In 1916 many ships were still made of wood, and it wasn’t yet standard to have radios on board. So when you set out on a journey you had no way of communicating with anyone until , and if, you arrived at your destination. Sometimes the way, as is the case today, people knew something had gone wrong is because they never showed up.

In 1916 the range of aircraft was just 950km and that was for a one or two-seater plane. South Georgia island is 1400km from another set of islands, the Falklands which themselves are another 500km off the coast of Argentina. In other words when you set out to cross the Antarctic in 1916 you’re well and truly on your own.

Being on your own in this case is you, 28 men (including a stowaway who ended up having his foot amputated – not for being a stowaway I should add but for getting gangrene following frostbite) and 70 dogs. Then instead of making it to the Antarctic proper you get stuck in ice and the next time you set foot on land is 497 days later after your ship has sunk, you’ve shot all the dogs (and a cat), been chased by Leopard Seals (which you shot and ate), and finally found yourself marooned on an uninhabitable island (Elephant Island) some 1200km from South Georgia where you set off. So you’re forced to risk that journey in a boat not really suitable for braving the harsh winter conditions of the Southern Ocean.

That in a nutshell is the task and journey of Ernest Shackleton and his men. I confess to knowing nothing about this adventure before I began having I think I confused Shackleton with Scott. What is staggering is not just the physical challenge of survival in the most inhospitable of environments but the general attitude and stoicism of the men involved.

This account of the journey is gripping stuff and the narration by Tim Piggot-Smith is perfect. It is truly heroic stuff. If you don’t know the story and what happens or how it unfolds then this audiobook (and I presume the book itself) will repay you in spades.

The Endurance had not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915 but was discovered in March of this year (2022).