November 2002

Eight years after his death, the legend of Ernest Shackleton and the extraordinary story of the 'Endurance' South Pole expedition still hold a compelling grip on the public imagination. Trapped in drifting polar ice pack, Ernest Shackleton and his crew fought for survival against the odds. When the Endurance was finally crushed, they were stranded on ice-floes for more than a year before reaching Elephant Island in April 1916. From there Shackleton and his five men embarked on the most remarkable rescue mission in maritime history, sailing to South Georgia across eight hundred miles of the world's roughest seas in a small open boat.

Despite failing to realize his dream of reaching the South Pole, Shackleton's story lives on because of his unique qualities of leadership and the fact that all his men survived. This compelling narrative reveals the profound influence of Shackleton's Irish and Quaker roots, offering a vivid portrait of a man whose ambition was tempered by his flawed humanity and egalitarianism. Here too are the untold stories of Shackleton's upbringing in Kildare; his time in the Merchant Navy; his 1901 voyage on the Discovery with Scott; his 1907 Nimrod expedition; his marriage and love affairs; his life as a public figure and politician; and the haunting story of his final, fatal expedition on the Quest.

Drawing on family records, diaries and letters - and hitherto unpublished photographs and archive material - this mesmerizing book takes the reader beyond the myth of Shackleton the man, for whom 'Optimism is true moral courage,' and whose greatest triumph was that of life over death. The book is lavishly illustrated with over 100 photographs, maps and engravings, many of them appearing in print for the first time.