bookhawk's review against another edition
4.0
The Endurance is a miraculous tale of survival in the harshest of conditions in the Antarctic Circle. This is a compelling history. 4 stars and recommended reading.
andrewritchie's review against another edition
5.0
Caroline Alexander does an exceptional job of retelling this remarkable story.
By using the diaries written by the crew Alexander unfolds the epic journey using the words and timeline as recorded at the time. Although the story is well known in reading the story the sheer scale of the achievement becomes clear. It is remarkable in itself that the diaries survived such conditions for so long.
The book does a beautiful job of using photographs taken by Frank Hurley. The photos are quite astonishing and the book is worth it for them alone.
By using the diaries written by the crew Alexander unfolds the epic journey using the words and timeline as recorded at the time. Although the story is well known in reading the story the sheer scale of the achievement becomes clear. It is remarkable in itself that the diaries survived such conditions for so long.
The book does a beautiful job of using photographs taken by Frank Hurley. The photos are quite astonishing and the book is worth it for them alone.
r_omulus's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
4.0
A solid book about the Endurance. Less detailed than Alfred Lansing’s in some respects, but more in others. Offers more insight into the personalities and dynamics of the crew. Integration of photographs is a wonderful addition.
jannyslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
My boss brought me this book (and said he needed it back) without us having ever talked about the Arctic or ships and so, I’ve avoided reading it for months because it felt like homework.
Then I felt guilty that’d I’d had the dang book too long, so I gave it a read and…
Then I felt guilty that’d I’d had the dang book too long, so I gave it a read and…
jmarryott23's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.75
I knew nothing about the story of Endurance and it really is an amazing story of survival in extreme circumstances. The previously known facts of the story along with diaries and pictures are combined to provide a great summary of an event that happened over 100 years ago, and the author does an excellent job here. One of the most fascinating asides from the book to me was that these men lived outside of civilization for 20 months during WW1. While they theorized about what was happening in the world, if WW1 was still going on, and who the victors were, time continued to move on for the rest of the world and that must have been a crazy thing to experience and return to.
The ship had 27 members, so for me there were too many names to really get to know many of them. And I found some sections of the journey more exciting than others. Still, this is a worthwhile story and I’m glad I took the time to learn about it. Amazingly, the ship itself was found over 100 years later, in March of 2022.
The ship had 27 members, so for me there were too many names to really get to know many of them. And I found some sections of the journey more exciting than others. Still, this is a worthwhile story and I’m glad I took the time to learn about it. Amazingly, the ship itself was found over 100 years later, in March of 2022.