This was a expedition in which things just went wrong. The ship Endurance sailed from Argentina on October 26, 1914, for the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Their specific destination was the Grytviken whaling station, where they would wait for optimal conditions before heading for the great, white continent. Conditions delayed them for at least one month before they set sail on December 5th, nearly the official start of summer in Antarctica. Because this is indeed a story of survival against all odds, common sense, and logic. And my opinion is based on the fact that I have traveled to Antarctica. I am relieved that I didn't even know about this utterly harrowing tale of man's survival prior to my visit to Antarctica. It would have been like watching "Titanic," "Poseidon," and then topping them off with movies of plane crashes before flying to one's cruise vacation.

I listened to his one on audible and the narrator Simon Prebble was excellent, although I cant help wondering if I missed photos, maps etc in the printed copy which I always find adds so much to a book.The mission is not complete, though: there are 22 men still on Elephant Island and they are all waiting to be saved.

The ‘James Caird’ is launched from Elephant Island to begin her perilous voyage to South Georgia, April 24 1916 (Image credit: Getty / Royal Geographical Society)If there is one genre that you'll see me run away screaming from, that's survivalist non-fiction. I may hate poetry, but the worst it can do to me is make me fall asleep. Survival stories on the other hand, will stay with me for eons on end, strategically rearing their ugly head while I'm planning my next holiday retreat. Not that I've been anywhere without a 4-star hotel in its relative vicinity... That being said, ever since I've joined a book club two years ago, I've been steadily eating my words.

Adventure stories can often be captivating if the story is told the right way. In the case of a non- fiction adventure, a solid bit of storytelling can leave the reader amazed and astonished, often in a more surprised state of mind than if the book was fictional. Such is the case with Endurance. In March 1916, the ice floe where the Patience Camp is located successfully makes its way to about 60 miles from Paulet Island, but impassable conditions make floating to the island all but an impossible goal. When I had finished reading the book, I went online to find the pictures were taken on the voyage and survived. They were amazing and reinforced, even more, the courage and resilience needed to endure this catastrophe. The rapidity with which one can completely change one’s ideas ... and accommodate ourselves to a state of barbarism is wonderful.”Holy persevering manliness Batman, I was wincing, shuddering and cringing just reading about this ordeal from the creaturey comfort of my toasty, warm bed while maintaining a glass of wine within reaching distance. Now I’m not a non-fiction, survival story expert, but this has to be pretty close to the absolute limit of human endurance, both physically and psychologically. This is one of the stories that will reset your perspective on what the human animal is capable of and I highly recommend you avail yourself of the opportunity to reboot your mind-set. Tragically, the Endurance crashes into some ice and takes on water. This occurs somewhere in the Weddell Sea. Somehow most of the crew manages to launch escape boats before the ship sinks, but some men are forced to leap overboard and are lost to the ice. Those who make it into the boats drift among the ice floes for over a year, gradually trying to make their way to land. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-10-10 20:01:29 Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Boxid IA40717914 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier For anyone who is not familiar this story – quite simply, this must be the greatest true story of survival against all the odds and is simply unparalleled in our times. This is a slow burner of a read but at the same time compelling and intense. What amazing courage and stamina these men had, they must have had nerves and bodies of steel and withstand so much.

But the sea is a different sort of enemy. Unlike the land, where courage and the simple will to endure can often see a man through, the struggle against the sea is an act of physical combat, and there is no escape. It is a battle against a tireless enemy in which man never actually wins; the most that he can hope for is not to be defeated.Thus their plight was naked and terrifying in its simplicity. If they were to get out - they had to get themselves out.