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Monday 15 September 2014

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the EnduranceShipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, by Jennifer Armstrong, really is the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance. The non-fiction book tells the story of one man's dream to trek across the Antarctic. Right before World War I, the crew set out on their adventure and despite the rumours of war they were told to carry on and continue their journey. However, the adventure they had planned never worked out and they were forced to suffer through another, more dangerous, one. Due to thicker ice than expected their ship, the Endurance, eventually was frozen into the ice and the men had to disembark and begin their journey, dragging lifeboats, by foot. This book tells of the struggles of their journey as their group slowly split up until only Shackleton and two others reached their initial starting point on South Georgia Island. Shackleton then sent rescue boats back for his remaining crew in two different locations. All of them miraculously survived this treacherous trek across the frozen ocean.

I really enjoyed this book. Armstrong did well in combining the facts she had researched and gathered with a healthy narrative making the story entertaining and hard to put down. She included random quotes from other books about the Endurance and this trip as well as conversation quoted directly from Shackleton's own diaries recording their misfortunes but amazing luck. This combined with original photos demonstrating the men's experiences was a clever way to make the story seem real and simultaneously something you would want to read and know more about.

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