Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

This is the book that first got me interested in the misadventures of Shackleton and his crew. And I like to think this is what could get kids interested in a better-than-fiction adventure. The events of the disaster are tackled in rather a heroic light, which should appeal to children. Besides, Shackleton and his men were certainly heroes. The book covers all the basics in an easy-but-remarkably-written expository text. Yet it reads almost like a story in parts, with lots of room for factoids, and that should attract both types of kids--those looking for a good story and those looking for facts. It's a great balance, and allows for a surprisingly emotional view of the situation. The format is wonderful, too-- who doesn't like to look at pictures? It's almost remisiscent of a magazine, which adds to the appeal. Great information, a great survival adventures, and perfectly packaged. Wonderful, wonderful job.

This 1999 winner of the Orbis Pictus Award (given for outstanding nonfiction for children) is a detailed and well-researched account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's incredible 1914-1916 voyage to Antarctica. Jennifer Armstrong does an excellent job of creating interest all through the book, sharing interesting details about what the men ate, and the games and activities they use to passed the time. The book includes many photographs taken by the photographer on the expedition, giving a sense of realism and immediacy.The author follows Shackleton's trip from England to South Georgia Island, then the failed attempt to get to the Antarctic continent. The ship becomes stuck in ice, but the ice migrates, moving the Endurance further north, toward the open ocean. Before they reach the sea the ice crushes the ship, forcing the men to abandon it. It is after the sinking of the Endurance that the narrative gets so exciting that the book is impossible to put down. The reader reads with growing horror of the crew's travail across the ice and out to tiny, barren Elephant Island.When it seems that the men can't possibly have anything worse ahead of them, Shackleton and five men sail a small lifeboat eight hundred miles back to South Georgia Island. Armstrong's description of the harrowing fifteen days spent in the lifeboat holds the reader in a vise-like grip. She winds down the tension with a very satisfying epilogue relating what the crewmembers did with the rest of their lives. The captioned photograph at the end of the book showing the entire crew shortly after their return to civilization is a perfect touch.

There was a spate of Shackleton books, documentaries, and films not too long ago following the events of September 11, 2001. During that time, people couldn't get enough of the story of a man facing ridiculously insurmountable odds to save his men and return home from the Antarctic. Preceeding this surge in Shackleton love, this book appeared in 1998 and tells the story perfectly. I must admit that I fell in love with this book. Armstrong is a master here, breaking the monotony of the months the men spent waiting for the Endurance to be free from the ice flows by telling about the crew's practical jokes and games. The author is careful to include photographs only as they occur in the text. At the beginning of the trip, the ship's photographer takes a great many shots of life with the crew. Towards the end, photos are few and far between. In some books for children, this might be a huge drawback. Here, it works exceedingly well. The text grows more and more interesting as the photos diminish. I belive that if the author did not say right from the beginning that Shackleton and every single member of this crew survived, this book might be impossible to continue reading. The notes in the back are of some help, and the photos of the crew members are useful. What makes this book stands out is that it captures a group of people doing work that they are exceedingly good at. It is very satisfying to read about accomplished individuals. This book might or might not read well to children. I don't know how well it would do. Still, I would recommend it to anyone and pair it with books of fiction and non-fiction that deal with the Antarctic or exploration. The fact that this book wasn't given so much as a Newberry honor is an appalling fact.

I cannot tell you how fascinating this book was to me. I don't think I have ever read a book so fast. Very good I encourage anyone to read it.

The book Shipwreck at the bottom of the world is a very good book because it tells about the hardships Ernest Shackleton and his crew had to go through. This book tells their story in vivid detail and is very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and travel.