Spoiler Alert. If you haven't read "Endurance" the article gives away a critical piece of info - which crew members didn't make it. Read the book first, it is the greatest survival story ever told. Not just because it's true. It's just that incredible.
I haven’t read Endurance (it’s on the list!) but was deeply impressed by this quote from a fellow explorer:
“For scientific discovery, give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel, give me Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when you are seeing no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”
This book changed my life. I listened to the audiobook while I was doing some heavy yard work for a couple weeks in my backyard. There were times when I was 8-hours in and muscles I didn't know I had in my hands, back, and feet were aching and hurting unlike anything I've felt before. The streaks of clean skin formed by the sweat beading and trickling down my face had tried and slowly returned to the dusty grit from which it was carved. It was in these times I felt I was strong, I felt I was pushing my limits, I felt like I had conquered the earth.
Then the passages of the book flooded my mind's eye with images of their struggle, conquest, and perseverance. Their endurance.
The voyage of the James Caird must count as one of the most incredible feats of seamanship in history - 1300km across ferocious seas in a small boat with an absolute need to hit South Georgia...
I listened to Endurance by Alfred Lansing while winter hiking the southern 1000 miles of the AT. Several days and nights below freezing didn't seem so bad any more!
They had unimaginable grit and determination. Truly a remarkable tale.
I felt their vigor warm my bones, add strength to my legs. These are true stories of what is possible on the ragged edge of human survival. What can be overcome by sheer will. Our species has depths beyond our current understanding.
I think one of the (many!) remarkable things about the book is that it is impossible to put down after simply reading the first page, a mere three paragraphs. Lansing was a masterful writer, for sure.
Agreed. I'm not much of a reader but the flash forward to the destruction of the ship opened up so many questions going forward and back... how did this come about? Who are these people? What happened next? How do we even know these details? I couldn't stop. And the writing really conveys the events and the mood of the crew.
I find myself rereading the details of the expedition every few months, just trying to come to terms with how they actually did it. I know exactly what they did. I just have no idea how they did it.
Was Endurance good? I didn't read that one but I did read South. I really enjoyed the first part but became less interested when after the main expedition's story was over there was still a quarter or so of the book left talking about going around and picking up the guys from the other side, which felt a bit anticlimactic after what had already happened.
I read it years ago and it's incredible. Ever since I devour any little tidbit of news about his adventures. This documentary is a must see for me. Can't wait.
All the crew members of the Endurance survived the expedition - not sure about the "didn't make it" comment, or to which part of the article you are referring.
If you like audio books I can highly recommend the book Endurance by Alfred Lansing, read by Simon Prebble. Perhaps the best audio book I’ve ever listened to.
I'm wondering if any glass plates were recovered? I'm not sure they were all salvaged at the time, but I don't know how they would fare in the saltwater.
> The famed vessel, which sank in 1915 after becoming stuck in pack ice, was discovered in 2022 resting at a depth of 3km below what Shackleton called “the worst portion of the worst sea in the world”.
> “Hurley gets this flare gun, and he fires the flare gun into the air with a massive detonator as a tribute to the ship,” John Shears, who led the expedition that found Endurance, told the BBC. “And then in the diary, he talks about putting it down on the deck. And there we are. We come back over 100 years later, and there’s that flare gun. Incredible.”
Hmm. 3km underwater, sunken 100+ years ago, and the flare gun is still just resting there?
> “Being able to bring those diary readings to life using AI means you’re listening to Shackleton and his team narrating their own diaries, and it is their voices,” said Jimmy Chin, one of the directors. “That was something that couldn’t have been done even a few years ago, which really brings a new aspect of the film to life.”
There's a show?
> Endurance will be at London film festival on 12 October, in UK cinemas on 14 October and on Disney+ later this year.
