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The harrowing journey to Elephant Island by Ernest Shackleton and Endurance crew

ajwingert 5y ago
Does anyone else only know about Ernest Shackleton from Atypical?
anjbe 5y ago
The journey of Shackleton and his crew is one of the most exciting stories of survival and leadership I’ve ever encountered. Shackleton himself wrote an autobiographical account, and its copyright has expired, so it’s now in the public domain: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south/text https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south/te...
- spaetzleesser 5y ago
  “survival and leadership “ And loads of luck. There were so many occasions where if something had gone only slightly wrong they would all have died. But you have to admire their persistence to never give up. Not giving up is all you can do.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- tootie 5y ago
  It's also a tale of reckless vanity.
cconcepts 5y ago
The Book "South" which is something like an edited version of Shackelton's diary, has this journey in reasonable detail. It had a profound impact on me; that people could be that tough and resilient against massive odds. I think about it often when I am feeling stressed - how would someone like Shackelton handle this so the fear didn't impair their judgement.
- gherkinnn 5y ago
  The ordeal he and his men went through is truly outlandish. A memorable element was the mens’ reaction to WW1. Them asking “who won?” felt awfully like one would ask about a football game. But I found Ernest endlessly describing every depth measurement and the stomach contents of every penguin they killed hard to get through.
  - cconcepts 5y ago
    There were a couple of points I keep thinking about: SPOILER ALERT 1) Where they are navigating broken ice on a heaving ocean and Shackelton casually mentions that he hadn't slept for over 100 hours as he was trying to pick a safe route through the ice (I expect people would argue that is highly likely to kill/drive you insane). 2) Where a wave breaks on top of their small boat that is so high that they can't hear it yet and Shackelton initially thinks the white crest way above them is actually a break in the sky indicating clearing weather. And I have a sore neck because my keyboard/monitor arrangement isn't optimized.
    - selimthegrim 5y ago
      The adrenaline receptors in his brain were probably stuck wide open throttles at that point
SOMA_BOFH 5y ago
"Shackleton's Boat Journey" by F. A. Worsley is a first hand account of the journey, written by the Captain of the Endurance. No fluff in this book, it gets directly to the action. Worsley has a very direct writing style which is easy to read.
- anjbe 5y ago
  I concur, Worsley’s account of the voyage is excellent and highly worth reading.
  - jfk13 5y ago
    Most definitely agreed; I read it many years ago as a youngster, and have never forgotten it. For a different telling of the expedition more generally, Mrs Chippy's Last Expedition is worth a look: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128731.Mrs_Chippy_s_Last_Expedition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128731.Mrs_Chippy_s_Last...
- Dowwie 5y ago
  seems to go by another title, "Endurance: an epic of polar adventure"
hcrisp 5y ago
I just finished reading "Endurance", Alfred Lansing's classic account of Shackleton's doomed quest. Harrowing is exactly the word to describe it. And even more harrowing than the trip to Elephant Island was the 800-mile voyage Shackleton took with five other crewmen from Elephant Island back to civilization in South Georgia. To navigate it he had to cross the dreaded Drake Passage (the latitudes between Antarctica and South America where winds swirl unimpeded by large landmasses) in an open lifeboat relying only on a compass and occasional stars in life threatening weather. Upon arriving in South Georgia they ditched on the uninhabited South shore and had to cross mountains by foot to reach the whaling station. All survived.
- aborsy 5y ago
  The drake passage open boat voyage is considered a great achievement to this date. I recommend reading it. Shackleton died some 7 years later in a subsequent expedition.
  - GoodbyeMrChips 5y ago
    > Shackleton died some 7 years later in a subsequent expedition. Yup. And is buried on South Georgia, in a grave facing south, rather than the traditional christian east.
- ftkftk 5y ago
  Excellent book - came here to recommend it as well.
  - gwintrob 5y ago
    Ditto. One of my favorite books ever. Shackleton was a master at maintaining a positive mental attitude.
- Someone 5y ago
  And then, Shackleton not only organized the rescue party for the three crewmen he had left behind on the other side of the island, but also organized and led all four attempts to rescue the crew left on Elephant Island. And no, he didn’t take time to recover from the journey to South Georgia before doing that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Expedition#Rescue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Exped...: “He first left South Georgia a mere three days after he had arrived in Stromness” 3 days to organize a ship, a crew and supplies. And of course, once back in England, he and most of his crew volunteered to serve in World War One. He was denied that, but several of his crew died in that war. They already had offered to do that when, IIRC in Buenos Aires they heard war had broken out, but had been told by the king to continue the expedition.
evan_ 5y ago
Immortalized in song by Beastie Boys: Like Ernest Shackleton said to Orde-Lees: "I'll have dog pemmican with my tea" https://genius.com/1510527 https://genius.com/1510527
- version_five 5y ago
  Complete tangent (because I didn't recognize those lyrics so clicked your link and see their from a 2004 album): Beastie boys up to and including Ill Communication were one of the best bands of the modern era, both in terms of having good music and in defining new genres of music. Paul's Boutique is one of the top 5 albums of the 20th century I'd argue. And then they really became boring. Everything was just a lame copy of some previous success. Intergalactic, etc, just completely uninteresting. Maybe that happens to all bands.
  - sdenton4 5y ago
    Regression to the mean is probably the greater part of the effect. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_toward_the_mean https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_toward_the_mean Making a hit album is basically catching lightning in a bottle...
  - evan_ 5y ago
    You’re entitled to your own opinion obviously and this is hardly the forum to discuss it but I don’t agree at all. Hello Nasty is a close second to Paul’s Boutique for me.
    - version_five 5y ago
      Yeah musical taste is not objective fact. I'm happy you also rank Paul's Boutique first, what a great album, I don't think it gets enough attention. Maybe its just the newer songs that got radio play that didnt click for me. I'll listen to Hello Nasty again tomorrow with an open mind.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
d_silin 5y ago
"Wooden ships and iron men". What an adventure! Great that there is another age of exploration coming up - the interplanetary one.
dhbradshaw 5y ago
One of my favorite quotes is by Amundsen, who led the group that first reached the South pole: "Adventure is just bad planning."
- jfk13 5y ago
  While it's a cute saying, it's not entirely fair. Luck also plays a large rôle. The Antarctic could perfectly well have killed Amundsen, too, just like it killed Scott. It's true his journey was better planned and prepared, but that didn't mean his success -- or indeed survival -- was guaranteed.
  - hcrisp 5y ago
    “For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” – Antarctic explorer, Sir Raymond Priestly
  - Dowwie 5y ago
    Scott brought machines and ponies to Antarctica. He brought an additional crew member without having sufficient resources for him. He also had the men sled-haul supplies. Amundsen brought dogs and just enough crew. The dogs pulled the sleds and the crew ate the dogs as they went along, and as according to plan. Amundsen earned his victory.
    - EdwardDiego 5y ago
      Siberian ponies were regularly used in Antarctica. Shackleton himself had used them in an earlier expedition, and a German expedition contemporaneous to Scott's was using them also.
    - bener 5y ago
      As far as this book claims, aside from being resilient and brave, Scott seems to have bungled his way through most of his life. The fatal expedition seems to have been a long string of bad decisions and underestimation. I feel like the book is somewhat biased against Scott, but it also seems like he gets a lot wrong, compared to someone like Amundsen who really set the bar for Antarctic exploration and preparation. https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_Last_Place_on_Earth.html https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_Last_Place_on_Ear...
sec400 5y ago
If you like history and stories like this you'll probably also enjoy "Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54900051-madhouse-at-the-end-of-the-earth https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54900051-madhouse-at-the...) A 1897 expedition that ends up wintering (stuck floating in the ice) in a time just before radio communication.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
grumblepeet 5y ago
My partner’s great uncle Perce was on that expedition, he was a stowaway and eventually became carpenter and cook. He adopted the ships cat who was called ‘Mrs Chippy’ because it followed him everywhere (chippy being slang for carpenter). Lost most of his toes to frostbite but survived to make it back to Britain. His first cousin was still alive until a few years ago and she recounted him saying that he would never leave Newport again.
damontal 5y ago
What was most interesting to me about Shackleton’s story was how dangerous the leopard seals were. Never realized they were deadly. I talked to a diving instructor about this and he said seals were like Rottweilers with fins.
rtkaratekid 5y ago
If you enjoy Shackleton’s story, the you might enjoy “Alone on the Ice” about Mawson’s expedition. I found both to be compelling stories but Mawson’s is the one that just keeps coming back to me. I won’t ruin it for the prospective reader, but it is absolutely stunning what was endured.
Cupertino95014 5y ago
The Lansing book really is a classic. This is hardly comparable, but I'm rereading the Master and Commander series (Patrick O'Brian) and you just can't beat that for adventure. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin go through the Napoleonic Wars together, traveling literally all over the world, and having adventures fully as exciting as Shackleton's, although most of them don't involve 18 months of hell. It was a movie starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. O'Brian literally spent his whole life learning about that period. You can find an interview with him on YouTube. The thing I find incredible is: some people took him out sailing for real (I think one was Tom Perkins) and said that he wasn't really that great a sailor.
- jimbob45 5y ago
  The Sharpe series is decent too and has an excellent accompanying TV series (of the same time period).
- Lio 5y ago
  I loved the film and must read the book. What I like most about the film is how great the French commander also is. He's absolutely no push over and as devious and clever as Jack Aubrey. I notice the same thing in great sporting events. A push over is fun but the best games, matches and races for me are where the opponents are evenly matched and really have to battle it out.
  - Cupertino95014 5y ago
    > must read the book You're in luck; there are 20 of them! In the YouTube interview, O'Brian notes that he wished he'd started earlier in the War. At the end, it's 1815 and he's "running out of months."
- zabzonk 5y ago
  I will never understand why there has not been a sequel to that film - it's one of the best I've ever seen, and the ending begs for one.
  - 5y ago
throwawaymanbot 5y ago

Does anyone else only know about Ernest Shackleton from Atypical?

The journey of Shackleton and his crew is one of the most exciting stories of survival and leadership I’ve ever encountered. Shackleton himself wrote an autobiographical account, and its copyright has expired, so it’s now in the public domain: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south/text https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ernest-shackleton/south/te...

spaetzleesser 5y ago
“survival and leadership “ And loads of luck. There were so many occasions where if something had gone only slightly wrong they would all have died. But you have to admire their persistence to never give up. Not giving up is all you can do.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
tootie 5y ago
It's also a tale of reckless vanity.

cconcepts 5y ago

The Book "South" which is something like an edited version of Shackelton's diary, has this journey in reasonable detail. It had a profound impact on me; that people could be that tough and resilient against massive odds. I think about it often when I am feeling stressed - how would someone like Shackelton handle this so the fear didn't impair their judgement.

gherkinnn 5y ago
The ordeal he and his men went through is truly outlandish. A memorable element was the mens’ reaction to WW1. Them asking “who won?” felt awfully like one would ask about a football game. But I found Ernest endlessly describing every depth measurement and the stomach contents of every penguin they killed hard to get through.
- cconcepts 5y ago
  There were a couple of points I keep thinking about: SPOILER ALERT 1) Where they are navigating broken ice on a heaving ocean and Shackelton casually mentions that he hadn't slept for over 100 hours as he was trying to pick a safe route through the ice (I expect people would argue that is highly likely to kill/drive you insane). 2) Where a wave breaks on top of their small boat that is so high that they can't hear it yet and Shackelton initially thinks the white crest way above them is actually a break in the sky indicating clearing weather. And I have a sore neck because my keyboard/monitor arrangement isn't optimized.
  - selimthegrim 5y ago
    The adrenaline receptors in his brain were probably stuck wide open throttles at that point

SOMA_BOFH 5y ago

"Shackleton's Boat Journey" by F. A. Worsley is a first hand account of the journey, written by the Captain of the Endurance. No fluff in this book, it gets directly to the action. Worsley has a very direct writing style which is easy to read.

anjbe 5y ago
I concur, Worsley’s account of the voyage is excellent and highly worth reading.
- jfk13 5y ago
  Most definitely agreed; I read it many years ago as a youngster, and have never forgotten it. For a different telling of the expedition more generally, Mrs Chippy's Last Expedition is worth a look: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128731.Mrs_Chippy_s_Last_Expedition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128731.Mrs_Chippy_s_Last...
Dowwie 5y ago
seems to go by another title, "Endurance: an epic of polar adventure"

hcrisp 5y ago

I just finished reading "Endurance", Alfred Lansing's classic account of Shackleton's doomed quest. Harrowing is exactly the word to describe it. And even more harrowing than the trip to Elephant Island was the 800-mile voyage Shackleton took with five other crewmen from Elephant Island back to civilization in South Georgia. To navigate it he had to cross the dreaded Drake Passage (the latitudes between Antarctica and South America where winds swirl unimpeded by large landmasses) in an open lifeboat relying only on a compass and occasional stars in life threatening weather. Upon arriving in South Georgia they ditched on the uninhabited South shore and had to cross mountains by foot to reach the whaling station. All survived.

aborsy 5y ago
The drake passage open boat voyage is considered a great achievement to this date. I recommend reading it. Shackleton died some 7 years later in a subsequent expedition.
- GoodbyeMrChips 5y ago
  > Shackleton died some 7 years later in a subsequent expedition. Yup. And is buried on South Georgia, in a grave facing south, rather than the traditional christian east.
ftkftk 5y ago
Excellent book - came here to recommend it as well.
- gwintrob 5y ago
  Ditto. One of my favorite books ever. Shackleton was a master at maintaining a positive mental attitude.
Someone 5y ago
And then, Shackleton not only organized the rescue party for the three crewmen he had left behind on the other side of the island, but also organized and led all four attempts to rescue the crew left on Elephant Island. And no, he didn’t take time to recover from the journey to South Georgia before doing that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Expedition#Rescue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Exped...: “He first left South Georgia a mere three days after he had arrived in Stromness” 3 days to organize a ship, a crew and supplies. And of course, once back in England, he and most of his crew volunteered to serve in World War One. He was denied that, but several of his crew died in that war. They already had offered to do that when, IIRC in Buenos Aires they heard war had broken out, but had been told by the king to continue the expedition.

evan_ 5y ago

Immortalized in song by Beastie Boys: Like Ernest Shackleton said to Orde-Lees: "I'll have dog pemmican with my tea" https://genius.com/1510527 https://genius.com/1510527

version_five 5y ago
Complete tangent (because I didn't recognize those lyrics so clicked your link and see their from a 2004 album): Beastie boys up to and including Ill Communication were one of the best bands of the modern era, both in terms of having good music and in defining new genres of music. Paul's Boutique is one of the top 5 albums of the 20th century I'd argue. And then they really became boring. Everything was just a lame copy of some previous success. Intergalactic, etc, just completely uninteresting. Maybe that happens to all bands.
- sdenton4 5y ago
  Regression to the mean is probably the greater part of the effect. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_toward_the_mean https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_toward_the_mean Making a hit album is basically catching lightning in a bottle...
- evan_ 5y ago
  You’re entitled to your own opinion obviously and this is hardly the forum to discuss it but I don’t agree at all. Hello Nasty is a close second to Paul’s Boutique for me.
  - version_five 5y ago
    Yeah musical taste is not objective fact. I'm happy you also rank Paul's Boutique first, what a great album, I don't think it gets enough attention. Maybe its just the newer songs that got radio play that didnt click for me. I'll listen to Hello Nasty again tomorrow with an open mind.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

d_silin 5y ago

"Wooden ships and iron men". What an adventure! Great that there is another age of exploration coming up - the interplanetary one.

dhbradshaw 5y ago

One of my favorite quotes is by Amundsen, who led the group that first reached the South pole: "Adventure is just bad planning."

jfk13 5y ago
While it's a cute saying, it's not entirely fair. Luck also plays a large rôle. The Antarctic could perfectly well have killed Amundsen, too, just like it killed Scott. It's true his journey was better planned and prepared, but that didn't mean his success -- or indeed survival -- was guaranteed.
- hcrisp 5y ago
  “For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” – Antarctic explorer, Sir Raymond Priestly
- Dowwie 5y ago
  Scott brought machines and ponies to Antarctica. He brought an additional crew member without having sufficient resources for him. He also had the men sled-haul supplies. Amundsen brought dogs and just enough crew. The dogs pulled the sleds and the crew ate the dogs as they went along, and as according to plan. Amundsen earned his victory.
  - EdwardDiego 5y ago
    Siberian ponies were regularly used in Antarctica. Shackleton himself had used them in an earlier expedition, and a German expedition contemporaneous to Scott's was using them also.
  - bener 5y ago
    As far as this book claims, aside from being resilient and brave, Scott seems to have bungled his way through most of his life. The fatal expedition seems to have been a long string of bad decisions and underestimation. I feel like the book is somewhat biased against Scott, but it also seems like he gets a lot wrong, compared to someone like Amundsen who really set the bar for Antarctic exploration and preparation. https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_Last_Place_on_Earth.html https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_Last_Place_on_Ear...

sec400 5y ago

If you like history and stories like this you'll probably also enjoy "Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54900051-madhouse-at-the-end-of-the-earth https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54900051-madhouse-at-the...) A 1897 expedition that ends up wintering (stuck floating in the ice) in a time just before radio communication.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

grumblepeet 5y ago

My partner’s great uncle Perce was on that expedition, he was a stowaway and eventually became carpenter and cook. He adopted the ships cat who was called ‘Mrs Chippy’ because it followed him everywhere (chippy being slang for carpenter). Lost most of his toes to frostbite but survived to make it back to Britain. His first cousin was still alive until a few years ago and she recounted him saying that he would never leave Newport again.

damontal 5y ago

What was most interesting to me about Shackleton’s story was how dangerous the leopard seals were. Never realized they were deadly. I talked to a diving instructor about this and he said seals were like Rottweilers with fins.

rtkaratekid 5y ago

If you enjoy Shackleton’s story, the you might enjoy “Alone on the Ice” about Mawson’s expedition. I found both to be compelling stories but Mawson’s is the one that just keeps coming back to me. I won’t ruin it for the prospective reader, but it is absolutely stunning what was endured.

Cupertino95014 5y ago

The Lansing book really is a classic. This is hardly comparable, but I'm rereading the Master and Commander series (Patrick O'Brian) and you just can't beat that for adventure. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin go through the Napoleonic Wars together, traveling literally all over the world, and having adventures fully as exciting as Shackleton's, although most of them don't involve 18 months of hell. It was a movie starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. O'Brian literally spent his whole life learning about that period. You can find an interview with him on YouTube. The thing I find incredible is: some people took him out sailing for real (I think one was Tom Perkins) and said that he wasn't really that great a sailor.

jimbob45 5y ago
The Sharpe series is decent too and has an excellent accompanying TV series (of the same time period).
Lio 5y ago
I loved the film and must read the book. What I like most about the film is how great the French commander also is. He's absolutely no push over and as devious and clever as Jack Aubrey. I notice the same thing in great sporting events. A push over is fun but the best games, matches and races for me are where the opponents are evenly matched and really have to battle it out.
- Cupertino95014 5y ago
  > must read the book You're in luck; there are 20 of them! In the YouTube interview, O'Brian notes that he wished he'd started earlier in the War. At the end, it's 1815 and he's "running out of months."
zabzonk 5y ago
I will never understand why there has not been a sequel to that film - it's one of the best I've ever seen, and the ending begs for one.
- 5y ago

throwawaymanbot 5y ago