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Comment by rednafi | Hacker News Reader

“South: The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition, 1914–1917” by Sir Ernest Shackleton. Here, Shackleton documents the journey of the Endurance expedition, which aimed to traverse Antarctica but instead became a legendary tale of survival after the ship was trapped and destroyed by pack ice.

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Related and also a good read is "The Roald Amundsen Diaries : The South Pole Expedition 1910-1912". You can see the ship he used on the expedition, the Fram at the appropriately named, Fram Museum in Oslo. It's an incredible experience to see and contemplate the expeditions these explorers mounted, and what equipment and resources they assembled to do it at a very early time.

https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9788282350105?cm_sp=b...

I didnt realise the ship was in a museum - Dundee has the discovery museum for Scotts ship which is good for a visit too

Moreover, you can walk around inside the ship and see the cabins they lived in, indeed an incredible, immersive experience.

Came here to say that Amundsen is a great example of someone who did hard things and made them look easy. Nansen also. And Shackleton, although he didn't make them look easy...

Basically everything written by Roland Huntford about polar exploration is great inspiration. The Last Place on Earth covers Amundsen and Scott (the latter who did difficult things and made them look hard and died.)

I haven't verified the info in this video myself, but it's making a point about Shackleton actually being somewhat incompetent/overeager and getting himself and crew into more trouble than necessary (as compared to Amundsen): https://youtube.com/watch?v=DU06c7f9fzc (TED talk, sorry)

I'm currently listening to "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing". I've also heard of some of the arguments against Shackleton (I haven't watched the talk).

I have to think of what Shackleton, as a leader (boss), was going through and with uncertainties abound.

28 people who he hired based not only on capability alone, but also for crew (team) fit.

He apparently cared deeply for them, and they in-turn cared for one another.

They managed to work together in the harshest of environments. They all made it.

That in and of itself, is a remarkable feat.

You have a mistaken perspective on the whole thing. These men were seafaring adventurers, not people who will call their lawyer if there isn't a gluten free option in their restaurant.

Every crew member was fully informed that they were more likely to die than survive the journey – before even sending in their applications.

And Shackleton is dead since long, so you can't cancel him anymore.

I'd say Scott was the most incompetent of the lot.

At least according to https://www.amazon.com/Scott-Amundsen-Last-Place-Earth/dp/03...

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