Frank Worsley

This is the classic account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition. Written by the captain of the Endurance, the ship used by Shackleton on this ill-fated journey, it is a remarkable tale of courage and bravery in the face of extreme odds and a vivid portrait of one of the world's greatest explorers. "A breathtaking story of courage under the most appalling conditions." - Edmund Hillary

Frank Worsley shared with Sir Ernest Shackleton one of the greatest adventures of the Heroic Age of Antarctic explorartion. After their ship Endurance was crushed in the ice in 1915, they made what is perhaps the most famous small-boat journey in history, across 800 miles of the world's roughest seas to get help. Worsley's diaries and notes still provide the main records of that journey, yet the fame of Shackleton rather overshadowed the modest New Zealander. This first ever biography of Worsley sets out to restore the balance. It tells the full story of his extraordinary life, from childhood as a larrikin in Akaroa, New Zealand, to his apprenticeship at sea, and the devolpment of his remarkable skills as navigator and sailing master. It also backgrounds the particular friendship that fourished betweeen Worsley and Shackleton. In an age of mass communications, Frank Worsley would have been a public figure as famous as Sir Edmund Hillary. This biography gives an unhallowed yet eminent New Zealander his proper place in history.

This book is a biography of Frank Worsley, without doubt one of New Zealand's greatest, but largely unsung adventuring heroes. Born in Akaroa he went to sea as a teenager in 1888 on the sailing ships plying their trade between New Zealand and England. But the greatest adventure of his life began when he became the captain of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance, which was trapped in pack ice on the 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition and slowly crushed. The crew of 28 spent over a year camped on the Antarctic ice before Shackleton, Worsley and four others sailed a tiny lifeboat across the wild Southern Ocean to South Georgia to summon help for the rest of the men, who were all eventually rescued. This 17-day journey remains one of the greatest ever feats of seamanship and relied totally on Worsley's brilliant navigation. Worsley was more than just Shackleton's captain however. For the rest of his life he continued to seek adventures in a manner contemporaries described as 'fearless', being decorated for bravery in both world wars, and continuing to captain ships all around the world.This is a revision of John Thomson's 1998 book Shackleton's Captain and features new information and illustrations to refresh a story that deserves to be retold for future generations. The story of this proud New Zealander's remarkable approach to life, far from home, will inspire young men and women who dare to lift their gaze above the ordinary.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager, a thrilling and powerful true story of adventure and obsession in the Antarctic, lavishly illustrated with color photographs. "[Grann is] one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine Henry Worsley was a devoted husband and father and a decorated British special forces officer who believed in honor and sacrifice. He was also a man obsessed. He spent his life idolizing Ernest Shackleton, the nineteenth-century polar explorer, who tried to become the first person to reach the South Pole, and later sought to cross Antarctica on foot. Shackleton never completed his journeys, but he repeatedly rescued his men from certain death, and emerged as one of the greatest leaders in history. Worsley felt an overpowering connection to those expeditions. He was related to one of Shackleton's men, Frank Worsley, and spent a fortune collecting artifacts from their epic treks across the continent. He modeled his military command on Shackleton's legendary skills and was determined to measure his own powers of endurance against them. He would succeed where Shackleton had failed, in the most brutal landscape in the world. In 2008, Worsley set out across Antarctica with two other descendants of Shackleton's crew, battling the freezing, desolate landscape, life-threatening physical exhaustion, and hidden crevasses. Yet when he returned home he felt compelled to go back. On November 13, 2015, at age 55, Worsley bid farewell to his family and embarked on his most perilous quest: to walk across Antarctica alone. David Grann tells Worsley's remarkable story with the intensity and power that have led him to be called "simply the best narrative nonfiction writer working today." Illustrated with more than fifty stunning photographs from Worsley's and Shackleton's journeys, The White Darkness is both a gorgeous keepsake volume and a spellbinding story of courage, love, and a man pushing himself to the extremes of human capacity. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!

On the 29th of October 1908, a party of four men, led by Ernest Shackleton, set out to be the first to reach the South Pole. Three months later, their mission was in ruins and they faced certain death if they carried on. Just 97 miles from the South Pole, Shackleton turned back. One hundred years on, in October 2008, a team that included descendants of that original party, led by Henry Worsley, set out from Shackleton's hut to celebrate the centenary of his expedition by retracing the exact 870 mile route and going on to finish the last 97 miles. This captivating book explores the history of the original expedition and reasons behind its failure, while capturing the meticulous planning, fundraising and training for the new expedition. There is also the team's first days on the ice, Christmas on the polar plateau, the brutal reality of crossing the Beardmore Glacier and the final miles to the South Pole. In Shackleton's Footsteps is a unique story of adventure, pioneering spirit and man's triumph over nature.

Ernest Shackleton is one of history’s great explorers, an extraordinary character who pioneered the path to the South Pole over 100 years ago and became a dominant figure in Antarctic discovery. A charismatic personality, his incredible adventures on four expeditions have captivated generations and inspired a dynamic, modern following in business leadership. None more so than the Endurance mission, where Shackleton’s commanding presence saved the lives of his crew when their ship was crushed by ice and they were turned out on to the savage frozen landscape. But Shackleton was a flawed character whose chaotic private life, marked by romantic affairs, unfulfilled ambitions, overwhelming debts and failed business ventures, contrasted with his celebrity status as a leading explorer. Drawing on extensive research of original diaries and personal correspondence, Michael Smith's definitive biography brings a fresh perspective to our understanding of this complex man and the heroic age of polar exploration.