Shackleton's Forgotten Men: The Untold Tale of an Antarctic Tragedy

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable endurance
Review: Many people know of Ernest Shackleton's tragic Antartic expedition. His ship, the Endurance, becomes trapped in the ice and is eventually crushed. Shackleton and his men, make there way back to civilization through Shackleton's efforts. However, not many people know about the other group of men involved in that same expedition.

On the other side of Antartica, on the Great Ross Ice Shelf, a group of ten men sail and set up camp. Their task is to set up a number of supply depots for Shackleton's team. Once they cross the South Pole, the team would be abel to resupply at the depots established by this other team of men.

Unfortunately, their ship is lost and they are trapped. The fate of the Endurance is unknown to them and they struggle to complete there assigned tasks. It is a tale is suffering and incredible human endurance.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging retelling of a tragic event
Review: This is the story of the less well known tragedy of the other ship involved in Shackleton's Antarctic expedition.
I could not put this book down, the stories of the men were so amazing, and even though just about everything that could have gone wrong did, these men struggled on, because they knew that Shackleton was counting on them, and they did not want to fail.
Hero is a word that could certainly apply here.

Rating:
Summary: Another Polar tale of tragedy...and heroism
Review: Why did men travel to the Polar regions and pit themselves against the elements? I just don't underrstand these folks, mainly British and Commonwealth country citizens, who risked life and limb for what appears to me to be mere illusory fame. Every epedition, it seems, had its share of tragedy and heroism, and thus Shackleton's grand trans-Antarctic trek fits into this mold. Even though his ship, the Endurance, failed to deliver his team to the Polar continent to make the proposed trip, his team of men on the opposite side of Antartica went doggedly on laying food depots to the Beardmore glacier for the men who never arrived. The story of this depot laying is incredible when read, and the sheer devotion to Shackleton revealed in this tale is marvelous. At a distance of almost one hundred years, the most we can do is marvel at these people, even though we can question their reasons for what they did. This is a well-told tale, and we feel grat emotion for their courage, particularly for the silent, cheeful bearing of suffering of the only ordained clergyman buried in the Antarctic. They were larger than life, and we must salute their courage.