Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Encyclopedia
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage is a bestselling book written by Alfred Lansing
, and was first published in 1959.
The book recounts the failure of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
led by Sir Ernest Shackleton
in its attempt to cross the Antarctic continent in 1914 and the subsequent struggle for survival endured by the twenty-eight man crew for almost two years. The book's title refers to the ship Shackleton used for the expedition, the Endurance
. The ship was beset and eventually crushed by ice floes in the Weddell Sea
leaving the men stranded on the pack ice. All in all the crew drifted on the ice for just over a year. They were able to launch their boats and somehow managed to land them safely on Elephant Island. Shackleton then led a crew of five aboard the James Caird
through the Drake Passage
and miraculously reached South Georgia Island 650 nautical miles away. He then took two of those men on the first successful overland crossing of the island, something that was never done before. Three months later he was finally able to rescue the remaining crew members they had left behind on Elephant Island.
Virtually every diary kept during the expedition was made available to the author and almost all the surviving members at the time of writing submitted to lengthy interviews. The most significant contribution came from Dr. Alexander Macklin
one of the ship's surgeons who provided Lansing with many diaries, a detailed account of the perilous journey the crew made to Elephant Island and months of advice.
Alfred Lansing
Alfred Lansing was an American journalist and writer, best known for his book Endurance , an account of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic explorations.-Early career:...
, and was first published in 1959.
The book recounts the failure of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition , also known as the Endurance Expedition, is considered the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent...
led by Sir Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
in its attempt to cross the Antarctic continent in 1914 and the subsequent struggle for survival endured by the twenty-eight man crew for almost two years. The book's title refers to the ship Shackleton used for the expedition, the Endurance
Endurance (1912 ship)
The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition...
. The ship was beset and eventually crushed by ice floes in the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
leaving the men stranded on the pack ice. All in all the crew drifted on the ice for just over a year. They were able to launch their boats and somehow managed to land them safely on Elephant Island. Shackleton then led a crew of five aboard the James Caird
James Caird (boat)
The voyage of the James Caird was an open boat journey from Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a distance of...
through the Drake Passage
Drake Passage
The Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
and miraculously reached South Georgia Island 650 nautical miles away. He then took two of those men on the first successful overland crossing of the island, something that was never done before. Three months later he was finally able to rescue the remaining crew members they had left behind on Elephant Island.
Virtually every diary kept during the expedition was made available to the author and almost all the surviving members at the time of writing submitted to lengthy interviews. The most significant contribution came from Dr. Alexander Macklin
Alexander Macklin
Alexander Hepburne Macklin OBE MC TD was a British doctor who served as one of the two surgeons on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. In 1922 he joined Shackleton on his last expedition on the Quest.-Early life:Alexander Macklin was born in 1889 in...
one of the ship's surgeons who provided Lansing with many diaries, a detailed account of the perilous journey the crew made to Elephant Island and months of advice.
See also
- Lansing, AlfredAlfred LansingAlfred Lansing was an American journalist and writer, best known for his book Endurance , an account of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic explorations.-Early career:...
. (1999) 2nd ed. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-0621-X