Book Description
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World vividly
recreates one of the most extraordinary adventure stories in
history.
In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 men sailed from
England in an attempt to become the first team of explorers
to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other.
Five months later and still 100 miles from land, their ship, Endurance,
became trapped. The expedition survived an Antarctic winter
in the icebound ship, then, after Endurance sank, five
months camped on the ice followed by a perilous boat journey
through storms and icebergs to remote and unvisited Elephnat
Island, 600 miles from Cape Horn. From there, their only hope
was for someone to fetch help. In a dramatic climax to this
amazing survival story, Shackleton and five others navigated
800 miles of the treacherous open ocean in a 20-foot boat and
then hiked across the unmapped, glacier-strewn interior of
South Georgia Island to a whaling station. In August 1916, 19
months after Endurance first became icebound,
Shackleton led a rescue party back to Elephant Island for his
men.
Jennifer Armstrong narrates these almost unbelievable
events with vigor, an eye for detail, and an appreciation of
the marvelous leadership of Ernest Shackleton, who brought
home every one of his men alive. With them survived a
remarkable archive of photographs of the expedition, more
than forty of which are reproduced here.
