Authors
Rochelle Pennington and Nicholas Pennington traveled to the countries
of England and Scotland to research the epic adventure of Sir Ernest
Shackleton's "Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition," a true account
of human strife and triumph. The extraordinary events surrounding one
of history's greatest shipwrecks are detailed in their book.
The
story has inspired generations over the past century and has provoked
management studies in leadership and motivational principles at Harvard
University and corporations across America.
Journal
entries penned by crewmembers who served on board the ship Endurance
pay tribute to the unique and effective leadership style Shackleton
used to safely deliver every one of his men from nearly two years of
disaster and perils in the frozen world of Antarctica where danger threatened
life, limb, and sanity.
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The
crew of twenty-eight sailors and scientists on board the ship set sail
in 1914, southward bound, to conquer one of the few remaining explorative
feats which had not yet been accomplished by others before them - a
complete on-foot crossing of the Antarctic continent. But before reaching
land, their ship became trapped in the rapidly forming ice 100 miles
off the coast. The crew, stranded 11,000 miles from home, waited for
the spring thaw through nine long months of blizzards, gales, and temperatures
nearing 100 degrees below zero. The men then watched in horror as their
ship succumbed to the pressure of the frozen ocean, breaking to rubble
and sinking before the waters around it had a chance to melt.
The
crew's only hope for survival was to attempt an escape across the
most treacherous waters on the face of the globe in three salvaged lifeboats.
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"So small was our boat,
and so great were the seas."
Sir Ernest Shackleton
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Nearly
two years were spent on ice and ocean, and their journey at the bottom
of the world was recognized as "the greatest survival story in human
history." Endurance was more than the name of a ship; it was
also the Shackleton family motto: "By endurance we conquer."
The
hardcover book is complemented by thirty-five remarkable, century-old
photographs documenting the journey. Frank Hurley, a professional photographer
on board Endurance, immortalized the events of the adventure
which he said "were so extreme they would have strained credibility
without the pictorial documentation."
A
leader among leaders, Shackleton taught his men how to employ their
thoughts to overcome every obstacle, and to intentionally concentrate
on victory. He refused to allow even the possibility of failure to enter
his thinking. Success was the only option Shackleton would entertain,
and if there wasn't a way, he would make one.
"I
always found him rising to his best and inspiring confidence when things
were at their blackest," wrote crewmember Frank Hurley.
The
story lives on today as an extraordinary example of perseverance against
all odds, and Shackleton's "invincible optimism" is permanently
bound to the success of the story. The survival of the expedition's
crew has become a timeless model showing that ordinary people, armed
only with the simple power of attitude, can dive head-first into immense
adversity and emerge victorious.
While
conducting their research for Endurance in England, the authors
met and spoke with master sailor Steven Bull who will make an attempt
to re-trace Shackleton's lifeboat journey in 2010. He built an
exact replica of the rowboat Shackleton voyaged over 800 miles to South
Georgia Island in after Endurance sank. Also in 2010, a team
of divers from the United Kingdom will attempt to raise the wreckage
of Endurance.
The
Field Museum in Chicago hosted the Endurance exhibit of artifacts
from England. The story was also the subject of an IMAX feature
film presented in every IMAX theater across America at the same time.
Rochelle Pennington is available for speaking engagements on this
title. Her program,"The Endurance," is a thrilling account of the
events which took place on Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition.
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Pennington served as an educator for the “Cruise and Learn Program”
aboard the S.S. Badger Car Ferry, Ludington, Michigan.
(Photo courtesy
of the Lake Michigan Car Ferry)
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