The Ship Beneath the Ice chronicles two dramatic expeditions to what Shackleton called 'the most hostile sea on Earth.' Author Mensun Bound experienced failure and despair in his attempts to locate the wreck, and, like Shackleton before him, very nearly found his vessel frozen in ice.
Bound sums up Shackleton’s management of the miraculous 1916 rescue as 'arguably, the greatest story of human survival in recorded history' and the lost Endurance as 'the Ultima Thule of shipwrecks.' By its end, The Ship Beneath the Ice has amply justified those superlatives ... The experience had elicited some evocative prose from the note-taking author.
Mr. Bound seems to prefer Shackleton’s journal to the company of his confederates, and as a result misses a chance to fill out the portraits of his fellow explorers, who are sketched but not painted in ... Despite the rush of success, a note of melancholy hangs over the story. Mr. Bound writes that the second expedition fared better than the first in part because melting sea ice allowed an easier passage. And a modern, high-tech search for ruins is inherently less gripping than the initial quest for glory in the heroic age of exploration. This leaves a sense that the greatest adventures are behind us. Yet what an adventure it was. If Mr. Bound and his colleagues rekindle interest in Shackleton’s expedition a century ago they will have done a service. This book is a good place to start. Lansing’s is even better.
The book recounts both of the expeditions in great detail, framed as Bound’s diary entries recounting events, and often weaving in Shackleton history. Bound’s passion for what he’s doing and his love for the most unexplored geography on Earth is evident on every page. His writing blends the required scientific explanations with what touches on poetry ... It’s captivating stuff, even for readers who will never see an iceberg.
