No comments about The True Story of Christopher Columbus.

No comments about In Quest of Lost Worlds: Five Archeological Expeditions, 1925-1934.

No comments about Christopher Columbus.

No comments about The True Life of Capt. Sir Richard F. Burton.

5 comments about South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage.

1. This review refers to "South - A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage" - Ernest Shackleton-(unabridged audio cassettes/Blackstone Audiobooks)
   
   If I was just rating this book for myself, I would give it 5 stars. But as a reviewer making recommendations, I have to say that this personal account of Shackelton's important and historic expedition - destined for Antarctica- may not be a great read for everyone.As a lover of the sea, sea adventures and voyages combined with historical journeys of exploration, I became addicted to this book. However about one third of the way through, I realized that had it not been for my knowledge of nautical terms I would not have known what he was talking about half the time. The reading would have lost me early on. It may seem also at times a bit monotonous to those seeking a great adventure story. Ernest Shackelton was a great explorer and mariner, the story is one fraught with peril and survival,but his personal account of the voyage is a bit matter of fact.
   
   On the eve of WWI, Shackleton and his crew took on this ill-fated journey with high hopes and high moral. Prepared for the worst was not enough though. They met with the most horrific of conditions, losing their ship,much of their essential supplies, their much needed team of dogs, and much more. They spent months on months literally living on the ice. Making it to Elephant Island, a handful of men including Shackleton formed a party to search for help and once again were to fight the elements for months on end. The account also includes the story of the Aurora and her crew that also fought the climate trying to bring supplies to the Shackleton crew.
   
   This unabridged edition has nine 1 1/2 hour tapes. The read, by Geoffrey Howard helped quite a bit in putting some emotion into this memoir and had me wanting to find out what happened next. So my recommendation on this book would definitely be for the audio edition. And at that I would say, it is for those who love anything to do with the sea voyage. For History lovers I would suggest checking out some of the other books written about "The Endurance" and these very brave men.This book is also avialable in paperback at:South a Memoir of the Endurance Voyage
   
   There are some great memoirs of explorations out there. One I would highly recommend, isThe Essential Lewis and Clark Selections also on audio(see my review for book and audio details).
   
   
   Thanks...Laurie



2. I was very disappointed when I received this book. I had ordered the hard cover edition at a premium price expecting to get a quality reproduction of Sir Ernest Shackleton's classic book. The original book published by Heineman had many plates of photos taken by the photographer who travelled on the voyage. This version published by North Books had no photos, was on cheap paper and had a fairly basic hard cover. I sent it back and managed to source a second hand copy of the version published by Heineman.



3. I've noticed numerous people complaining about how Shackelton seems to be neglecting character development in his narration. This isn't a work of fiction, the people involved are not characters Shackelton just pulled out of thin air and could mould to his choosing. They were real, flesh and blood human beings, and to say that one man no matter how well he knew them could actually put their thoughts and personality to paper would be not only incredibly foolish, but also woefully inaccurate, and seriously can you honestly picture Shackelton dragging various members of the crew out onto the floes and sitting them on a snow band before asking, "How does that make you feel?".
   
   Of course it's not going to be the most exciting piece of literature you've ever read. The book is written as a journal and journals tend to cover the day to day dealings of the person whom is writing in them. Longitudes, latitudes and the general functioning of the ship were Shackelton's daily concerns.
   
   It's amazing how many people overlook the enormity of the task these men undertook simply because the authors writing style tended to focus on the here and now and the little details of daily life rather than some hugely embellished fantasy designed simply to make a profit. Anyway.
   
   To those of you whom appreciate this for what it is, you have my applause.



4. This is a great adventure book. Exciting adventures and heroic deeds make for good reading.



5. His party stranded on an ice floe hundreds of miles from their destination, beyond the reach of the outside world -- even had the outside world known they needed help, or where to look -- his ship crushed by countless miles of pack ice and supplies running low, Ernest Shackleton spent not a moment in lamentation. He set about saving his crew and himself. They made their way to a small, desolate bit of island shore, from which Shackleton and five men journeyed 800 miles in a 22-foot open boat across the most dangerous sea in the world. A trek through miles of snow-covered mountain wilderness finally brought rescue. And everybody survived! Shackleton's is an epic tale of true adventure and derring-do, and he tells it with the straight-ahead momentum of an ice breaker diving into the pack. He sees beauty in the Antarctic, and he carries a touch of poetry (Browning, anyway) in his soul. He is also a detail man, and his flights of descriptive eloquence bog down amid facts, figures, wind speeds and diatomous striations. But this piling-on of minutiae proves riveting in the action sequences (most of the book). We feel like we are there. Having told his own party's tale, Shackleton gives a useful if anticlimactic account of the Ross Sea wing of the expedition - a story with its own generous measure of adventure, heroism and poignancy.

No comments about Christopher Columbus: Master Italian Navigator in the Court of Spain (Explorers).

No comments about Pedraluarez Cabral: His Progenitors, His Life And His Voyage To America And India (1914).

No comments about Pioneer western empire builders: A true story of the men and women of pioneer days.

No comments about The Raven and the Mountaineer.

No comments about Colon: Historia Del Almirante.