South!: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition, 1914-1917 by Ernest Henry Shackleton (PDF)

Description

“South! The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition, 1914-1917” is the first hand account of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition written by the Expedition leader Ernest Shackleton. Also known as the Endurance Expedition, this 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. The expedition failed to accomplish this objective, but became recognized instead as an epic feat of endurance.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐SOUTH:THE STORY OF SHACKLETON’S LAST EXPEDITION (1914-1917), authored by Ernest Shackleton, is a 219-page book about an expedition to Antarctica that gets waylaid by an ice floe that traps the ship and then destroys it. The ship, which has sails and also a motor, is called THE ENDURANCE. The book was written by the captain of this ship.DIAGRAMS. The book contains a few diagrams drawn by the author. Page 49 shows the orientation of three ice floes that put pressure against The Endurance, eventually crushing it. Page 90 shows a map of the beach where the men landed on ELEPHANT ISLAND, positions of nearby cliffs, and off-shore penguin rookery. Page 111 shows a map of kelp beds, cliffs, albatross nests, and waterway (a stream) where Shackleton beached his small sailboat, THE JAMES CAIRD, on SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND during his attempt to activate a rescue mission for his men left behind on Elephant Island. Pages 112-113 have more maps of parts of South Georgia Island. Pages 112-113 has a large map showing the on-foot route across this island to the NORWEGIAN WHALING STATION. Pages 5-145 concern the voyage of the ENDURANCE, getting stuck in the ice floe, escaping from the ice floe to Elephant Island, and the voyage of the James Caird to activate the rescue. Pages 145-200 concern a totally different voyage to Antarctica, namely, the ROSS SEA PARTY under Captain Aeneas Mackintosh. Pages 201-219 contain a few appendixes disclosing scientific aspects of Antarctica. My version of this book does not contain any photographs, however other books about this same expedition contains photos that are remarkable and in excellent focus.OVERALL SUBJECT MATTER AND TONE OF THE BOOK. Most of the book consists of narratives about food, such as biscuits, powdered milk, and fresh seal meat and penguin meat, narratives about sled dogs, narratives about navigation, and narratives about dangers. The dangers included ice floes cracking underneath the men’s camping area, ice floes threatening to crush The Endurance, wind, frostbit, thirst, and getting permanently lost at sea.What is surprising, is that this particular book discloses only a small amount of information on the personalities of the various men, and that there are very few anecdotal stories about the men. The book stays focused on hunting seals and penguins, avoiding the dangers of ice floes, killer whales, and frostbite. The few anecdotal stories from this book, and from the wonderful book on the same topic by Lansing, are stories about dog sled races, banjo playing, group sing-alongs, and about the continuing optimism exhibited by all members of the crew.POETIC AND ELEGANT WRITING. At times, Mr. Shackleton’s writing takes a poetic turn (see pages 15, 16, 28, 42, 43, 45, 88, 90, and 107). On pages 42-43, we read about icebergs, “Great white and golden cities of oriental appearance at close intervals along these clifftops indicate distant bergs . . . floating above these are wavering violet and creamy lines of still more remote bergs and packs. The lines rise and fall, tremble, dissipate, and reappear in an endless transformation scene . . . here the bergs assume changing forms, first a castle, then a balloon that changes swiftly into an immense mushroom, a mosque, or a cathedral.”In more poetic writing, on page 16, we read, “At the junction of several floes chaotic areas of piled-up blocks and masses of ice are formed . . . a winding canyon may be traversed between icy walls 6 ft. to 10 ft. high, or a dome may be formed under renewed pressure bursts upward like a volcano . . . terrific pressure is set up and an inferno of ice-blocks, ridges, and hedgerows results, extending possibly for 150 to 200 miles off shore.”MILESTONES OF THE EXPEDITION. The following bulletpoints reveals the milestones of the Shackleton expedition, including the rescue operation.(1) Departure of The Endurance from South Georgia Island on December 5, 1914 (page 11).(2) Endurance gets permanently stuck in the ice (page 25).(3) Endurance starts to get crushed by ice, and is abandoned by the men, who then seek refuge on an ice floe where they set up camp (pages 50-54).(4) Endurance sinks (page 64).(5) After living on the ice floe for several months, the men depart on their three small sailboats (pages 77-79).(6) The men reach Elephant Island in their three sailboats (page 88).(7) Mr. Shackleton leaves Elephant Island with a few other men, in the largest of the three sailboats, The James Caird, and sail 800 miles in each of South Georgia Island which is the location of the Norwegian whaling station (page 100).(8) Shackleton and his small crew arrive on South Georgia Island (page 110).(9) Rescue of all of the men who had stayed behind on Elephant Island, on August 30, 1916 (page 144).RECURRING THEMES IN THIS BOOK:(1) DAMAGE. Writing about threats of damage to the propeller and rudder (pages 14, 18, 19, 13, 25, 26, 16, 41, 46-48, 114). The disclosure on page 114 is about damage to the rudder of The James Caird.(2) KILLER WHALES. Narratives about killer whales, including the warning that killer whales swim under thin ice floes, where they can see shadows of penguins (or of men), and that they break through the ice to get a meal (page 21). See also, pages 22, 31, 46, 56, 67, 78, 79).(3) PHOTOGRAPHY. Descriptions of cameras and photography (pages 14, 17, 24, 48, 53).(4) HUMOR. There is only a handful of humor-inducing stories (pages 14, 15, 16, 142).(5) MISERY. There are many accounts of misery caused by the cold, including the surgical amputation of the toes of one of the men. See, pages 72, 83, 85-88, 96-98, 104, 105, 135-140). The need, during the walk over South Georgia Island, to refrain from sleeping too long because of the danger of being killed by the cold during sleeping (page 122).(6) CRACKING ICE FLOE. The danger of ice cracking within the men’s camping area, even directly under a tent (pages 52, 55, 67, 76, 79).(7) DOGS. Commentary on sledge-pulling and about other aspects of dogs, including dog fights (page 21), names of all of the dogs (page 17), dogs howling and singing (page 44), dog races (page 38-39, 44), verbal commands used for dogs (page 32), dogs suffering from worms (page 30, 44), dogs being “restless, fretful, quarrelsome in the early morning” (page 62), puppies (page 54). If the reader feels sorrow for LAIKA the first dog in space, then this book provides many other reasons to feel sorrowful for dogs.(8) Narratives that dwell on local fauna (pages 12, 17, 20, 60, 105, 141, and 215-216). For example, on page 12 we learn about cape penguins, whale birds, terns, growlers, mollymauks, nellies, sotty, albatross. (Actually, I think that a “growler” means a small ice berg.) On page 17, we learn about adelies, crab eater seal, sea leopards, blue whales, and weddell seals.CONCLUSION. I was surprised by the fact that Mr. Shackleton is an excellent writer. I also recommend the book by Alfred Lansing, on the same topic. The two books complement each other. The fine portfolio of black and white photos that documented this journey is a must-see for interested readers.

⭐I waited to read this book until I was in my own Expedition to Antarctica and traveling in his footsteps and reading about his experiences really brings my trip to life. Fortunately our weather is better than the unusually cold weather he endured. Having been a long time fam of the man and what he accomplished I can only wish that there were more of Frank Hurley’s pictures included. (You’ll have to read “Endurance” to see those!

⭐Those familiar with Shackleton’s story as well as that of the Ross Sea party on the other side of Antarctica won’t find any new information here, but Shackleton writes well and his purpose is to provide a summary of the events and research on a weekly or daily basis rather than a dramatic telling of the stories. If anything, he underplays his own role in leading his men, particularly the overland crossing of South Georgia Island, but he arguably underplays his responsibility for the Ross Sea party, which suffered from scurvy and the deaths of three members when their ship broke its moorings, not to return for another 18 months, with over half the men and most of the supplies still on board. Without a doubt Shackleton was a tremendous leader but this expedition in particular was underfunded, either due to his lack of planning or lack of salesmanship in drumming up funds. The book “The Lost Men” on the Ross Sea party implied that the ship the Aurora, which had been used by Douglas Mawson in 1911, was underpowered, and that Shackleton’s written instructions to Capt. Mackintosh and Ernest Joyce were unclear as to who would be the expedition leader once they reached Antarctica. This had a substantial impact as Mackintosh rejected Joyce’s plea to do most of the work with the dogs during the second season of laying depots, and the dogs prematurely became “played out” and were unavailable to bring the men back after the second season when some of them became sick with scurvy. Mackintosh and another member, both of whom had scurvy, tried in early spring to reach Cape Evans over soft sea ice against the advice of the other members of the party and were never heard from again, and the reason may have been the power struggle between Mackintosh and Joyce had made it impossible for them to continue living at much smaller Hut Point.

⭐Much enjoyed this book answered all questions I had about Shackleton and his menFound it inspiring and admire the tenacity of all on this expedition Boat very aptly NAMED ENDURANCE

⭐I have seen the Channel 4 film and have a large ‘coffee table’ book about Shackleton, but reading this in his own words, is a different experience.It is almost impossible to imagine the hardships experienced by these men, in appalling weather conditions of almost non-stop blizzards and temperatures down to 50 degrees F below freezing. Not for weeks, or months, but for years. Totally cut off from the outside world, no means of communicating with each other. It makes man’s greatest achievement (the moon landings) almost seem like a walk in the park!And there is no complaining, no whingeing, nothing but a British stiff upper lip. It staggers belief that anyone could endure the conditions, but these men almost relished the hardships, filled with wonder at the amazing spectacle of nature around them.Well worth a read if you have any interest in the subject. I have only 2 minor gripes, firstly, that the Kindle edition is without maps or photographs. Without maps it is hard to get a feel for the scale and distances involved. Luckily my coffee table book is full of maps and photographs, so it complements this very well.

⭐The Shackleton Voyages: A pictorial anthology of the polar explorer and Edwardian hero

⭐The other problem is that several chapters at the beginning and end of the book drag a bit. There are a lot of pages which just describe the day-to-day weather conditions, bearings and position, sightings of icebergs, depth soundings, geological samples etc, which gets a bit monotonous after a while. Once on the Antartic proper and the land journey is under way the story moves along at a much better pace, so stick with it!

⭐Long ago I read a full biography of Sir Ernest Shackleton and it has always remained in my memory, with the chapters devoted to the 1914-17 expedition being the undoubted highlight. The reality of the entire expedition, with many excerpts from the diaries of the various participants, put virtually all adventure novels to shame. Here, by virtue of those who have enabled the publication of this ebook (thank you), the first hand account of Ernest Shackleton can be read. A great story told by one of the greats of polar exploration. Excellent.

⭐I downloaded this randomly for free and I have to say it is the best free Kindle download I have chosen yet. I remain glad I downloaded it and would actually pay full price to read a book like this.It’s so detailed and yet covers the sweeping adventure of Shackleton and his team exploring the Antarctic in the early twentieth century. It’s in diary format for the most part, with gaps filled in here and there. The story of the men involved as well as the landscape itself and the wildlife – it’s compelling. I really enjoyed it, although certain parts did upset me a little (mainly the killing of animals parts).The style is very Keep Calm and Carry On – very English gentleman on an adventure. There’s no hysteria, everyone just seems to accept the situation and just get through it as best they can, keep going, always stoic and joking through some of what must be the harshest conditions I have ever heard of humans inhabiting. This is a story of survival if nothing else.I watched a documentary about Prince Harry and some Iraq veterans going to Antarctica the night before I started reading this book, by chance, and the whole way through the book I couldn’t help but constantly make comparisons of their conditions with the modern-day. They covered a vast, frozen terrain and icy waters wearing woollen jumpers and normal shoes with nails in the soles, never changing their clothes, wearing them until they literally fell apart. They had nothing to protect them from the elements towards the end. The food (and lack thereof) is mentioned often, and Shackleton comments that humans can fortunately survive on any kind of diet. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to, though, especially when they started digging up fish bones to re-boil up.A map would have been fantastic but otherwise I don’t think this account could be improved upon. A fantastic read that has stayed with me. Recommended for anyone. Animal lovers should be warned about the middle section, though.

⭐Whilst reading the book on Kindle, I decided to bookmark the co-ordinates given by Shackleton in the book and then look them up on Google Earth. It worked and I was able to see Shackleton’s locations as described by him. Where no co-ordinates were given, I simply put the name of various islands mentioned by Shackleton and Google Earth took me there.I would advise that once you put the co-ordinates into Google Earth and the ‘search’ is completed, you zoom out so that you can see land mass and use them as a reference point. Obviously, with Shackleton and his men being on ice floes, this means they were out at sea but zoom out, and you will see how close they were to the antarctic continent.The format I used to input the co-ordinates which worked for me for example was: 69.11s 50.34wAs an added bonus, people who have visited the antarctic area have taken photographs and loaded the images onto Google Earth. There or about 42 images of one of the islands mentioned by Shackleton. This added treat gives some idea of the challenges to Shackleton and his men.Get the book; download Google Earth onto your PC (I’m not sure if there is a tablet version)and enjoy.

⭐South’ is a great book and one I assume is out of copyright now as this publication of it is poor. The book dimensions are a bit unwieldy for a start.Unless you spend your weekends in the Antarctic there may be many terms here you’re not familiar with, these are generally not explained. Equally if you aren’t a keen sailor you may struggle too.TLDR; assuming you are not a 120 year old polar explorer you may do better with a copy with more footnotes and / or context.

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