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    The Endurance
    The Endurance
    The Endurance
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    The Endurance

    Written by Caroline Alexander

    Narrated by Martin Ruben and Michael Tezla

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In August 1914, renowned explorer Ernest Shackleton and a crew of twenty-seven set sail for the South Atlantic in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in the history of exploration: the first crossing on foot of the Antarctic continent. They came with in eighty-five miles of their destination when their ship, Endurance, was trapped fast in the ice pack, and the crew was stranded on the floes. Their ordeal lasted for twenty grueling months, and the group made two near-fatal attempts to escape by open boat before they were finally rescued.Drawing upon previously unavailable sources, Caroline Alexander gives us a riveting account of Shackleton's expedition. An extraordinary re-creation of the terrible beauty of Antarctica, the awful destruction of the ship, and the crew's heroic daily struggle for survival, The Endurance thrillingly describes one of the last great adventures in the brave age of exploration-perhaps the greatest of them all.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateMay 25, 2000
    ISBN9781615730766
    The Endurance
    Author

    Caroline Alexander

    Caroline Alexander is the author of the international bestsellers The Endurance and The Bounty and, more recently, The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of the Trojan War. She is a contributing writer for National Geographic magazine and her work has also appeared in The New Yorker, Smithsonian, and Outside, among other publications. Alexander received her doctorate in classics from Columbia University and was the founder of the Department of Classics at the University of Malawi in East Africa.

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    Reviews for The Endurance

    4.5/5

    116 ratings26 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      I was so cold when I read this, that maybe I should have read it in July, when it's stifling, rather than in January.
    • 4/5
      Great story of explorer trapped in Antarctic ice who goes on to save all his crew.
    • 3/5
      Perhaps this is an Amazing adventure, but one hour in and all I am hearing (audiobook) is name after name after name. Getting a personal history on crew members on previous expeditions or on other crews. It’s just non stop names. It’s dry and dull and disappointing since I had hoped to hear a great story. But instead all I’m thinking is “I can’t keep any of these people straight”.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book, incredibly inspirational and awe inspiring story of true man of valor.
    • 5/5
      A great audio book,
      And a Real testimony to leadership, courage And perseverance I highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      Starts slowly but is a gripping story of, well, endurance. Imagine the most grueling challenge and you won't be close. An inspiring but ultimately, futile expedition.
    • 5/5
      This is what good nonfiction is all about. Author Alexander shows rather than tells the incredible story of Edward Shackelton's voyage on the Endurance. After being entrapped in ice, the crew live on the ship, the ship breaks up and sinks so the men move to ice floes, then set out in small boats, land at Elephant Island, in time, a smaller crew (incl. Shackleton) then sail to So. Georgia Island, march across the Island to the whaling villages on its opposite shore... after several attempts, a rescue ship is able to land at Elephant Island and the remaining crew are rescued. Through blizzards, rains, starvation, deprivations, and more: not a single life was lost The book is enhanced with superb pictures. A true tale of perseverance, tenacity, and courage.
    • 5/5
      Another great telling of the amazing Shackleton expedition. This one is special because it contains many of Hurley's photographs. Also in the final chapter, what happened to the participants after they returned from the Antarctic.
    • 5/5
      To have such a complete photographic, as well as written, record of such an adventureous expedition as this, begun in 1914 is just amazing to me! Ms. Alexander does a wonderful job of staying out of the way and letting the story tell itself, while her occasional guidance and expert chronology making this easy reading indeed! This is the kind of book that awakens the adventurer in us all!
    • 4/5
      Heard this on tape. An account of the amazing adventure and survival of Shackleton's crew during its escape from the Antarctic.
    • 4/5
      Shackleton and 27 crew members set out to cross the Antarctic continent on foot. The hardships they endured were truly awesome. The adventure is well told in this book. I read it as an audio book so missed the photographs that would have enhanced the story. Also the maps that were probably included in the book would have been helpful.
    • 4/5
      Themes: teamwork, exploration, endurance, determination, hardshipSetting: the Antarctic and South Polar regions, 1914-1916These guys give a whole new level to tough. Shackleton was amazing. I love this book too because it has many of the original photographs taken by Hurley,the expedition photographer. This one was a book club pick; otherwise, I don't know if I would have picked it up. I read another book, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Journey, a few years ago, and I didn't really plan on reading another book about the same subject. But I'm glad I picked this up. I think in some ways Lansing's book was better, but this one did a better job of telling what happened after the trip was over, and it had all the photos. I'm looking forward to the discussion. Very good. 4 stars
    • 4/5
      That crazy man.
    • 5/5
      I read Caroline Alexander’s The Endurance, an account of the legendary 1914-1916 expedition accomplished by Ernest Shackleton and his men, while sampling a gift I’d received: “Shackleton Blended Malt Scotch Whisky…The Spirit Supplied to the 1907 British Antarctic Expedition.” The 1907 expedition isn’t the one described in Alexander’s book, of course. Also, better whiskeys than Shackleton exist. Sipping it, though, can create a sensation that the man’s spirit has been infused into your own. Such accompaniment enhances time spent with him and his men at sea and on ice and seems to fortify the diary entries Alexander quotes extensively. The most diligent diarists inevitably get more attention than other crew members, not necessarily for the best. No matter. More than any other, the paramount contributor to this book is expedition photographer Frank Hurley. His pictures are many and breathtaking and do much to show the physical character of an enterprise in which men survived an experience that lies well near unfathomable.
    • 5/5
      I recommend this book for anyone in the midst of a very trying time in their life. It delivers perspective at its finest. The fact that every member of the crew survived this nightmare is unarguably a testament to Shackleton's commitment to leadership, life and his ability to inspire faith. These were not all men who were amiable social butterflies by nature, not by any stretch. No one is uplifted in the destruction of innocent animals or watching their ship, their shelter, their ticket home and all its contents, crushed and devoured by ice. Yet, he so gracefully convinced them to remain positive in the face of their cold stark circumstances and focused on their common goal - getting home. Whatever you are facing, this story will give you strength, albeit through tears and a bit of laughter.
    • 5/5
      Great book on perseverance, courage, discipline and the human spirit. If these men survived what they did, we can overcome our own personal challenges. Life is worth fighting for.
    • 5/5
      It covers entire journey in edge of your seat detail
    • 5/5
      Not only is this a great heroic leadership story, the presentation Including various character voices makes the story of Come alive. Wonderfully done.
    • 5/5
      The story of the trek of Ernest Shackleton and his crew across Antarctica in 1914-1915 is told in this magnificent biography in a manner so that the reader feels a part of the crew. The trip was undertaken in the wooden ship Endurance with sails billowing and steam engines throbbing on its way into the icy domain of South Georgia and the South Pole. It was not the first mission to the frozen world.Danger vested immediately as the ship was consumed by the icy forces of raw nature and the crew, including 69 sledging dogs and a cat named Mrs. Chippy, was on its won with no means of escape. The adventure was captured with the artistic photography of Frank Hurley, with many previously unpublished photos prominent in this story.Endurance was entombed by ice in the early months of 1915. The story touches on the lives and feelings of the crew, as well as the amazing leadership of Shackleton. He seemed to prize optimism in his men, which he referred to as “true moral courage.” The reader is there with these brave souls, anticipating each step in the process with the enduring question of whether they will survive to return to England (and World War I) -- boiling whale blubber, catching penguins for food, tending to the parasite infested dogs, addressing the aches and fears of the crew, giggling at the antics of the dogs, or the seeing the natural beauty of the icescape.By August of 1915, the blocks of young ice were grinding on Endurance, eventually breaking it up and sending crew and dogs on their way, even teams of men pulling the life boats. In April 1916, the team finally came to land at Elephant Island ending their trek across thin ice. The n Shackleton led a crew across 800 miles of ocean and ice back to South Georgia. Rescue of the men and dogs on Elephant Island finally occurred in August 1916.Caroline Alexander has an amazing skill of blending diary detail and pictures to allow us readers to enjoy the optimism of the beginning, the agony of the shipwreck, the leadership of Shackleton, and the strength of character to endure the way forward. I felt as if I was on the journey, relieved at last to be on my way home with not a life lost! Simply Amazing!
    • 4/5
      If you like true adventure tales, this should be on your to-read list.
    • 5/5
      This book tells the incredible story of Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated voyage to Antarctica.  When their ship, the Endurance, becomes locked in the ice, Shackleton and his crew begin their desperate attempt to survive the harsh, unforgiving landscape of Antarctica and find some way to escape their isolation and be rescued.  Amazing photographs taken during the actual voyage help make this tale come to life! Also check out the fabulous documentary by the same name!
    • 5/5
      An absolutely fascinating account of the plight of the Endurance and her crew in their quest to reach the South Pole. The photographs are incredible and the cast of characters equally so. The fact that these men were stranded in Antarctica for months yet suffered not a single lost life is practically unbelievable. Shackleton's leadership was on clear display as he held together a rough band of men through the most difficult ordeal imaginable. A highly recommended read.
    • 4/5
      This year's exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History of artifacts from the 1915 scientific expedition to Antarctica led by Sir Ernest Shackleton has been accompanied by the publication of Caroline Alexander's book, which includes the documenting photographs of Frank Hurley (some of which could be seen on the Museum's Web site). This well-written and beautifully-produced volume tells a story of hardship, courage, and ultimate triumph that is hard to top. Their ship, The Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed by ice, marooning the men. When the ice eventually broke up during the following spring, three small lifeboats were sailed two hundred miles to Elephant Island. The ultimate rescue was accomplished only after Shackleton had navigated by stars and sextant the largest of the lifeboats 800 miles through frigid and stormy waters to South Georgia Island. I had read Alfred Lansing's book, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage published by Carroll and Graf, in its first edition several years ago, and found his storytelling to be somehow even more gripping than the illustrated new accounting, but that may have been because I didn't know the whole story in advance. A modern reader cannot help but be struck by the technological differences between that time and this. A great story!
    • 4/5
      Amazing photographs.
    • 5/5
      An exciting tale of a small group of men and their leader who survive under the most horrendous conditions. Wonderful photographs help illustrate and bring the tale to life.
    • 3/5
      This is the first book that I have read about the Shackleton expedition. Amazing story, but I found the writing a bit dry. It wasn't gripping like a story of this nature should be. Alexander makes some interesting points regarding Shackleton as a leader, and a lot of Hurley's photos are included. However, there's little insight into what the members would've been going through physically and emotionally. All in all, not a bad introduction to the story... but I'm sure there's better accounts. I'll read Shackleton's personal account (South) next.