Summary & Study Guide Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

by BookRags

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton leads twenty-seven men on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The expedition intends to transverse the Antarctic continent by dog sledge. In December, 1914, the expedition, aboard the purpose-built polar exploration ship Endurance, enters the pack ice of the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica some 1,100 nautical miles east of the Palmer Peninsula. By January, 1915, Endurance is a scant 60 nautical miles from its intended landfall--but it is also frozen immobile in pack ice that extends to all horizons. Endurance drifts with the pack ice for several months, eventually losing sight of land as the typical Weddell Sea current spins the vast pack ice floe in a slow clockwise direction. This study guide includes the following Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

Genres: History, Audiobook, The World, Nonfiction

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2010

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly amazing story of endurance and willpower to survive. Sir Ernest Shackleton remains one of the best examples of servant leadership. A story of polar exploration, this book chronicles the teams formation, subsequent disastrous loss of their ship, the Endurance, in the ice, their life on the ice flow, journey to Elephant Island, harrowing journey across the Southern Ocean to South Georgia Island, and overland journey to eventual rescue. A fantastic book, well written and engaging.

[Jennifer Voorhees · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw a documentary about Endurance and wanted to learn more. The book dove into the crew experiences, trials as well as their bond of survival. Reading passages from their journals provided an intimate look into their voyage to safety. The descriptions in the book made you get a true sense of what they endured. Amazing story.

[Nikita Samyal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is one of the most mesmerizing, breathtaking and intense stories someone can ever read. Have you ever been cold, tired, and cold? Or felt hungry with miles to go before resting? This is not even close to what Ernest Shackleton and his crewmembers felt during their Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914. They came within eighty-five miles of their destination when their ship, Endurance, was trapped fast in the ice pack and was crushed leaving the crew stranded on the ice floes. Like any good adventurous stories, things go wrong, and many things went wrong in this diligently researched and brilliantly narrated book. The crew goes from facing months of never-ending misery on the ice to facing a greater ordeal during their boat journey. The journal entries and notes from the crewmembers, adds an essential flavor to the story. Although written in 1959, this book is timeless and is augmented with illustrations and maps. Lansing’s tells the story without any melodrama and hyperbole and lets the reality of the tale provide all the required drama and tension. Endurance accurately describes the travails of these intrepid men and is one of the most incredible tales of determination and human courage.

[Nick Carraway LLC · Rating 4 out of 5]

''For the moment the pack was open---but how long would it remain open? And yet, how long could they stay where they were? The immense floe that had once been Patience Camp was now an irregular rectangle of ice hardly 50 yards across. How long would it be before it was broken and ground into bits beneath their feet?
At twelve-forty, Shakleton gave the order in a quiet voice.
'Launch the boats.'''