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Summary: The remarkable journal of Shackelton's polar-bound cat.
Review: "Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition" is a playful window into the history and personalities of the 1908-09 Endurance expedition to Antarctica. Incredibly, the ship was crushed after 9 months trapped in the ice, but not a single man was lost. Mrs. Chippy (the cat who accompanied the crew of the Endurance to Antarctica) leads us on an examination, not just of history and brave explorers, but of day-to-day survival and interaction between men in dire circumstances. If you love cats and have a curiosity about Antarctic exploration, this is a great book to start your journey. One must, however, have patience with the 100-plus footnotes, as they are a slightly awkward part of the story that enable one to understand the big picture behind the journal of this extraordinary feline."Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition", though it is light and high-spirited, tells a vivid tale which stands in the same compelling league as Jon Krakauer's, "Into the Wild". Both left me in awe of nature and wringing my handkerchief by books' end.
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Summary: South Bound Cat
Review: After seeing the IMAX movie about Shackelton in Richmond, VA, my wife and I had to get some books about this expedition and the incredible story of survival. We have two cats and I thought my wife would like this book. As I read through the book, I laugh out loud and some of the "commentary" from Mrs. Chippy. If you have ever lived with a cat, you can see exactly what she is talking about.
We also got "South" by Shackelton. Mrs. Chippy gives a less doom-and-gloom factual account than that book, but still maintains the essence of what is happening during the voyage. I thoroghly enjoyed this book.
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Summary: Cat book? History? Adventure? You'll never forget Mrs Chippy
Review: All cat lovers will recognize the behavior and thinking of cats so observantly and lovingly depicted in this little gem of a book. It's a cat book, a history book, and an adventure book all in one. Written in diary form, it tells the story of Shackleton's antarctic voyage from the point of view of the expedition's cat, Mrs. Chippy. The expedition, the last of the heroic age of polar exploration, might have been wiped out, as was the Scott expedition a few years before. If only Scott had taken a cat with him, things might just have turned out differently. Somehow, Shackleton's crew survived. Mrs. Chippy, like the men of the expedition, is in many ways just an ordinary cat, not a hero. We read of her (well, actually, it's really his) devotion to ship routine, never missing a meal, always inspecting things and keeping watch, and his comic demonstrations of how a mouse works. Don't skip the footnotes! They are necessary to round out the story's "human angle." Caroline Alexander has carefully combed the photographs made during the expedition for traces of Mrs. Chippy. Don't look for digital insertions of Mrs. Chippy where none had existed before, as in Forrest Gump. Instead Ms. Alexander makes a delightful game of inferring Mrs. Chippy's presence. Is that Mrs. Chippy on Page 108? What do you think? My only criticism of this book relates to its ending. Armchair explorers may not be ready for this surprise.
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Summary: Not worth the dough.
Review: Although it's apparent Ms. Alexander did considerable research on Sir Ernest Shackleton's 'Endurance expedition,' little of it has made it to the pages of this slight volume. Instead, Ms. Alexander has anthropomorphic inclinations. In her diary, Mrs Chippy converses with Shackleton, Frank Wild and Captain Worsley, reflects of the sailors' lot, Percy Blackborrow's kindness, Frank Hurley's temperament and Thomas Hans Orde-Lees curious personality. The reader is continually reminded of Mrs Chippy's "redoubtable powers" which always put him one step ahead of the ship's scientists in powers of intuition and observation. Otherwise Mrs Chippy cleans his whiskers (the crew inadvertantly named the male cat Mrs. Chippy), stands watch on the rail, sleeps, eats, and sleeps again. And, that's about it. One would think that, being the "erstwhile explorer," Chippy would tell us how he learned to write. Alas, it is not to be. But, since he did take to recording his observations, how did he miss such notable events as the "Antarctic Sweepstakes," a sledge race won by Frank Wild, or the Midwinter's celebration of June 22, 1915? He must have been snoozing. Perhaps this is why the book is listed as fiction. It should further be regarded as juvenile.
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Summary: Five stars for cat lovers, two for the rest
Review: An excellent book for cat lovers reading it in their warm beds. Unfortunately it has to be added that when Shackleton started the journey on the ice "he ordered the destruction of useless animals. That included McNeish`s cat, Mrs Chippy, and Sirius, a favourite pup of Macklin`s." see: Huntford: "Shackleton" page 458
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Summary: Remember Mrs. Chippy
Review: As criticized by other reviewers, this book does not pretend any falsehoods. It is a fictionalized account, of course, but is based on the accounts and journals of ALL of the crew, not just the famous or the high ranking. The true hardships are recounted in the footnotes, most notably excerpts from the diary of Henry McNeish, Chippy,s owner, bunk mate and ships carpenter. In a way Mrs. Chippy's account, built from references of all the other journals, speaks for those also marginalized and also only known through footnotes. McNeich spent 28 hours toiling in waist deep frigid water to build a coffer dam in an attempt to hold back the water in the beginning of the end for the Endurance. Do we remember his name? Perce Blackborow, young and desperate for adventure, stowed away and worked hard as ships steward, assisted and filled in for the cook when he fell injured. Do we remember his name? Louis Rickinson and A.J. Kerr, ships engineers, worked at the boilers below decks, even as the ice is pressing the hull made all manner of horrible and terrifying noises. Do we remember their names? Through Mrs. Chippy's eyes we catch a glimpse of all the crew, in their bravery and their humanity. Lastly, any who would question the character or depth of relationship between even the hardened explorer and the ships cat, consider the following: Commander Frank Worsley, the Captain of the Endurance, chose the photo of Chippy and Blackborow that adorns the cover of this book as one of the few he published. ALL the diaries of the members of the expedition had descriptions of Chippy. Let me close with this quote from the poet Christopher Smart from his ode to his cat, Jeoffry: For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary. For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes. For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life. We are shielded from Chippys final fate, the journal ends on October 29th. Chippy perished that afternoon. Remember Chippy, and remember all those whose story is recorded in footnotes.
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Summary: A wonderful slant on an epic journey.
Review: But a note to "A reader from Seattle, WA , January 2, 1999": recheck your references. The "journey on the ice" begins at the *end* of "Mrs. Chippy's last expedition". All the preceding took place while the ship was still afloat. So Chippy was there. At least two photographs and two sketches by crew validate this.
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Summary: Mrs. Chippy was killed when the ice journey began!!!!!!
Review: I am amazed that this book pretends that Mrs. Chippy actually witnessed any of these events. Mrs. Chippy, along with several dogs, was killed when Shackleton began his journey on the ice. I am glad I read Endurance first, so I was saved from believing such a story, no matter how heartmwarming. It was a cute story, no doubt, but misleading in that in purports to be truer than it really is. I am a cat lover, but, to all of you who think this REALLY happened (as I see from some of the reviews), it did not! Just keep this in mind.
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Summary: A Pleasing Work of Historical Fiction
Review: I can't say enough good things about this book. However, I think it's obvious that any review of it must take into account that while the story takes place in actual historical context, the book's literary content, being the journal of a domesticated cat, is clearly fabricated. I find it humorous that several reviewers seem to have forgotten this and have criticized it for being somehow unrealistic. The book is a journal of the Endurance's carpenter's cat, Mrs. Chippy (apparently, ships' carpenters are often nicknamed "Chips"). We learn that Mrs. Chippy took his responsibilities as an explorer, including keeping a stern watch to monitor the ship's progress, helping his mate in carpentry projects, and mousing, quite seriously. In fact, Chippy's concern for the maintenance of ship routine through the monotony of the shipwreck period surpasses that of virtually any other crew member. If you've read any account of the Endurance Expedition already, you will quite likely enjoy this book for its thoughtful alternative perspective. It is not sappy in the least - Chippy's intelligent writing allows us to see him as he sees himself: as the 29th crew member on the expedition. If you have to ask, "how did Chippy learn how to write?" or "when did he find the time?", you're not appreciating the books purpose - to entertain and provide a little insight into how an animal might have been more than slightly responsible for maintaining the crew's sanity.
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Summary: the testament of a powerful little soul
Review: I can't wrest myself away from this book's haunting effect on me. The author has graciously given us entre to the interior terrain of a powerful little persona -- an intrepid little (in size only) soul. Mrs. Chippy will long linger poignantly in your heart. I have spent many many long weeks in the ice pack that circles Antarctica, and next year when I'm next in its midst, Mrs. Chippy's presence will be dwelling with me -- it will be good to be with him again.
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