I first read this book in 2007, sadly several years before I began reviewing books. I recall it came in the wake of reading my all-time favorite book, Alive! by Piers Paul Read. Living as I was on a tropical island at the time, it must have been a subconscious craving for coldness, I’m not sure.

But recently for my Siblings’ Book Club 2020, we read Endurance: Shackleton’s incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. I loved Lansing’s book so much but was floored by how abruptly it ended that I had to return to Shackleton’s own account and compare the two. Much of my thoughts of comparison can be read in my review of Endurance, but I’ll note some of them here as well.

Earnest Shackleton was never ashamed of his leadership skills or his drive for fame and fortune. It was those very qualities which drove him to seek to become the first man to walk across the Antarctic continent. So after helping 28 men survive 22 months in the world’s harshest environment, he immediately went on a lecture circuit and spoke and spoke and spoke.

Shackleton reveled in the praise and fame, and good for him! But that he was able to pen this full account of all that had happened in so short a time suggests that he wrote mainly from his own experiences and records. He wrote from the Captain’s perspective, and that’s it. His is a very technical, albeit enthralling, account of all that took place in the Weddell Sea and beyond, but he was just one of 28 men stranded. How did the others endure?

Lansing’s book, on the other hand, enjoyed the benefits not only of the passage of time but also of the testimonies of others. He was able to research not only Shackleton’s account, but the logs and diaries of many of the Endurance crew members. He was even able to interview some survivors. That he could combine the opinions and thoughts of several men about a certain occurrence during the ordeal lent a far more human shade to his book than Shackleton’s more technical memoir.

As captain of the Endurance and commander of the entire adventure, Ernest Shackleton focused more broadly on the escapade than did Lansing, providing six extra chapters (111 pages) about the Ross Sea Party who were far less fortunate than those aboard the Endurance. This second group who laid stores upon the Antarctic continent for Shackleton’s anticipated walk inland faced their own struggles which many of the men wouldn’t survive. Including this essential information in his book broadened the scope of the whole adventure. While he felt great relief in the rescue of the 28 men from the Hell of Elephant Island, he still felt great loss on the other side of the continent.

Shackleton’s book is also a far more technical read than Lansing’s, but such nautical information is essential for researches and explorers alike. I found myself skipping much of the navigational information, cuz it’s all numbers to me, but I’m sure there’s a whaler out there right now aboard a ship with this paperback in hand thinking, “Hey! We just crossed lat. 65° 43′ S. long. 17° 36′ W. on Friday!”

I’m confident I’ll read Lansing’s book again, and I’ll be keeping Shackleton’s book on hand as well. Both are inspiring and gritty reads, which I highly recommend. Some like to read them in the depths of winter, but I prefer to read them when it’s hot and muggy. To each his own!

©2020 E.T.