South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage - Couverture souple

Shackleton K.C. P.C. O.B.E., Rt. Hon. Lord

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0786705973 ISBN 13 : 9780786705979

Editeur : Basic Books, 1998

Synopsis

His destination Antarctica, his expectations high, veteran explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton set out, on the eve of the First World War, in pursuit of his goal to lead the first expedition across the last unknown continent. Instead, his ship, the Endurance, became locked in sea ice, and for nine months Shackleton fought a losing battle with the elements before the drifting ship was crushed and his crew marooned. Shackleton's gripping account of his incredible voyage follows him and his men across 600 miles of unstable ice floes to a barren rock called Elephant Island. It records how, with a crew of four, he crossed 850 miles of the worst seas in a twenty-two-foot-long open boat and how, after landing on South Georgia Island, they then had to traverse over twenty miles of mountainous terrain to reach the nearest outpost of civilization. Shackleton recounts, too, the efforts of his support party aboard the Aurora, who in temperatures of -50 [degree] and winds of 80 m.p.h. still managed to drop off supplies on the opposite side of the continent, little suspecting the fate of the Endurance and the ordeal of its crew. The harrowing experience recounted in Shackleton's memoir is also strikingly illustrated with eighty-eight diagrams and original photographs taken in the course of this incredible voyage.

A propos du livre

Quatrième de couverture

Shackleton's South is one of the great books of exploration, written by a national hero, about what he called 'the greatest journey on earth': his Antarctic expedition in which his ship, the Endurance, was crushed by the ice, and he and his men made a 600-mile trek to reach solid land. They then embarked on a 700-mile journey in an open boat to South Georgia, followed by an epic crossing of the uncharted mountains of that island. Shackleton's account is superbly written, and the book has never ceased to enthrall readers since it was first published in 1919.

Since that time, however, Shackleton's life - and his account of the expedition - have been dramatically revalued by scholars and biographers, and it emerges that South conceals much of the truth about his great feat. In this edition Peter King, who has examined the latest research on the entire episode, presents in his additional notes a much more detailed picture of what really occurred. The major defects in Shackleton's organization, the inadequate finance, the lack of training provided for his crew in the handling of skis, sledges and dogs, Shackleton's personal problems (which were considerable), the failure to provide proper supplies of food - these and many other details are explained, and give a fascinating background to what remains a magnificent drama of leadership.

In addition, the book contains over a hundred beautifully produced photographs by Frank Hurley, the official photographer of the expedition, as well as other contemporary illustrations. The explanatory captions, and the maps charting the course of the expedition, enable readers to follow Shackleton's account almost as if they were present themselves.

Présentation de l'éditeur

In 1911 Roald Amundsen beat Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole, and Scott and his colleagues all died on the return journey. Ernest Shackleton, who had served with Scott on a previous expedition, decided that crossing Antarctica from sea to sea was the last great unattempted journey on the continent. His Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 191417 was a failure. But perhaps because it failed, with Shackleton not only surviving but bringing his crew back alive, the expedition became more famous than many of those adventurous voyages that succeeded. After reaching the Weddell Sea off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, Shackletons ship the Endurance became trapped in pack ice and spent 1915 drifting northwards. The Endurance was eventually crushed by the ice and sank, leaving 28 men stranded on the ice. They spent months sheltering from the subzero temperatures as the pack ice continued to drift. Eventually Shackleton accepted they could not rely on rescue and had to help themselves, so he led five men on an 800-mile voyage in an open boat to reach South Georgia, from where he was able to mount a rescue of all of the men he had left behind on the ice. Every one of them survived - a remarkable tribute to his leadership, courage and determination. South is Shackletons own account of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. It is a true story of courageous endurance, survival against the odds and an undeterred sense of adventure. This special edition includes detailed maps so that the reader can see just how extraordinary Shackleton's achievement was, and a specially written Foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, introducing the book from an explorer's perspective.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Basic Books
• Date d'édition: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0786705973
• ISBN 13: 9780786705979
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 450
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible