Shackleton: An Irishman In Antarctica

by Jonathan Shackleton, John Mackenna, Dejan Djokić

"By endurance we conquer."—Shackleton family motto

Eighty years after Ernest Shackleton's death, his legend and the extraordinary story of the Endurance South Pole expedition still hold a grip on the public imagination.Trapped in drifting polar pack-ice for ten months, Ernest Shackleton and his crew fought for survival against all the odds. When the Endurance was finally crushed, they were stranded on ice floes for more than a year before reaching Elephant Island. From there Shackleton; and five of his men embarked on the most remarkable rescue mission in maritime history, sailing in a small open boat to South Georgia Island across eight hundred miles of the world's roughest seas to bring help to the others.

Though he failed to reach the South Pole, Shackleton's story lives on because of his unique qualities of leadership and the extraordinary fact that all of his men survived. This compelling narrative probes the profound influence of Shackleton's Irish and Quaker roots in the making of a great leader. It offers a vivid portrait of a man at odds with the world and with himself, whose ambition was tempered by his flawed humanity and egalitarianism. Here too are the untold stories of Shackleton's upbringing in Kildare, his time in the Merchant Navy, his 1901 voyage on the Discovery with Robert Falcon Scott, his 1907 Nimrod expedition, his marriage and love affairs, his life as a public figure and politician, and the haunting story of his final, fatal expedition on the Quest.

Drawing on family records, diaries, and letters—and hitherto unpublished photographs and archive material—this mesmerizing book takes us beyond the myth to Shackleton; the man, for whom "optimism is true moral courage," and whose greatest triumph was that of life over death.

Shackleton: An Irishman in Antarctica is lavishly illustrated with more than a hundred photographs, maps, and engravings, some of them appearing in print for the first time.

Shackleton: An Irishman in Antarctica, copublished by the Lilliput Press in Dublin and the University of Wisconsin Press, presents Shackleton family history with a particular focus on the explorer. 

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2003

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shackleton’s tale is one of intrigue, excitement, tension and despair. A great story to tell. Unfortunately, the writing left a lot to be desired, and that great tale could be somewhat tedious.

[Marianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a "the man behind the legend" alternative narrative of Shackleton. The title needlessly makes reference to Ireland, as this isn't particularly focused on Shackleton's Irish heritage or even life (I put off reading this book because I was worried about it being only nominally about the explorer). I will warn readers that it (fairly, given the intent of the book) TOTALLY glosses over the cool, exciting, unbelievable stuff of Antarctic exploration. So you also need to read "South", "The Worst Journey In The World", etc. to really appreciate the Shackleton legend.