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Amazon.co.uk Review
The harrowing survival story of English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and the ill-fated Endurance has intrigued people since the 1914 expedition--spurring astounding books such as Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage and The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. As Shackleton and 27 sailors attempted to cross the frozen Antarctic continent from one side to the other, they were trapped in an ice pack, lost their ship to the icy depths, survived an Antarctic winter, escaped attacks from sea lions, and traversed 600 treacherous miles to the uninhabited Elephant Island. Leaving 22 men behind, Shackleton and five others sailed 800 miles across the southern Atlantic Ocean in a 20-foot open boat to tiny South George Island, where they hiked across unmapped mountains to a whaling station. In 1916, 19 months after the Endurance became icebound, Shackleton led a rescue party back to retrieve his men. Remarkably, every crew member survived.
Jennifer Armstrong, the award-winning author of Black-Eyed Susan and The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan, brings the unbelievable journey to life with delicious details: how a handsome young stowaway was discovered too late cast him off; how the ship itself would become frost-white; looking like "another species of sparkling white iceberg as it nosed its way through the pack;" and how the ice-pack-dwelling Emperor penguins seemed to enjoy the banjo music of crew member Leonard Hussey. The true-to-life story is as thrilling as they come, and Armstrong's lively, crystal clear writing style is just as compelling. More than 40 photographs of the expedition populate this inspiring non-fiction adventure story that young readers will devour from cover to cover. (Ages 10 to 14) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
The harrowing story of the ill-fated Endurance, now in paperback.
In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 men sailed from England in an attempt to become the first team of explorers to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Five months later and still 100 miles from land, their ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. The expedition survived another five months camping on ice floes, followed by a perilous journey through stormy seas to remote and unvisited Elephant Island. In a dramatic climax to this amazing survival story, Shackleton and five others navigated 800 miles of treacherous open ocean in a 20-foot boat to fetch a rescue ship.
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World vividly re-creates one of the most extraordinary adventure stories in history. Jennifer Armstrong narrates this unbelievable story with vigor, an eye for detail, and an appreciation of the marvelous leadership of Shackleton, who brought home every one of his men alive.
In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 men sailed from England in an attempt to become the first team of explorers to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Five months later and still 100 miles from land, their ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. The expedition survived another five months camping on ice floes, followed by a perilous journey through stormy seas to remote and unvisited Elephant Island. In a dramatic climax to this amazing survival story, Shackleton and five others navigated 800 miles of treacherous open ocean in a 20-foot boat to fetch a rescue ship.
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World vividly re-creates one of the most extraordinary adventure stories in history. Jennifer Armstrong narrates this unbelievable story with vigor, an eye for detail, and an appreciation of the marvelous leadership of Shackleton, who brought home every one of his men alive.
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First Sentence
Just imagine yourself in the most hostile place on earth. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Just imagine yourself in the most hostile place on earth. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I decided to buy this book after reading of Shackleton's exploits to Antarctica between 1907-09 ('Nimrod', by Beau Riffenburgh), if nothing else to try to get some further insight into what made the man 'tick'. This book is however more of a chronological account of what happened when, with little background information about the participants, how they came together for this expedition or detail about the supporters back home. Maybe the short length of the book should have warned me.
However, set against that, the maps provided, whilst simple, are clarity itself and there are some good reproductions of the photographs which survived. If you want a quick read about this expedition, then this might be the thing, but if you want something with more detail and analysis then I recommend you search elsewhere.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The book Shipwreck at the bottom of the world is a very good book because it tells about the hardships Ernest Shackleton and his crew had to go through. This book tells their story in vivid detail and is very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and travel.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
35 reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Non-fiction perfection
22 Dec 2003
Format:Hardcover
There was a spate of Shackleton books, documentaries, and films not too long ago following the events of September 11, 2001. During that time, people couldn't get enough of the story of a man facing ridiculously insurmountable odds to save his men and return home from the Antarctic. Preceeding this surge in Shackleton love, this book appeared in 1998 and tells the story perfectly. I must admit that I fell in love with this book. Armstrong is a master here, breaking the monotony of the months the men spent waiting for the Endurance to be free from the ice flows by telling about the crew's practical jokes and games. The author is careful to include photographs only as they occur in the text. At the beginning of the trip, the ship's photographer takes a great many shots of life with the crew. Towards the end, photos are few and far between. In some books for children, this might be a huge drawback. Here, it works exceedingly well. The text grows more and more interesting as the photos diminish. I belive that if the author did not say right from the beginning that Shackleton and every single member of this crew survived, this book might be impossible to continue reading. The notes in the back are of some help, and the photos of the crew members are useful. What makes this book stands out is that it captures a group of people doing work that they are exceedingly good at. It is very satisfying to read about accomplished individuals. This book might or might not read well to children. I don't know how well it would do. Still, I would recommend it to anyone and pair it with books of fiction and non-fiction that deal with the Antarctic or exploration. The fact that this book wasn't given so much as a Newberry honor is an appalling fact.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
This book tells of the hardships shackleton's crew endured.
1 Feb 1999
Format:Hardcover
The book Shipwreck at the bottom of the world is a very good book because it tells about the hardships Ernest Shackleton and his crew had to go through. This book tells their story in vivid detail and is very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and travel.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
A Great Read!!------with one caveat
20 Jan 2001
Format:Hardcover
The tale of Ernest Shackleton and crew and their ill-fated South Pole expedition is an incredible one indeed. This version of that journey is spell-binding and certainly piques interest and anticipation. While Armstrong's "Shipwreck..." is basically an older children's book, it is great for adults as well. [Reviewer's note: The book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing provides a much more detailed version of this journey.] The photographs are bountiful and certainly contribute to the eerie realism of the challenges faced by this crew, vividly relaying the desperation of their predicament.
I was disturbed, however, by the author's commentary in one of the photo captions (see page 38 of the September 2000 paperback edition) where she takes extreme journalistic liberty regarding the early-century comedy practice, "blackface". Armstrong's thinly-veiled 'mini' "civil rights" commentary there is totally unnecessary and unprofessional. Her assertion does, however, illustrate the ease at which historical revisionism exerts itself. Such journalistic hubris reminds me of what Wrangler (Jean Company)did a few years ago in a sales advertisement when they air-brushed the cigarettes from the mouths of cowboys in a well-known, c. 1800's historical portrait. While it benefited them (Wrangler)to use the rugged "realism" of these cowboys, the "realism" of the current times (ie., anti-smoking) was not allowed---selective "truth", if you will (a Stalinesque technique). Only the politically correct version of history allowed here!
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