Scantlings

Interesting article in today's Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_McNish

Always loved the "advertisement" from Shackelton:

MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS.

Sounds like a marriage proposal...... (except the honour and recognition part..... )

Disclaimer..."No trace of the supposed advertisement has come to light."

Have "Endurance" on the Kindle, just need to find the time.

I read Endurance back in high school, may be time to read it again. I don't remember a lot about McNish, but it was a long time ago...Sounds like an interesting guy. Always makes me a little sad when someone with a story like that "died destitute in the Ohiro Benevolent Home in Wellington". Who knows. Maybe thats the way he wanted it?

Side note - I was a figure skater and I can remember my coach telling my not to sit on the ice because I was going to get 'piles'. I never knew what that was, but thank god Wikipedia has links to useful pages that explain piles with useful photos to boot. Would anyone else like to finish my lunch?

There are at least four "Endurance" books available.

"South: The Endurance Expedition" was written by Shackleton (with help), and is certainly worth reading.

"The Endurance", was written by Endurance captain Frank Worsley himself and published in 1931. It's been a while since I read this one, but I do remember enjoying it.

Then there is "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing. This was published in 1959, and is perhaps the best-known of the endurance books.

Finally, "The Endurance" was written by Carolyn Alexander, and was published in 1998. This is shorter, has a lot of photos, and contains some material not available to Lansing in 1959. This isn't a coffee table book -- it's well-written and contains some real scholarship. I recommend it, as well as Lansing's book.