Endurance by Alfred Lansing
If you asked me for a book recommendation, no questions asked, and you would read it, Alfred Lansing’s Endurance would be near the top of that list, if not the whole list.
In 1914, on the verge of WWI, Ernest Shackleton set sail on the Endurance, planning to sail to Antarctica and cross the frozen continent on foot. At the last moment, with British soldiers leaving for France to fight Germany, Shackleton almost canceled the voyage to put the crew of 27 at the disposal of the Government in the war effort. Then a one-word telegram arrived from the Admiralty: “Proceed”
Proceed Shackleton did, and the story that follows is legendary. Within six months, Shackleton’s voyage had navigated to within a mile of Antarctica, where the ice then locked around it, trapping it.
And that’s where the story really begins. Stuck in the ice, which treacherously shifted and moved around them, the men waited and bided their time, watching for spring and an opportunity to escape. It would be over two years before anyone heard from Shackleton and his men again.
When you pick up the book, avoid looking at the pictures and spoiling it yourself. Shackleton’s story is incredible, almost unbelievable, and Lansing’s writing provides urgency, analyzes its protagonists, and keeps you turning pages to the end. I was surprised to realize that this was Lansing never wrote another book, depriving the world of his talent and ability. It is a classic, an account of exploration, survival, and adventure, and told with all the power of a master of the English language, and we are lucky to have it.
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