The story of polar exploration and harrowing experiences along the way. This looked really intriguing when I saw it on Better World Books, so I figured why not?

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but after about 50 pages or so I was enjoying it -- and once I reached the second part (where the men settled on the ice), it was unputdownable. I understand now why someone summing up the explorers of history listed the strengths of various ones and what they could bring to your travels and then said that if you are in dire straits and all hope is lost, you should get on your knees and pray for a leader like Shackleton. It is amazing that every man on that expedition survived and (for the most part) was sane at the end of it -- you know that going in, but you appreciate it even more once you've finished. Over a year was spent subsisting and drifting on the pack ice, hoping it would take them close enough to land and, at the same time, provide enough of an opening that they could take to the 3 open life boats and sail to some remote island somewhere. The perilous voyage in 3 little boats on the open Arctic ocean in storms to reach that island, a place that they could trust not to sink under them in their sleep. Surgery performed in primitive conditions. Eating their dogs. No change of clothing for 17 months. A few (albeit a remarkably low number) really difficult human beings to live with. Near starvation. Lack of sleep. Cold beyond belief. And boredom. No wonder the name of Shackleton is a legend up there with the other great explorers, although too few understand what they survived. So many things I want to say about the book and the men, but I am tongue-tied with awe -- and ashamed of myself for complaining that today we are experiencing temperatures in the 30s.

This book is going with me to meet-up where I hope it will find an interested new reader.

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This was handed to me at today's BC-in-DC gathering. I am familiar with the story of the Shackleton expedition, and while I'm sure I would enjoy this book, I don't know if I will actually get around to read it. We'll see...

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his crew set out from England in an effort to become the first to cross the Antarctic continent on foot. It was an ambitious expedition, one that had taken considerable effort to bring to fruition. But it wasn't to be. In January 1915, just a single day short of their planned landing on Antarctica, their ship, the Endurance became trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea. For months, the crew lived in the ship as it drifted to the northwest with the ice, until it was crushed. The crew continued to camp on the ice through the Antarctic summer, waiting for the ice to break up enough for them to put their boats in the water and make for land. Eventually, remarkably, they were able to make their way to Elephant Island. But they were far from safe. Elephant Island is uninhabited, and a long way from the nearest settlements. Shackleton took five of his crew and set off in a 22 foot boat in an effort to reach the whaling station on South Georgia Island, more than 800 miles away across some of the most dangerous seas in the world. And against all odds, he succeeded, and every member of his crew was rescued and survived.

This book shows just how powerful the survival instinct can be, and just how resilient people can be in the face of seemingly impossible odds. There were so many ways in which this expedition could have ended in tragedy, but the men persevered, and in the end, their story is one of the most heroic survival stories.

This book is incredibly well written. There is no surprise ending here...we know from the beginning that the crew survived, and yet the story remains dramatic, compelling, and suspenseful. Only a talented writer can maintain that level of reader interest when the ultimate ending is already known.

Available at today's BC-in-DC meeting.

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I picked this book from a pile of books at the June BCinDC meet-up. I've heard from several people that this is a good and interesting read.

Releasing at the BCinDC July meet-up for someone else to read. I heard from several that this is a good and interesting read but my TBR pile is not getting shorter. If no one takes it I will bring it home to put back on the TBR pile.

Book was not chosen at the meet-up. Taking it with me to Union Station in DC today to release there.

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