Endurance by Frank Arthur Worsley, F.A. Worsley, Patrick O'Brian Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.36 You Save: $9.59 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Endurance
Book Review: Not my cup of tea, but some friends liked it
Summary: 3 Stars
I read this for book club one month. It's an interesting story, but just not my favorite genre I guess.Book Review: One of the greatest adventures of the 20th century
Summary: 5 Stars
Frank Worsley begins his book just as he realizes that his ship Endurance is doomed to be crushed in the ice, and that's a good place to start, for the adventure was only about to begin. Worsley not only discusses the events of the Endurance expedition but his own adventures in WWI, during which his Q-ship rammed and sank a German U-boat, and his final expedition with Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1922 aboard the Quest. Read this, also read "Shackleton's Boat Journey" by Worsley, and of course Shackleton's own book "South." My only complaint about this new edition of Worsley's book is the addition of a preface by the tendentious, trendy, wildly overrated Patrick O'Brian, who clearly doesn't have the faintest idea what he's writing about. Read the original intro by Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe, ignore O'Brian, and learn what courage and leadership truly are.Book Review: Overcoming the odds
Summary: 5 Stars
Without a doubt the best adventure book I've ever read. I found myself reading section after section of this incredible story out loud to my wife. Part of the reason this particular book is so compelling is that it is written by the Captain of the Endurance and not someone removed from this epic by decades of perspective. A truly inspiring story.Book Review: Remarkable. Noble. Servant Leadership. Extraordinary.
Summary: 5 Stars
ENDURANCE is a narrative of the ill-fated expedition to Antarctica led by Sir Earnest Shackleton in 1914. "Endurance" was the specially-designed ship fitted to brave the icy storms and floes of the southernmost seas to deliver the expedition near the South Pole.
This tale is told by Frank Worsley, Shackleton's second-in-command. He, Shackleton and Captain Wild made up the senior leadership team which lead 25 other men to safety after they were stranded on ice floes for more than a year and half. Miraculously, despite hardship, near starvation and bitter cold in a desolate wasteland, all the men survived and emerged in relatively good health and spirits.
I have read several accounts of the voyage and was especially interested in seeing Shackleton through the eyes of his crew. I got that perspective and much more. Worsely was devoted to the "Boss" like a brother. They were comrades and friends for more than twenty years. These two "old dogs" truly loved one another and were in large measure responsible for the safe return of all the souls entrusted into their care.
The New York Times writes, "Frank Worsely was Shackleton's Captain. Fortunately he was a genius."
The Endurance expedition contains profound leadership principles and lessons. This book, like others before it, contains many nuggets for teacher and student.
Book Review: Should Be Mandatory Reading on Leadership
Summary: 5 Stars
Amongst all the books on Shackleton's voyage, this one provides the best insight into Shackleton as a man and as a leader. Due to his sense of humility and perhaps focus on the task at hand, Shackleton's own account of the voyage tends to dwell on the daily details of the group's struggles. Worsley's account on the other hand provides great insight into group dynamics and Shackleton's skill at maintaining unity under trying conditions. Shackleton's story needed someone other than Shackleton himself to tell it, Worsley being the expeditions captain and Shackleton's right-hand man, not to mention a masterful writer, is just the person. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone studying leadership and team building.