Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure

By Frank A. Worsley

Book Overview

"You seriously mean to tell me that the ship is doomed?" asked Frank Worsley, commander of the Endurance, stuck impassably in Antarctic ice packs. "What the ice gets, " replied Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition's unflappable leader, "the ice keeps." It did not, however, get the ship's twenty-five crew members, all of whom survived an eight-hundred-mile voyage across sea, land, and ice to South Georgia, the nearest inhabited island.

First published in 1931, Endurance tells the full story of that doomed 1914-16 expedition and incredible rescue, as well as relating Worsley's further adventures fighting U-boats in the Great War, sailing the equally treacherous waters of the Arctic, and making one final (and successful) assault on the South Pole with Shackleton. It is a tale of unrelenting high adventure and a tribute to one of the most inspiring and courageous leaders of men in the history of exploration.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393319946
• ISBN13: 9780393319941
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Chapter on Survival and Will

I read this book because I had a passing interest in the story of the doomed ship. What I found was a great tale of will and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. This book sparked my interest in polar exploration and the explorers. Shackleton's story is a great one that should be read by anyone with an interest in Man's triumph over nature.Note, the reader should have some prior background of the Endurance, since the book starts with the ships destruction.

6 Stars - Incredible strory, A Great Book

An absolutely unbelievable expedition and survival story. Cleary the greatest exploration of all times. Fantastic and gripping description of the hardship that the Endurance crew of 28 men had to face for one year in the harshest terrian in the world.There are many books written on the epic voyage of Edurance. This one written by F A Worsley, the captain of the ship, who was constantly by Shackelton's side is definitely a thorough description of the entire journey, their troubles, their struggle, their joys and hope thru the voyage.A must read for everyone. especially those interested in adventure travel, exploration and expeditions.Also a great book on leadership lessons.

Leadership and Courage

Having just returned from Salem, Massachusetts and visiting the Peabody Museum which is exhibiting Hurley's photographs (and some movie footage) of the Endurance voyage, I continue to be moved by the character of these men. If you want to know what constitutes leadership qualities as well as individual and collective character then read this book. You will come away asking all sorts of questions from "where do we get these men" to "do the times make the man", as well as a host of other questions. In an era of celebrity worship and self promoting it is inspiring to read of a time when men were committed to the long haul and did not opt for a short term payoff. Alas, you will also come away with a feeling that only so much in the way of leadership skills can be taught or learned...much comes from the early cut of the man fashioned in the womb and in his youth.

One of the greatest adventures of the 20th century

Frank Worsley begins his book just as he realizes that his ship Endurance is doomed to be crushed in the ice, and that's a good place to start, for the adventure was only about to begin. Worsley not only discusses the events of the Endurance expedition but his own adventures in WWI, during which his Q-ship rammed and sank a German U-boat, and his final expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1922 aboard the Quest. Read this, also read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" by Worsley, and of course Shackleton's own book "South." My only complaint about this new edition of Worsley's book is the addition of a preface by the tendentious, trendy, wildly overrated Patrick O'Brian, who clearly doesn't have the faintest idea what he's writing about. Read the original intro by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe, ignore O'Brian, and learn what courage and leadership truly are.

The greatest adventure of the 20th century

Frank Worsley starts his book just as he realizes that his ship Endurance is doomed to be crushed in the ice, and that's a good place to start, for the adventure was only about to begin. Worsley not only discusses the events of the Endurance expedition but his own adventures in WWI, during which his Q-ship rammed and sank a German U-boat and his final expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1922 aboard the Quest. Read this, also read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" also by Worsley, and of course Shackleton's own book "South." My only complaint about this new edition of Worsley's book is the addition of a preface by the tendentious, currently trendy, wildly overrated Patrick O'Brian, who clearly doesn't have the faintest idea what he's writing about. Read the original intro by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe, ignore O'Brian, and then learn what courage and leadership truly are.