In August 1914, twenty-eight men aboard the ship Endurance began what was to be the "last of the great explorations" - the crossing of the vast Antarctic land mass. It turned into one of the most remarkable survival stories ever recorded.In this reprint of the original 1920 edition, Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary leader of the expedition, eloquently describes their fabled two-year odyssey in one of the most inhospitable regions on earth - the devastating crushing of the Endurance in a sea of ice, the crew's impossible journey over the barren, frozen wasteland of the Antarctic, their navigation across nearly a thousand miles of tumultuous seas in an open boat, and their ever-constant struggles against unimaginable cold, hunger, hardship, and despair as they struggled toward rescue. Filled with more than eighty-five photographs and [map] illustrations from the journey, Shackleton's account is a distinctive tale of high adventure. It is also a lasting testament to his leadership and courage, as well as a moving statement about the human will to survive. (6 X 9, 404 pages, b&w photos, maps)