Shackleton's Endurance

An expedition to make one of the last great polar expeditions: the trans-Antarctic crossing. Ernest Shackleton and his team of 27 men set out in 1914, when the world was on the brink of World War 1.

Shackleton’s Endurance is an incredible book written by Joanna Grochowicz. It follows Amundsen’s Way: The Race to the South Pole, about the British expedition led by Roald Amundsen in the race to the South Pole.

Ernest Shackleton has spent his whole life yearning to go on expeditions and make history. After two trips to Antarctica, he finally set off as the man in charge. Facing many dangers and obstacles on his expedition, he and his crew try to survive the harsh conditions in the South Pole.

The characters were easy to relate to as they struggled with confinement, overcoming obstacles and arguments over pride and leadership. This is easy to relate to, as these traits and situations are all things that most people go through multiple times throughout their lifetime.

In trying to reach his goal, Shackleton’s crew ran into many problems. Their ship got stuck in the ice, then sunk, then they had to cross the ocean in lifeboats to Elephant Island, where they were stuck for 5 months while 6 men rowed out to find help. The expedition, which was only meant to take a short Antarctic summer, ended up taking almost 2 years. And they didn’t even cross the continent, it was a failed mission.

This story was really inspiring and relevant as people constantly face difficulties in life. The stories of perseverance are inspirational, and we can all learn many lessons from Ernest Shackleton, his crew and the story they tell.

Grochowicz has written this book in a compelling way, helping the reader to connect to the characters and crew members on the expedition. Her way of telling Ernest Shackleton’s story by closing in on all of the crew members’ feelings and experiences in the expedition really helps you to understand all the ups and downs they experience.

I loved this book as it was really interesting to see how these explorers survived in such close confinement to each other and how they overcame their challenges to survive and find their way out of their impossible situations. It was an incredible story on how Ernest Shackleton made history.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in adventure and history, and is a must-read for any future explorer.