Endurance (Alfred Lansing)

Endurance is the aptly-named story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's harrowing adventure near Antarctica in 1914.  Intending to land on the continent and see off a trans-continental dogsledding team, instead he found himself trapped on the ice in his ship, then trapped on the ice itself after the ship was pounded to pieces, then trapped in small boats for days on end, then stranded on an island, then forced to sail 800 miles over treacherous seas in a 22 ft boat, then hiking over several mountains to obtain help . . . you get the picture- he had a rough few years.

The book was fantastic. As an easy-to-read survival tale, it's top-notch.  The only negative comment I have here is regarding the common view of this work.  It's hailed as a leadership book, looking specifically at Shackleton, and I've seen it on many leadership lists. The problem: little discussion in the book focused on this.  Yes, you see Shackleton leading out in front- always doing his bit, always taking the hardest efforts onto himself.  You also see him maintain (and force others to maintain) a positive outlook regardless of odds. He was open to counsel, and not too proud to change his mind.  He was, certainly, a good leader.  That's about all you see, though.  I didn't think it focused enough on his leadership to warrant being on leadership lists.  But, perhaps the above-mentioned virtues combined with impossibly extreme circumstances are enough to warrant inclusion.

Rating: A