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Discover the exhilarating true story of Ernest Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition. Told through the words of the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes – one of the only men to understand his experience first-hand...
In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's attempt to be the first to traverse the Antarctic was cut short when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice.
He and his crew should have died.
Instead, through a long, dark winter, Shackleton fought back: enduring sub-zero temperatures, a perilous lifeboat journey across icy seas, and a murderous march over glaciers to seek help. Shackleton's epic trek is one of history's most enthralling adventures. But who was he? How did previous Antarctic expeditions and his rivalry with Captain Scott forge him? And what happened afterwards to the man many believed was invincible?
In this astonishing account, Fiennes brings the story vividly to life in a book that is part celebration, part vindication and all adventure.
Ranulph Fiennes is the only man alive ever to have travelled around the Earth's circumpolar surface (more people have been on the Moon!). His record-breaking expeditions include travel by riverboat, hovercraft, man-haul sledge, skidoo, Land Rover and skis. He is also the bestselling author of titles such as Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, and the biography Captain Scott.
"An insider's look into a very select club [...] Fiennes' personal asides help to explain the unfathomable – such as how and why humans could and, more inexplicably, would persist with moving their tortured bodies across tortured landscapes in such extreme cold [...] For anyone with a passion for polar exploration, this is a must read."
– New York Times
"THE definitive book on my hero Shackleton and no one could have done it better. "The Boss" would have heartily approved of such an authentic account by one of the few men who truly knows what it's like to challenge Antarctica"
– Lorraine Kelly
"Fiennes makes a fine guide on voyage into Shackleton's world [...] What makes this book so engaging is the author's own storytelling skills"
– Lorna Siggins, Irish Independent
"With first-hand experience of polar expeditions, Fiennes relates these tales of exploration and survival, adding insight to Shackleton's journeys unlike any other biographer"
– Radio Times
"An insider's look into a very select club [...] Fiennes' personal asides help to explain the unfathomable – such as how and why humans could and, more inexplicably, would persist with moving their tortured bodies across tortured landscapes in such extreme cold [...] For anyone with a passion for polar exploration, this is a must read"
– New York Times
"Fiennes brings the promised perspective of one who has been there, illuminating Shackleton's actions by comparing them with his own. Beginners to the Heroic Age will enjoy this volume, as will serious polar adventurers seeking advice. For all readers, it's a tremendous story"
– Sara Wheeler, The Wall Street Journal
