Did you know that there were hardcore explorers in the early 1900’s? Did you know that one group wanted to cross Antarctica just to prove that they could? Crazy!! I guess I always pictured explorations like this happening either centuries ago or closer to today when there is all the help of modern technology and equipment. I mean in the 1915’s, if they just waited a few decades they could have had GPS and all sorts of gadgets! (I know, it makes a lot of sense to fault these guys for not seeing into the future and willing to wait for it)
The entire book is a chronicle of everything that could and did go wrong with Shackleton’s expedition to cross Antarctica. He sailed on track to complete the expedition for 3 months and after getting stuck in ice and having his ship destroyed spent the next 15 months trying to survive the icy conditions, keep his crew alive, and fight his way towards rescue. Ultimately, against all odds, he was able to get himself and his crew rescued and did not lose a single man, which is nothing short of a miracle considering all of the challenges and just plain bad luck that they had! Gingerrose rating: 3 out of 5, liked it. This isn’t my type of book (too full of facts and not enough drama), but it was still really interesting and I learned a lot from it.
Actually there is a great movie based off the book, It has more drama, but still a fantastic story. I am glad that someone has read it, not my style but still a great story.
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