South: The Last Antarctic Expedition of Shackleton and the Endurance (The Explorers Club Classic)

This is a fine edition, as it includes approx. eighty photographs of the expedition. From the outset of the voyage to the harrowing crossing of St. George Island, this guy would put today's extreme adventure-seekers to shame.


Sheer will and nerve.   August 12, 2000
WRE (Maryland, USA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Ernest Shackleton's description of his voyage into and subsequent escape from Antartica is amazing. The matter of fact tone with which he describes his adventure seems wildly juxtaposed on the events which he led his men safely through. It's an interesting read which gives some glimpse into the calm and mechanically rational mind of Shackleton, the reason he and his men survived. I highly recommend this book.


Riviting true grit adventure, endurance, and survival   February 7, 1999
SH Moore (Oak Ridge, TN USA)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Ernest Shackleton treats us to adventure and daring against dangers that most of us can only imagine ... 30 below zero, 90 mph winds, killer whales, crushing ice, dead reckoning across the open sea. His ship is stuck in the ice for 10 months before being crushed, throwing 27 men and 100 dogs on the ice flow that is ever shrinking. Escaping from the roaring crushing ice to the open sea is a death defying feat that only leads to more danger from giant swells and frozen sea spray that soaks cloths and sleeping bags and threatens to sink their tiny boats ...and they are still 800 miles from any civilization.

Incredible, absolutely. And through it all Shackleton manages to describe the beauty of the ice and the wonderment of all that surrounds the hapless little ship and its mighty men.

A reading must for those of us who lust after adventure.


A True Leader   February 2, 2001
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Shackleton was an amazing man full of true grit and true leadership. Among the many things that stand out in his story of survival is the importance of keeping a journal. Even after many supplies and equipment were left on the ice, the men were instructed to continue to carry their journals. And what if they had not? Where would be the true story that outshines most fictional adventure stories in the minds and imaginations of many, including myself?

If you want to read more about Antarctica, I suggest T.H. Baughman's "Before the Heroes Came."


Awsome, an inspiration, an unsung hero.   January 27, 1999
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

A fascinating and chilling account of almost two years of living under some of the most adverse conditions conceivable. Shackleton is a master at managing a limited amount of resources and in practicing the psychology necessary to keep his men alive. He writes in a totally understated narrative yet the reader can actually feel the blowing snow, smell the burning seal blubber and and taste the hoosh. Shackleton is truly an unsung hero!