Endurance (Alfred Lansing)

Why I have this book: It was reviewed on a blog I read, and I decided it was time to read something besides Amish books. :)

The full title is: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

It was a little hard for me to get fully engaged in this book, but it did happen after a bit! Really, it is an incredible story... amazing what people can endure. It is about an expedition through the Antarctic back in 1914. Their ship got caught in ice... meaning packed in to the point that they couldn't move at all. Eventually, the ship was crushed by the ice, and the men had to find a way to get to civilization. They had no means of communication with anyone else in the world, so they were completely on their own. It's hard to imagine that kind of isolation. These men (and not one of them died... which it says on the back of the book, so I'm not giving anything away) survived through terrible conditions that never let up. I was impressed that they not only physically survived, but also mentally and emotionally. Really, it's a fascinating (true) story.

I'm soooooo glad I read something that required a little more concentration! Now I'm excited to get back to that level on a more regular basis. (This book, btw, is a keeper.)

There is also a DVD documentary about the Endurance and her crew... Am*zon has it. AND... don't you think it's appropriate that the ship was called "Endurance"???

This book may have had an occasional swear word, but I could be wrong. I don't really recall...