Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

General Impressions

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a read as much as this one. Lansing earned the praise he received from the writer of this edition's introduction:

A great and enduring book isn't comprehensive; it is highly, even ruthlessly, selective, zeroing in on the most evocative and illustrative moments while dispensing with the clutter that might prevent the high points from resonating to maximum effect.

This book recounts a true story more adventurous and with higher stakes than most fiction I've read. That it's based upon primary sources such as diaries and interviews with crew members ties it to reality in stark ways. That crew members had the presence of mind and will to keep diaries under such violent depravation speaks to the importance to humans of telling their stories and the power of intentionally crafting your own narrative.

Shackleton's leadership and the crew's seafaring expertise, while impressive and essential, were not enough. Each member of the crew had to believe in the rules of the boat, in the value of life, and in the commonly held beliefs that make a society function. I kept thinking to myself that this story is the antithesis to Lord of The Flies.

Humor played an important role in the crew's survival, even and especially in the most dire of circumstances. They joked even about fattening each other up for the contingency of cannibalism when food was running low.

One of my favorite lines from the entire book happens to be the very last sentence, which is a direct quote from the diary of a crew member reflecting on the experience of watching their survival camp recede into the distance from on board the rescue ship:

I could still see my jacket flapping in the breeze on the hillside--no doubt it will flap there to the wonderment of gulls and penguins till one of our familiar gales blows it all to ribbons.

Notes

vi - It is tempting to focus on reading a lot of books or watching a lot of movies. There is value in repeatedly reading or watching a good book or movie.

vii - Extreme adversity reveals God in his splendors.

ix - A great work dispenses with clutter to focus on the most vivid, important points.

xix - Digital formats lack metadata like wrinkles, smudges, tears, inkblots, stains, and other signs of history.

11 - Tragic endings can result in the beginnings of a triumphant story.

15 - Great leaders rarely fit any conventional mold, which makes them difficult to judge by conventional standards.

17 - In an infinite game, to endure (to keep playing) is to win.

20 - Apply even if you're not qualified on paper.

40 - One can feel satisfied with having done one's best, even when the outcome of the effort is not ideal.

85 - Human beings are capable of happiness even in the most terrible circumstances.

85 - Humans adapt rapidly to any new circumstances and there achieve equilibrium.

101 - People adapt their sensibilities quickly when survival is on the line.

103 - Some people prefer to use all their resources immediately, others prefer to use as little as possible now saving the rest for an even rainier day.

108 - The natural man prefers comfort to self-reliance.

108 - Self-reliance develops quickly when survival is on the line. Otherwise, you die.

109 - Self-reliance results in feelings of great satisfaction.

152 - Humor helps us process things too terrible to address seriously.

250 - When you work to solve one small problem at a time, the small improvements compound over time.

303 - Provocation often results in a determination to triumph.