ship Beneath The Ice, you cannot help but remember and appreciate the complex difficulty of operating in such an inhospitable part of the world and to overcome the numerous unanticipated near calamities arising from the Antarctic surroundings to, in the end, locate and film such an archeological treasure. All members of this expedition must truly be the best!!
After reading The Ship Beneath The Ice, you cannot help but remember and appreciate the complex difficulty of operating in such an inhospitable part of the world and to overcome the numerous unanticipated near calamities arising from the Antarctic surroundings to, in the end, locate and film such an archeological treasure. All members of this expedition must truly be the best!!
July 22, 2023
Outstanding literary work.
If you never thought much about shipwrecks, you will after absorbing this work of art. Thanks for sharing this, it's more than a story, it's a goal for life!
If you never thought much about shipwrecks, you will after absorbing this work of art. Thanks for sharing this, it's more than a story, it's a goal for life!
December 22, 2023
I don't even know what to say. It has numbed my brain. It wasn't all that bad, it was quite interesting at the beginning but as he dragged on i lost interest.
Would be great for people who like ships 👍
Would be great for people who like ships 👍
December 9, 2023
Mensun Bound has written a wonderfully gripping and engaging account of his time as the Director of Exploration in the hunt for the Endurance, Shackleton's legendary ship lost to the ice of the Weddell Sea in 1915.
We follow Bound on both the 2019 & 2022 expeditions. The former does start to feel repetitive towards the end of the mission, though that's more due to the nature of the dives than as a criticism of Bound's writing, as it consists of sending down an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), moving the ship ahead to reach it when it resurfaces a few hours later whilst receiving no real-time information on whether it has found the wreck. Thankfully, Bound's writing is varied and engaging enough to more than compensate for this slight lag, being able to pull from multiple sources into a well-balanced and engaging narrative. We have the technical aspect of the modern-day expedition and the more personal interactions between the science teams and crew, as well as the corresponding events from the Endurance expedition itself, and his history as a marine archaeologist working on other wrecks. I particularly loved the accounts of how the Endurance’s captain Frank Worsley managed to navigate to Elephant Island and then South Georgia in the most deranged conditions and Bound is able to pull from both published and unpublished diaries to really build up a sense of what things were like for the men. He also isn’t afraid to show them in a not so pleasant light, such as Shackleton refusing to recommend carpenter Chippy McNish for the Polar Medal, or the crew’s frankly horrendous treatment of Orde-Lees.
Despite the repetition, the 2019 expedition still manages to build a sense of discomfort that even with the technology and skill of the team things just keep going wrong, as whilst technical prowess of the Agulhas II and modern icebreakers are amazing, we are left in no doubt as to the dangers of the Weddell Sea. Ice closes in and almost traps them, AUVs vanish under the ice, and vehicle cables break and have to be re-tethered by other craft. The feeling is further exacerbated by asides on the effects of climate change on Antarctica, such as the loss of the Larsen B ice shelf, and the effect of the potential collapse of interoceanic currents. The 2022 expedition in contrast has a brilliant building sense of anticipation. Given the photo on the back cover it’s not a spoiler to point out that they do indeed find the Endurance, and with each pass of the underwater vessel (now thankfully sending up information in real-time) he really manages to give a sense of the anticipation and the stress as they slowly home in on the co-ordinates of the wreck, especially as Bound acknowledges that given his age this will be the last chance he gets he find the Endurance.
It isn’t all heavy stuff though, as there are still fun asides, such as popping to the shop for souvenir patches on King George Island (even in the Antarctic you can never beat a good souvenir shop), and there are plenty of characters in both the Agulhas II’s crew and the science team. Bound memorably describes the Endurance wreck as the “pre-eminent submerged tease of our times”, and old ice is described by the mate with the serious technical terms of “some pretty badass stuff”. My favourite moment has to be when the Endurance is finally found and “Jim was so overwhelmed that he almost felt the room spin around him. ‘Sexy picture’, was all he could think to say.” Clearly, a man after my own heart.
Bound’s also able to turn a moving turn of phrase. Antarctica is the kind of landscape that few of us will get to see in person, and he’s able to give a sense of the beauty of it, not just the danger.
“It seems almost as if we had trespassed into some polar hidey-hole where the gods go to drain their rainbows. Bends, spills and blushes were all draped with cloud and punctuated by silhouettes of bergs thousands of years old. Nobody said a thing.”
As well as:
“You sit there, alone in the dark with your thoughts, looking out over the bow into a vast ocean you can barely see. Your feelings swell and heave with the vessel. To me it is almost spiritual and, if ever I doff my agnosticism, I know that it will be on the bridge of a ship at night that I find my path to God.”
Where this really pays off is in the description of Shackleton’s death. I’m not one for co-incidences, but finding the Endurance a hundred years to the day of Shackleton’s burial, potentially even down to the hour, is certainly a bizarre one. On their way back to civilisation after finding the Endurance the team make a stop at South Georgia to visit his grave, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up a bit at Bound’s speech to the team from the graveside:
“As I stand here beside his grave with all of you, dear friends, crew and team, it occurs to me that in all Shackleton’s expeditions into danger, which he himself led, the only life he lost was his own.”
Despite this, there are definitely a few niggles that I could point out. At the minor end, it’s a shame that there isn’t a map of the 2019/2022 expeditions, only of the path of the Endurance herself. It might be that as the movement of the Agulhas II was dependant on the leads in the ice that a map of her movement might become too much of a mess to read, as Shackleton said there are no straight lines when dealing with the ice, but as there so many mentions of islands/parts of Antarctica early in the book it would be nice to see them placed in the larger context.
On the more serious end, there’s a lack of context that caused me to bump it down to four stars. We go from Bound discussing with a friend in Café Nero how he’d like to find the Endurance, to meeting up with the robotics team, to setting off from South Africa with very little connecting tissue. The 2019 expedition was not just about finding the Endurance but also had various scientific researchers completing their own projects, but how they all came together (and often what they are doing) is also unclear. At the opposite end of the expedition there are also a lot of interesting questions about what happens to the wreck now she has been found, particularly around ownership and salvage/research that would have been nice to discuss in more detail, even if they were only hypothetical.
Nevertheless, Bound still gives a wonderful account of the discovery of the Endurance, even if he ironically wasn’t on the ship at the time, having popped off for a stroll along the ice when she was finally found!
We follow Bound on both the 2019 & 2022 expeditions. The former does start to feel repetitive towards the end of the mission, though that's more due to the nature of the dives than as a criticism of Bound's writing, as it consists of sending down an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), moving the ship ahead to reach it when it resurfaces a few hours later whilst receiving no real-time information on whether it has found the wreck. Thankfully, Bound's writing is varied and engaging enough to more than compensate for this slight lag, being able to pull from multiple sources into a well-balanced and engaging narrative. We have the technical aspect of the modern-day expedition and the more personal interactions between the science teams and crew, as well as the corresponding events from the Endurance expedition itself, and his history as a marine archaeologist working on other wrecks. I particularly loved the accounts of how the Endurance’s captain Frank Worsley managed to navigate to Elephant Island and then South Georgia in the most deranged conditions and Bound is able to pull from both published and unpublished diaries to really build up a sense of what things were like for the men. He also isn’t afraid to show them in a not so pleasant light, such as Shackleton refusing to recommend carpenter Chippy McNish for the Polar Medal, or the crew’s frankly horrendous treatment of Orde-Lees.
Despite the repetition, the 2019 expedition still manages to build a sense of discomfort that even with the technology and skill of the team things just keep going wrong, as whilst technical prowess of the Agulhas II and modern icebreakers are amazing, we are left in no doubt as to the dangers of the Weddell Sea. Ice closes in and almost traps them, AUVs vanish under the ice, and vehicle cables break and have to be re-tethered by other craft. The feeling is further exacerbated by asides on the effects of climate change on Antarctica, such as the loss of the Larsen B ice shelf, and the effect of the potential collapse of interoceanic currents. The 2022 expedition in contrast has a brilliant building sense of anticipation. Given the photo on the back cover it’s not a spoiler to point out that they do indeed find the Endurance, and with each pass of the underwater vessel (now thankfully sending up information in real-time) he really manages to give a sense of the anticipation and the stress as they slowly home in on the co-ordinates of the wreck, especially as Bound acknowledges that given his age this will be the last chance he gets he find the Endurance.
It isn’t all heavy stuff though, as there are still fun asides, such as popping to the shop for souvenir patches on King George Island (even in the Antarctic you can never beat a good souvenir shop), and there are plenty of characters in both the Agulhas II’s crew and the science team. Bound memorably describes the Endurance wreck as the “pre-eminent submerged tease of our times”, and old ice is described by the mate with the serious technical terms of “some pretty badass stuff”. My favourite moment has to be when the Endurance is finally found and “Jim was so overwhelmed that he almost felt the room spin around him. ‘Sexy picture’, was all he could think to say.” Clearly, a man after my own heart.
Bound’s also able to turn a moving turn of phrase. Antarctica is the kind of landscape that few of us will get to see in person, and he’s able to give a sense of the beauty of it, not just the danger.
“It seems almost as if we had trespassed into some polar hidey-hole where the gods go to drain their rainbows. Bends, spills and blushes were all draped with cloud and punctuated by silhouettes of bergs thousands of years old. Nobody said a thing.”
As well as:
“You sit there, alone in the dark with your thoughts, looking out over the bow into a vast ocean you can barely see. Your feelings swell and heave with the vessel. To me it is almost spiritual and, if ever I doff my agnosticism, I know that it will be on the bridge of a ship at night that I find my path to God.”
Where this really pays off is in the description of Shackleton’s death. I’m not one for co-incidences, but finding the Endurance a hundred years to the day of Shackleton’s burial, potentially even down to the hour, is certainly a bizarre one. On their way back to civilisation after finding the Endurance the team make a stop at South Georgia to visit his grave, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up a bit at Bound’s speech to the team from the graveside:
“As I stand here beside his grave with all of you, dear friends, crew and team, it occurs to me that in all Shackleton’s expeditions into danger, which he himself led, the only life he lost was his own.”
Despite this, there are definitely a few niggles that I could point out. At the minor end, it’s a shame that there isn’t a map of the 2019/2022 expeditions, only of the path of the Endurance herself. It might be that as the movement of the Agulhas II was dependant on the leads in the ice that a map of her movement might become too much of a mess to read, as Shackleton said there are no straight lines when dealing with the ice, but as there so many mentions of islands/parts of Antarctica early in the book it would be nice to see them placed in the larger context.
On the more serious end, there’s a lack of context that caused me to bump it down to four stars. We go from Bound discussing with a friend in Café Nero how he’d like to find the Endurance, to meeting up with the robotics team, to setting off from South Africa with very little connecting tissue. The 2019 expedition was not just about finding the Endurance but also had various scientific researchers completing their own projects, but how they all came together (and often what they are doing) is also unclear. At the opposite end of the expedition there are also a lot of interesting questions about what happens to the wreck now she has been found, particularly around ownership and salvage/research that would have been nice to discuss in more detail, even if they were only hypothetical.
Nevertheless, Bound still gives a wonderful account of the discovery of the Endurance, even if he ironically wasn’t on the ship at the time, having popped off for a stroll along the ice when she was finally found!
April 30, 2025
I have exactly one criticism of this book, and that is how often the author referred to the Endurance as "the greatest shipwreck of them all" or in the world, or some variation thereof, because, I'm sorry, but it is the second.
Ask anyone all over the world if they've heard of the Endurance and probably a lot of them have (I will allow probably this is more common in the UK and Commonwealth countries than in the US), but ask anyone all over the world if they've ever heard of the Titanic? Pretty much everyone will have, and amazingly, this was true even before there was a blockbuster movie that took over the 1990s. Case closed.
As a former Titanic Kid, now, unsurprisingly a Titanic adult, I need to stand up for my ship, no shade at all to the Endurance.
(OK, fine, I will also allow that the Endurance is in much better shape, a factor of being in a more ideal environment for preservation and not having been violently torn in two before sinking).
Because this was completely fascinating. The descriptions of Antarctica are compelling, and so vivid you feel as if you are there. I learned a huge amount about what kind of research is conducted in Antarctica, and that often, real, hard science is done on these flashy expeditions so they get funding more easily. The dangers of being in this environment, as well as how little the region is understood, were incredibly interesting to read about.
The expedition is easily followed, though I think perhaps readers with some familiarity with deep water exploration might have an easier time. AUVs, Autonomous Undersea Vehicles, were defined and explained, but their remote counterparts, ROVs, were not. This presents no difficulty to anyone who has been immersed in Titanica all their lives, perhaps not as easily followed by someone with less familiarity. I actually didn't realize how familiar with deep water shipwreck exploration I was, because I always considered something I had to learn about to do anything in Titanic land. But I guess any of us who spend time in that world learn it by osmosis.
Interspersed with the story of the search is the story of Shackleton's expedition. I have some basic familiarity with the history, but I'm not an expert. I had no difficulty following this at all, and it added a great deal to the story of the search.
Amazing that ship was found the same day Shackleton was buried.
Highly recommend.
Ask anyone all over the world if they've heard of the Endurance and probably a lot of them have (I will allow probably this is more common in the UK and Commonwealth countries than in the US), but ask anyone all over the world if they've ever heard of the Titanic? Pretty much everyone will have, and amazingly, this was true even before there was a blockbuster movie that took over the 1990s. Case closed.
As a former Titanic Kid, now, unsurprisingly a Titanic adult, I need to stand up for my ship, no shade at all to the Endurance.
(OK, fine, I will also allow that the Endurance is in much better shape, a factor of being in a more ideal environment for preservation and not having been violently torn in two before sinking).
Because this was completely fascinating. The descriptions of Antarctica are compelling, and so vivid you feel as if you are there. I learned a huge amount about what kind of research is conducted in Antarctica, and that often, real, hard science is done on these flashy expeditions so they get funding more easily. The dangers of being in this environment, as well as how little the region is understood, were incredibly interesting to read about.
The expedition is easily followed, though I think perhaps readers with some familiarity with deep water exploration might have an easier time. AUVs, Autonomous Undersea Vehicles, were defined and explained, but their remote counterparts, ROVs, were not. This presents no difficulty to anyone who has been immersed in Titanica all their lives, perhaps not as easily followed by someone with less familiarity. I actually didn't realize how familiar with deep water shipwreck exploration I was, because I always considered something I had to learn about to do anything in Titanic land. But I guess any of us who spend time in that world learn it by osmosis.
Interspersed with the story of the search is the story of Shackleton's expedition. I have some basic familiarity with the history, but I'm not an expert. I had no difficulty following this at all, and it added a great deal to the story of the search.
Amazing that ship was found the same day Shackleton was buried.
Highly recommend.
January 16, 2024
The story of Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance is one of history's greatest stories of survival. This story of finding and photographing the wreck is a great addition to the historical record of the ship and the expedition.
While I found the day by day descriptions of the operations a little dry, the real value was in the author's expansive knowledge of Shackleton and his men and his ability to put into context what they went through, the conditions they faced and, ultimately, how the condition of the ship will play into that knowledge. The author also extensively quotes from diaries of Shackleton's men and other sources that are not readily available to the public. So this book ends up expanding anyone's understanding of the whole ordeal.
The book covers two expeditions, one in 2019 and a second in 2022 and with both using the same modern ice-breaking research vessel. The first ended unsuccessfully with both the loss of one of the remote vehicles used to search for the wreck and with time running out due to the very real danger of themselves being trapped in the Antarctic ice.
The second, ultimately successful, expedition used new and improved remote vehicles and somewhat more favorable weather. Still, even with a modern ship, excellent technology and what sounds like a world class team, the search is faced with some of the worst weather in the world working in temperatures down to 40 below zero, although I am not sure whether that is in Fahrenheit or Celsius (ah, nerd humor to break up an otherwise serious review). Near the very last days of the expedition, the Endurance was found and photographed.
While reading this book, when I reached the end of the first expedition, I was inspired to find and read the book "South" by Ernest Shackleton himself and which is referenced quite a bit in this book. That helped immensely with understanding some of the references made by the author but also highlighted how much more the author was able to add to the story.
While I found the day by day descriptions of the operations a little dry, the real value was in the author's expansive knowledge of Shackleton and his men and his ability to put into context what they went through, the conditions they faced and, ultimately, how the condition of the ship will play into that knowledge. The author also extensively quotes from diaries of Shackleton's men and other sources that are not readily available to the public. So this book ends up expanding anyone's understanding of the whole ordeal.
The book covers two expeditions, one in 2019 and a second in 2022 and with both using the same modern ice-breaking research vessel. The first ended unsuccessfully with both the loss of one of the remote vehicles used to search for the wreck and with time running out due to the very real danger of themselves being trapped in the Antarctic ice.
The second, ultimately successful, expedition used new and improved remote vehicles and somewhat more favorable weather. Still, even with a modern ship, excellent technology and what sounds like a world class team, the search is faced with some of the worst weather in the world working in temperatures down to 40 below zero, although I am not sure whether that is in Fahrenheit or Celsius (ah, nerd humor to break up an otherwise serious review). Near the very last days of the expedition, the Endurance was found and photographed.
While reading this book, when I reached the end of the first expedition, I was inspired to find and read the book "South" by Ernest Shackleton himself and which is referenced quite a bit in this book. That helped immensely with understanding some of the references made by the author but also highlighted how much more the author was able to add to the story.
March 26, 2024
The target audience for this is People Who Really Like Polar Exploration, so if you're outside of the target audience, you may find yourself bored. I enjoyed this a lot, although it took me quite some time to read. Mensun Bound, following in the path of explorers throughout the centuries, presents his journals from the two expeditions he helped lead in order to find the wreckage of the Endurance. It is a day-by-day account of each expedition, complete with the minutiae that make up any trip like this -- lots of waiting, lots of thinking, brief surges of action. I liked how he wove his story in with what the men on Shackleton's crew were experiencing at roughly the same time, a hundred-some years apart. I knew some but not a lot about the original Endurance, so I enjoyed getting to see the parallels between the trips. The writing can be somewhat dry at times, but the format of short chapters/journal entries makes it easy to read a bit at a time without feeling like you're stopping in the middle of something.
February 7, 2023
The heroing survival of the men on the app name ship the endurance is a story I had never heard an end this book written by Mensun Bound he tells in Journal form not only their story but the story to retrieve the long ago lost ship. I love the way he wrote this book in the credit he gave to all of those who had a hand in trying to retrieve the SS endurance. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and love adventure expeditions feel like the author gave voice to one of the modern day adventures and although he has made it his career to retrieve lost ships I don’t think I could get tired of reading about it. I thought this book was well written greatly detailed and a definite must read for adventure seekers in those who love to read about others seeking adventures. I received this book from NetGalley and Harper Collins and Mariner books but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
July 17, 2025
Since I've become hooked on reading about explorers and exploration Sir Ernest Shackleton has been the subject of several books I've enjoyed. This is a fabulous book about the search for Shackleton's ship the Endurance which was crushed by ice and sank in 1915 in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Actually it's the story of two expeditions. One in 2019 which failed to locate the ship and a second in 2022 which succeeded. Reading about the technology and determination of the crew involved in the search was fascinating and more than a little exciting. The author is a world-famous maritime archeologist who tells one hell of a story. If his career in archaeology hadn't worked he could have had a career writing thrillers. This book is that good. I realize a book like this may nit be for everyone but give it a shot. It is a fun, informative read which I am giving my highest recommendation.
September 7, 2025
This book turned out to be much more mesmerizing than I'd expected. We follow both of the expeditions led by Mensun Bound, the author, to find the Endurance, lost to the ice of the Weddell Sea over a century ago. The first expedition was unsuccessful or there wouldn't have been a second one, but it was fascinating to read the accounts of both attempts.
Interspersed with these chronicles were bits about Shackleton's original journey and what he and his crew did to survive the sinking of the ship in the bitter Arctic cold. Some of it was hard to read, but needs must and all that.
When I realized that the book was essentially a record of journal/diary entries from various members of all three crews, I expected it to be rather dry reading. Instead, it felt more like a conversation about their adventures (or misadventures?). There was a fair amount of technical jargon and acronyms, but they were all explained, so I didn't feel clueless while reading.
I learned a few things from this book and would recommend it to any other armchair expedition participant who is interested in Arctic exploration.
Interspersed with these chronicles were bits about Shackleton's original journey and what he and his crew did to survive the sinking of the ship in the bitter Arctic cold. Some of it was hard to read, but needs must and all that.
When I realized that the book was essentially a record of journal/diary entries from various members of all three crews, I expected it to be rather dry reading. Instead, it felt more like a conversation about their adventures (or misadventures?). There was a fair amount of technical jargon and acronyms, but they were all explained, so I didn't feel clueless while reading.
I learned a few things from this book and would recommend it to any other armchair expedition participant who is interested in Arctic exploration.
November 15, 2023
Two great stories in this book. Well worth reading in spite of the fact that it was let down by the way it was written. There was so much that should have been included; for example, I would have liked to have read more about the ecology and some explanation of why the icebreaker, Agulhas, can break some ice but is in great danger of hitting other types of ice.
I know it’s only a paperback, but the photographs could have been better selected and I would have liked the appendix to have included a list of abbreviations used in the text and a map of the expedition’s route.
I found the reading a bit tedious at times and I had an underlying feeling that Mr Bound didn’t really do much on the ship, just some heavy looking on after he was dragged from his cabin. I ‘m sure that’s not how it really was.
Now if you want a really exciting and well written account of Antarctic exploration, read Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton.
I know it’s only a paperback, but the photographs could have been better selected and I would have liked the appendix to have included a list of abbreviations used in the text and a map of the expedition’s route.
I found the reading a bit tedious at times and I had an underlying feeling that Mr Bound didn’t really do much on the ship, just some heavy looking on after he was dragged from his cabin. I ‘m sure that’s not how it really was.
Now if you want a really exciting and well written account of Antarctic exploration, read Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton.
January 16, 2024
Mensun Bound tells the story of an expedition to discover the lost ship ,Endurance sunk in the Antarctic.
In telling this gripping tale Bound naturally compares and contrast the exploits of Shackleton and his crew as they battle to survive when they are stranded on the ice.
One thing that surprised me was how much Bound and the rest of the scientists and crew interacted with the Antarctic wild life especially curious penguins during the search.
There is a sense of peril throughout and finally unbridled joy when the Endurance is discovered.
Like the rough seas this book is a roller coaster of a read with plenty of ups and downs for both sets of crews.
In telling this gripping tale Bound naturally compares and contrast the exploits of Shackleton and his crew as they battle to survive when they are stranded on the ice.
One thing that surprised me was how much Bound and the rest of the scientists and crew interacted with the Antarctic wild life especially curious penguins during the search.
There is a sense of peril throughout and finally unbridled joy when the Endurance is discovered.
Like the rough seas this book is a roller coaster of a read with plenty of ups and downs for both sets of crews.
February 18, 2025
I had read Alfred Lansing’s “Endurance” a few years ago and was struck by the grit and determination of Shackleton and his men to survive their harrowing ordeal on Antarctic ice stuck in the Weddell Sea. Little did I know that around that same time I was reading that, the wreck had just been discovered! This book was written almost like a journal, but it’s amazing how the team discovered the lost ship Endurance, well-preserved under the ice pack, like finding a needle in a haystack. This book is a testament to the ingenuity and advancements humans have made in science and technology in the last century, let alone the turn of the 21st century.
February 7, 2023
An excellent read!
I'm not a Shackleton aficionado (Shackletonian? Shackle-phile?), and so didn't know much about the Endurance expedition beyond the narrative of the heroic survival of all hands.
However, that made no difference. While the author fills in the gaps on Shackleton and the Endurance story this is primarily a book about modern underwater archaeology on the expedition to find the lost ship beneath the ice of the Weddell Sea...and it's fascinating!
An interesting travelogue and an insight into this kind of expedition. I felt like I could easily imagine the ship, crew, and circumstances and imagine their elation at their find.
I'm not a Shackleton aficionado (Shackletonian? Shackle-phile?), and so didn't know much about the Endurance expedition beyond the narrative of the heroic survival of all hands.
However, that made no difference. While the author fills in the gaps on Shackleton and the Endurance story this is primarily a book about modern underwater archaeology on the expedition to find the lost ship beneath the ice of the Weddell Sea...and it's fascinating!
An interesting travelogue and an insight into this kind of expedition. I felt like I could easily imagine the ship, crew, and circumstances and imagine their elation at their find.
February 26, 2023
This was the continuation of an already truly fascinating tale of adventure and survival.
I thoroughly enjoyed Bound's blend of Shackleton's expedition alongside the 2019 and 2022 expeditions. The details and photographs added so much awesomeness to all of the accounts. It was such an incredible journey then and now. And to read about history in the making with the discovery of the shipwreck, it was just perfection on the page. What an amazing tale of a goal and a labor of love all wrapped into one. This was an excellent book that I was so excited to purchase and devour.
I thoroughly enjoyed Bound's blend of Shackleton's expedition alongside the 2019 and 2022 expeditions. The details and photographs added so much awesomeness to all of the accounts. It was such an incredible journey then and now. And to read about history in the making with the discovery of the shipwreck, it was just perfection on the page. What an amazing tale of a goal and a labor of love all wrapped into one. This was an excellent book that I was so excited to purchase and devour.
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