The story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-1917 Antarctic expedition. Shackleton wanted to cross Antarctica from coast to coast in the ship "Endurance" (hence the name of the book). Unfortunately the ship got stuck in ice and was crushed and they were stuck there in harrowing conditions for 3 years, taking every little bit of human ingenuity and perseverance to get out. Lansing wrote the book in 1959, using interviews and diaries from the crew. The basic journey: - **August 1914**: Shackleton set sail from England with his crew of 28. Mind you this is when WW1 was just getting going. - **January 1915**: They reached the Weddell Sea, where the Endurance got trapped in ice. They got stuck there for a long period. - **October 1915**: The ice began to crush the ship. - **November 1915**: The Endurance sank, leaving the crew on ice floes. They camped on the ice floes for a good period as they were floating across. - **April 1916**: - The ice floe started breaking apart (this was actually a positive thing as they could now sail the distance), and the crew took to lifeboats. - They reached Elephant Island. It was a good place to stay for a period, but no ship could rescue them from there. - Shackleton and five others set out for South Georgia Island, 800 miles away with all the "best parts" of the lifeboats that got them until there. - **May 1916**: After 16 days at sea, they reached South Georgia Island but landed on the wrong side. This part of the journey is probably the craziest and the most against-all-odds part of it. - **May 1916**: Shackleton and two others crossed the island's mountains to reach a whaling station. - **August 1916**: Shackleton returned to rescue the rest of his crew from Elephant Island. What stood out: * 28 out of 28 made out. Truly incredible they didn't leave anyone behind, didn't split up, and just had the sort of luck that would allow all of them to continue despite horrendous conditions. * They are keeping their journals, all along! It shows a level of optimism (they think they'll make it) as well as dedication (they want to document for posterity) * Shackleton is sang-froid to the max, not phased by anything and is ever-optimistic. At some level, "Everything will work itself out" is [[Useful fiction]] for a leader. * Shackleton is also super attuned to how everyone on the team feels and what are the right levers to push in order to keep the team cohesive. He correctly understands that splitting up spells certain death for the group, if for no other reason that the provisions are not enough for everyone to survive. * Human beings can really endure a lot. * Funnily enough the journey for Shackleton began before they even stepped on the ship. He had to literally fundraise and recruit! When he was done with all of that, he was really glad to get building: * *They were on their way at last, really on their way, and Shackleton was immensely relieved. The long years of preparation were over . . . the begging, the hypocrisy, the finagling, all were finished. The simple act of sailing had carried him beyond the world of reversals, frustrations, and inanities*  Full annotation: [[Endurance(annotated)]] #published 2025-01-25