South! (Annotated): The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917 Paperback – 18 May 2020

Great book, well written, he’s no fan of Scott but honest about it and , in my opinion , quite rightly

This is a book I will forever remember. It is a precursor to the moon landings — led, like Neil Armstrong's, by a 39-year old. What is clear from Shackleton's precise but stimulating record that he was a very efficient organiser. He was constantly rebalancing the scarce resources — from the amount of coal, to numbers of crew and dogs, to food rations and radio connections. His ability and knowledge here saved the lives of the 28 men who had to leave the wrecked Endurance ship and make their dangerous way from ice flow to berg to sea to Elephant Island. Another team (the Ross Sea group, which was laying down provisions for Shackleton's return trip), under a separate leader, lost two of its members — by making miscalculations over the weather, resources, their lack of background reading and their lack of judgement over managing the dogs. The difference between life and death can depend on tiny margins. Shackleton was an unreliable father, husband and business partner but he was utterly dependable and courageous when his planned Antarctic crossing turned into a life and death battle. Fascinating reading, even if painful.

Great book got it quick

Incredible story. The stuff of legends as they say. Beautiful detail.

The book is well written and I enjoy some new language like "hoosh". The main problem was/is the lack of a map to follow the epic journey. Hence descriptions "Northwest current" or "Southeast wind" are hard to follow. So, I googled a map and it was clearer.

This version of the text is not annotated as advertised. Nary a note nor a map.