description: Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Anglo-Irish explorer, never achieved his goal of reaching the South Pole, though he was knighted in 1909 for having come within 100 miles. With bravery matched only by his theatricality, Shackleton sought to top that accomplishment by landing on one side of Antarctica and traveling the width of the icy continent by sledge. What might have been a great exploratory journey turned into a raw struggle for survival when his ship became trapped in pack ice, and he was forced to lead his team on a desperate trek across hundreds of miles of the world's most dangerous terrain. He made it home, but even his stature as one of Edwardian England's greatest heroes could not save Shackleton from financial risk taking; he ended his life mired in debt. Roland Huntford's biography presents a balanced and lively portrait of a man who was, depending on which of his contemporaries you asked, a national hero or a contemptible rogue. --Robert McNamara
language: English
title: Sea of darkness
titlecomplete: Sea of darkness
genres: Biography, History, Autobiography, Science, Historical, Leadership, Outdoors, Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure
ratings_count: 678
awards: awardedAt: 536486400000
name: Marsh Biography Award
publisher: Collins