Vanessa's review
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing
Vanessa's review
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Vanessa's review
rating:
recommended for: Everyone!
I rarely re-read books, but this was such a gripping, true-life adventure, and well told, that I have read it three times in the last fifteen years. I think it is due for another re-read! It blows my mind to think of what these men went through and how they survived being stuck in Antarctica for years. They way they engineer their own rescue is hardly to be believed. What adds to the appeal of the book is the wonderful color throughout - details of how the men made life bearable during this unbearably stressful and gruelling experience - playing football on the ice, putting on Christmas Eve talent shows, passing the time by making a list of the foods they'd most like to eat when they are stranded on a desolate rock with nothing to eat but seal blubber. With a few choice details and diary excerpts, Lansing also makes almost all of the men come alive on the page as very distinct (and often quirky) characters. Awesome book!
