The August 9, 1914, Sir Ernest Schackleton and a crew of twenty men left England to Antarctica aboard the Endurance (an icebreaker ship). The aim was to cross the frozen continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. Almost simultaneously, the British entered the Great War. The adventurers set off in search of glory as Europe was transformed into a landscape of barbed wire, trenches and death.
Shakelton addressed the last great polar exploration, after the tragedy of Scott, wanted to restore pride to the British win the game to the Norwegians (remember that Amundsen beat Scott heading to conquer the South Pole), and achieve fame as an explorer. Fame that eluded him every time he got involved in an affair. First, when sick of scurvy in the Scott Antarctic expedition of 1901 and then in 1907 when only 180 km to conquer the South Pole had to return in terrible conditions.
the end, the Norwegians reached the southernmost point of land and only had one task: to cross Antarctica on foot. A tough trip, with temperatures of -50 degrees, winds of 130 km / h, dangerous passes, frozen lakes, hidden crevasses in the snow, mountains unknown, etc. A bleak picture but so were the people of the time. The thirst for discovery was boundless and governments supported the expeditions to be always the first to arrive at the flag stick in unfamiliar territory.
However, this bold English sailor never got lucky. In his trip the Endurance became trapped in a desert of ice. Weddell Sea just disappeared under a white blanket. From there begins the quest to survive and maintain his composure to make the most of scarce materials, to ward off the gloom of the crew, to not think about death, to resist the limit of human endurance and to create opportunities wherever nature is uncontrollable.
After spending months the shelter of the Endurance, the tremendous pressure exerted ice blocks on the sides of the ship eventually destroy it. Shakelton and his men had to leave their cabins and set up camp on an ice floe. Arastrando decided to move lifeboats and get to a point that would allow for navigation. His departure was terrible, perhaps one of the toughest in the history of polar exploration.
He barely reached Elephant Island, an inhospitable, windswept and a raging sea. From there, Shakelton, along with five sailors had to go into a pot of 6.7 meters for help. This trip may be no comparison in the history of navigation: they survived a giant wave, hurricane, were directed with a sextant in a fog, had to take turns with the bilge pump to keep from sinking, spent a dreadful thirst and cold indescribable (his clothes were wet at all times). Yet reached the Grytviken whaling base, vile got help the rest of the crew.
This tremendous story of survival is included in the book entitled "The Endurance" by Caroline Alexander. The author served as the diaries of some crews to rebuild the crossing and the hardest moments. Is a documentary book, newspaper, a true story that reads like a novel. The narrative pace is frantic. It suffers, enjoys, you can not stop reading. It is impossible not to marvel at the courage and determination of these men. You feel small before and deeds.
There are detailed descriptions of the characters and the relationships between them. Everyone was a hero in his profession from the ship's carpenter, Harry McNish, who always managed with few tools to fix any damage in the most painful, the photographer Frank Hurley, who won great photos even in the worst moments of cold or hunger. The images, included in the book attest to what they went through these sailors. Stimulating reading for this time of crisis.
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