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Audiobook edition · 16 h 50 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What holds twenty-eight men together when Antarctic ice crushes their ship and their plans?
Ernest Shackleton sets out to cross Antarctica from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea by way of the South Pole. But pack ice traps Endurance, and the expedition becomes a struggle to stay alive. Cold, hunger and shifting ice turn every decision into a test of judgment.
In South, Shackleton tells the story in a calm, plain voice, drawing on his companions’ journals as well as his own account. Meet captain Frank Worsley, Tom Crean, carpenter Harry McNish and second-in-command Frank Wild. Together, they face a question larger than exploration: how do you keep hope alive when the plan collapses?
What you’ll discover
- A continent to cross Follow the bold Antarctic plan that gives way to the urgent work of survival.
- Life inside the ice Enter a sunless winter aboard Endurance, where routine helps Shackleton hold his men together.
- The people behind survival Meet the captain, carpenter and companions whose small choices matter under relentless pressure.
- Leadership without grand speeches Discover a reserved leader’s account of keeping order and hope when certainty disappears.
- Decisions shaped by nature See how ice, weather, hunger and cold set the terms of every choice.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to true survival accounts, polar exploration, seamanship, and leadership under pressure will love this book. It also suits those who enjoy firsthand tales of crews keeping their spirits up.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A crossing depends on two parties
- The ice closes around the ship
- Survival replaces the crossing
- Waiting can preserve precious strength
- The boats become their only shelter
- Help lies across a stormy sea
- Land still leaves mountains to cross
- The other party bears its cost
- Leadership changes when the aim changes
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South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914–1917
by Ernest Shackleton · 1919
Trapped in drifting ice, twenty-eight men face a frozen sea, and six sail eight hundred miles to save them.
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In short
What happens to twenty-eight men when their ship is crushed by ice and the nearest help lies hundreds of miles away across an unknown sea? South is the answer, told by the man who led them.
South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914–1917 at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 40 min7 h 40 min fast, 11 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 138,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1919by Ernest Shackleton
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A last great journey is planned in wartime
After Amundsen reached the South Pole, one great task remained for polar explorers. That task was to cross the Antarctic continent from sea to sea. Shackleton had once turned back within ninety-seven miles of the Pole, and he wanted this last prize for a British crew.
The plan was large. Six men would land on the Weddell Sea coast and march about 1800 miles by way of the Pole, with a hundred dogs and two motor sledges. A second ship, the Aurora, would land a party in the Ross Sea to lay supply depots, so food would wait at the end of the march.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1919
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 10 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Shackleton, Ernest. South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914–1917. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-the-story-of-shackletons-last-expedition-1914-1917.
Shackleton, E. (2026). South: The story of Shackleton's last expedition, 1914–1917. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-the-story-of-shackletons-last-expedition-1914-1917 (Original work published 1919)
Shackleton, Ernest. South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914–1917. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-the-story-of-shackletons-last-expedition-1914-1917.
@book{shackleton2026south,
author = {Shackleton, Ernest},
title = {South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914–1917},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-the-story-of-shackletons-last-expedition-1914-1917},
note = {First published 1919}
}
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What is South by Ernest Shackleton about?
It tells the story of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 to 1917. The ship Endurance is trapped and crushed in the Weddell Sea ice, and Shackleton leads his men through drifting camps, boat journeys, and a daring rescue.
What happened to the ship Endurance?
The Endurance becomes locked in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea in January 1915. The ice slowly crushes her, the crew leaves her in October 1915, and she sinks in November. The men then live on the drifting ice.
What was the James Caird?
The James Caird was the largest of the three ship's boats, named for the expedition's chief donor. Shackleton and five men sailed her about eight hundred miles across a stormy ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia to find help.
The author
Ernest Shackleton
1874–1922 · Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874–1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer. He was born in County Kildare, Ireland, and moved to London with his family in 1884. He led Antarctic expeditions and wrote The Heart of the Antarctic (1909) and South (1919). He died on South Georgia in 1922.
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