Saturday 16 August 2014

South With Endurance: A Breathtaking record of survival and courage



When fate delivered the individuals to crew the good ship 'Endurance', it seemed that the hand on the tiller of life, had given an extraordinary opportunity to experience the last wilderness.

These hardy men were not to know however, that lurking in the not too distant future was a test of courage that would unfold over a year and a half, eventually stripping all away but the single minded belief that they would survive and return triumphant, home.

Two men emerged from this ordeal with their names etched into the conciseness of the time, one for making history and the other for recording it.

The value of the the contribution of captain, Ernest Shackleton, and photographer, Frank Hurley to the world both in terms of benchmark leadership and exquisite art cannot be easily described while reviewing a book; so I will try instead to describe the value of the book itself.

South with Endurance - An investment

  • For those who are inspired by beauty and talent at its finest, then the photographs of Frank Hurley are reason enough alone to add this book to your collection. To put some context into these wonderful artworks, imagine this: Mr Hurley took these photo's on plates, in the ice, then stored them for later development. Which he did, without any fancy photo shop or other modern aids. My personal favourite, on page 161, highlights the plight of the crew as the wreck of the Endurance looms dark and twisted out of the bleak white of its' icy tomb.
  • While the photographs themselves tell a story of hardship (and the glorious vision that is the Antarctic), the written story proves equally inspiring. The description that comes from these pages, is one of truly astounding leadership. That no man was lost, that hope was not lost during the ordeal should motivate any leader looking to bring a 'crew' together to achieve a purpose....even if it is only commercial survival that is at stake!
  • As a 'Coffee Table' book, 'South with Endurance' has proved (for me at least) an uncommonly successful conversation starter. With wide ranging discussions (from photography to whaling to really annoying bosses) springing from a flip through its pages.
I myself received this book as a gift from my parents and a wonderful gift it was!  

If you are interested in learning more about Ernest Shackleton or Frank Hurley, or purchasing this book, more works are available from Amazon.com via the following link:


All books purchased in this manner will support 'Little Miss Kindle'.

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