Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

Jan 2008 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Narrated by Simon Prebble

About this audiobook

This is a new reading of the thrilling account of one of the most astonishing feats of exploration and human courage ever recorded.

In August of 1914, the British ship Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic. In October, 1915, still half a continent away from its intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in the ice. For five months, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways in one of the most savage regions of the world.

Lansing describes how the men survived a 1,000-mile voyage in an open boat across the stormiest ocean in the world and an overland trek through forbidding glaciers and mountains. The book recounts a harrowing adventure, but ultimately it is the nobility of these men and their indefatigable will that shines through.

Ratings and reviews

I originally listened to this book having borrowed from an audio library while on long commutes. For me the story telling of this book was exceptional. I've since purchased my own copy from Google play so I can listen to it again when I want to. I rate this above any other audio book I have listened to.

Simply incredible. I purchased this book on sale to just listen to while falling asleep at night, but after the first couple chapters I was so enthralled with the story I started listening all the time. The way the book is read perfectly fits the characters and the feel of the story. I had never heard of the Endurance, but knowing that this was based on a true story made it all that more exciting to read and learn about. Usually I can't keep my attention during audio books, but this one kept me fully engaged. Definitely worth the time and money.

Absolutely amazing experience. Do yourself a favor and give this tremendous story a listen. One of the best narrations and story I've ever heard. After starting this book I couldn't put it down. I finished this book in nearly a day, to me, that's unheard of.

About the author

Alfred Lansing (1921–1975), a native of Chicago, was a journalist and writer. After serving in the US Navy, he majored in journalism at Northwestern University, edited a weekly newspaper until 1949, then joined the United Press, and in 1952 became a freelance writer. He is best known for his book Endurance, an account of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic explorations. In researching the book, he interviewed ten of the expedition’s surviving members and was granted access to the journals and personal diaries of eight others in order to get a more complete view of the expedition.

Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.