The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition (Knopf, 1998). In an era before Jaques Cousteau and National Geographic specials--before Gortex and cell phones--explorers went into wild places with only their mettle met·tle n. 1. Courage and fortitude; spirit: troops who showed their mettle in combat. 2. Inherent quality of character and temperament. and foolhardiness as protection against nature's furies. Caroline Alexander introduces us to the close of that era in her account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 failed but marvelous attempt to cross the bottom of the world. In a crisp narrative lushly decorated dec·o·rate tr.v. dec·o·rat·ed, dec·o·rat·ing, dec·o·rates 1. To furnish, provide, or adorn with something ornamental; embellish. 2. with original photographs, she captures the spirit of Shackleton's merry band with an intimate, occasionally claustrophobic claus·tro·pho·bic adj. 1. a. Relating to or suffering from claustrophobia. b. Uncomfortably closed or hemmed in. 2. portrait of the untamed forces that raged against them. Not a tale that will have many of us leaping off our couches to go on a wilderness trip, it nonetheless reminds us of appetites that can't be satisfied within the confines con·fine v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines v.tr. 1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit. and comforts of modern life. 
I first read this book as a young man and was extremely impressed ... so much so that I remembered much of the story complete when I by chance met Sir Ernest Shackleton's great grandson many years later and was able to tell him a tale that changed him forever (and of which he had only heard snippets previously). Ernest Shackleton was even shown in an early psychology book I had (my major, psychology) as perhaps the best known example of courage and leadership in harsh conditions. Interestingly, his great grandson was the spitting image, except for the addition of a full beard and mustache. The story is truly amazing and inspiring. One can only shake one's head at the marvelous feats this man and his crew performed, and the difficult conditions that they endured for years while stranded on the ice of the Weddell Sea, not long after the turn of the 20th century. Fine reading, and a story you'll remember for the rest of your life. |
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