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Endurance by Alfred Lansing
đ The Book in 3 Sentences
- Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set out to be the first humans to cross the entire continent of Antarctica overland (through the South Pole) in 1914.
- Their ship, the Endurance, was trapped by ice and ultimately sank after the pressure between ice packs crushed the ship - the crew was forced to set camp on the floating ice in the middle of the Arctic ocean.
- The crew spent ~1+ year trying to survive in the inhospitable Antarctic conditions, living on ice and deserted islands, all while trying to find rescue - the obstacles they overcame are almost impossible to comprehend.
đ¨ Impressions
This book was incredible. Each new chapter had me almost not believing what I was reading. The way that Lansing tells the story make you almost feel the extreme cold temperatures with the crew.
I don't know how these guys survived out there. I am in awe of the challenges they overcame and the points where they could have easily given up, but instead they kept going.
I found myself talking about this story for days after I finished reading the book. I highly recommend this one.
How I Discovered It
Who Should Read It?
Anyone who is looking for inspiration to overcome challenges in their life.
Anyone who is interested in exploration and the strength of the human spirit, this book has both of those themes constantly on display.
âď¸ How the Book Changed Me
How my life / behavior / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.
- I was struck by the general positive outlook conveyed by the crew. Lansing describes that most of the men found solace in the, seemingly monotonous, day to day life even when their survival chances were bleak. Life truly is about the perspective you have and how you frame your own story.
- I was inspired by the enormous adaptability of humans. The crew had to constantly accept new and increasingly worse conditions. They were able to just get on with the situation and find a way to survive. Human endurance is real.
- The leadership of Ernest Shackleton and his decision making ability was astounding. Sometimes there is a tendency to conflate business leadership with that of military or groups fighting for survival - but after reading this book, they cannot be compared. Making literal life and death decision requires supreme self-confidence and real-time decision skills.
- The crew were true tough guys. Insane. Were people tougher 100+ years ago? Probably.
âď¸ My Top 3 Quotes
- "For scientific leadership give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton."
- "In some ways they had come to know themselves better. In this lonely world of ice and emptiness, they had achieved at least a limited kind of contentment. They had been tested and found not wanting."
- "Unlike the land, where courage and the simple will to endure can often see a man through, the struggle against the sea is an act of physical combat, and there is no escape. It is a battle against a tireless enemy in which man never actually wins; the most that he can hope for is not to be defeated."
đ Summary, Highlights, and Notes
Kindle Highlights
In fact, the abiding (and unrealistic) dream of his lifeâat least superficiallyâwas to achieve a status of economic well-being that would last a lifetime. He enjoyed fancying himself as a country gentleman, divorced from the workaday world, with the leisure and wealth to do as he pleased.
For scientific leadership give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.
The ship had been named the Polaris. After the sale, Shackleton rechristened her Endurance, in keeping with the motto of his family, Fortitudine vincimusââBy endurance we conquer.â
There was even a trace of mild exhilaration in their attitude. At least, they had a clear-cut task ahead of them. The nine months of indecision, of speculation about what might happen, of aimless drifting with the pack were over. Now they simply had to get themselves out, however appallingly difficult that might be.
those that burdened themselves with equipment to meet every contingency had fared much worse than those that had sacrificed total preparedness for speed.
And yet they had adjusted with surprisingly little trouble to their new life, and most of them were quite sincerely happy. The adaptability of the human creature is such that they actually had to remind themselves on occasion of their desperate circumstances.
Though he was virtually fearless in the physical sense, he suffered an almost pathological dread of losing control of the situation. In part, this attitude grew out of a consuming sense of responsibility. He felt he had gotten them into their situation, and it was his responsibility to get them out. As a consequence, he was intensely watchful for potential troublemakers who might nibble away at the unity of the group.
âReally, this sort of life has its attractions,â Macklin wrote. âI read somewhere that all a man needs to be happy is a full stomach and warmth, and I begin to think it is nearly true. No worries, no trains, no letters to answer, no collars to wearâbut I wonder which of us would not jump at the chance to change it all tomorrow!â
In some ways they had come to know themselves better. In this lonely world of ice and emptiness, they had achieved at least a limited kind of contentment. They had been tested and found not wanting.
This indomitable self-confidence of Shackletonâs took the form of optimism. And it worked in two ways: it set menâs souls on fire; as Macklin said, just to be in his presence was an experience. It was what made Shackleton so great a leader.
But at the same time, the basic egotism that gave rise to his enormous self-reliance occasionally blinded him to realities. He tacitly expected those around him to reflect his own extreme optimism, and he could be almost petulant if they failed to do so. Such an attitude, he felt, cast doubt on him and his ability to lead them to safety.
Unlike the land, where courage and the simple will to endure can often see a man through, the struggle against the sea is an act of physical combat, and there is no escape. It is a battle against a tireless enemy in which man never actually wins; the most that he can hope for is not to be defeated.