South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-17

by Ernest Shackleton and Erne Shackleton

Book Overview

This annotated edition of Shackleton's legendary, ill-fated Antarctic expedition features highly revealing side notes to the explorer's vivid narrative as well as dramatic archival photographs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570761310
• ISBN13: 9781570761317
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Publishing
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.4" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Very detailed account, written by Shackleton himself

I read “Endurance”, written by Another author, and it was very entertaining. However, “South” is much more detailed, covering both the Endurance voyage and Shackleton’s trip across the ice, sailing a lifeboat to safety, etc., but it also covers in detail the voyage of the Aurora, and death of some of their crew on the ice, which “Endurance” does not cover at all. “South” includes excerpts from the log books and diaries of the crews, and what happened to the survivors after returning, all of whom then served in World War I. Great book, but can be tough to read in some chapters.

Great account of adventure and survival in Antarctica.

This is one of the best survival/adventure stories that you will ever read. The events which take place during the Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917 are re-told by several different points of view and this gives the overall story a multi-faceted persona. The main re-telling of the story of the ENDURANCE is told primarily from Shackleton's point of view and re-affirmed through diary notes of his mates. His point of view is very straight-forward. He doesn't dwell on the painful and depressing conditions as you might expect but, seems to exude a strong, matter-of-fact leadership style which most likely gave his men strength in the face of such disastrous and dangerous conditions. Contrast his account of the ENDURANCE voyage with that of the AURORA which was originally planned to be the expedition's supply ship and you clearly see what I am talking about. The painful, weakened conditions of the AURORA men is agonizing to read...frostbite, scruvy, depression, fatigue, hunger, thirst, and the loss of 3 of their comrades. This is not implying that Shackleton never mentions the poor shape of his conditions or of his crew; it just seems that he doesn't dwell upon it however worried he may have been. Yet, we sense his concern for the failing health of some of his men and we share his pride when they are in fact rescued from Elephant Island and he watches them eat "proper" food for the first time in a very long time. In fact, one can hardly review this book without letting Shackleton, in his own words, describe the joy that found when they encountered when his small party found the whaling village at Stromness Bay, "We had pierced the veneer of outside things. We had "suffered, starved, and triumphed, groveled down yet grapsed at glory, grown bigger in the bigness of the whole."...We had reached the naked soul of men." This is truly one of the greatest adventure stories ever written.

missing pages, no map

Pages 153 to 180 are repeated, and then 181 to 209 are missing (gone south?). Also, there is no general map in a book which discusses the geography and navigation of the expedition at length. There are lots of good b & w photos, and the story in absorbing, but this is some seriously sloppy publishing.Rob Anzellotti

A True Leader

Shackleton was an amazing man full of true grit and true leadership. Among the many things that stand out in his story of survival is the importance of keeping a journal. Even after many supplies and equipment were left on the ice, the men were instructed to continue to carry their journals. And what if they had not? Where would be the true story that outshines most fictional adventure stories in the minds and imaginations of many, including myself? If you want to read more about Antarctica, I suggest T.H. Baughman's "Before the Heroes Came."

Edge of Your Seat

Fascinating and exciting book. Shackelton writes in the most British of style -- he describes an ice floe splitting beneath his tent in the same plain delivery as the description of a depth sounding. The book is overflowing with the most amazing of events, placing Shackelton's crew in an adventure every bit as great as Lewis and Clark's expedition (read the Ambrose book "Undaunted Courage" if you like this one). This is a fine edition, as it includes approx. eighty photographs of the expedition. From the outset of the voyage to the harrowing crossing of St. George Island, this guy would put today's extreme adventure-seekers to shame.