From 1914 to 1916, Ernest Shackleton and his men survived the wreck of their ship Endurance, crushed in the Antarctic ice, stranded twelve hundred miles from civilization with no means of communication and no hope for rescue. When the ice began to break up, Shackleton set out to save them all on his heroic eight-hundred-mile-trip across the frigid South Atlantic—in little more than a rowboat. Unlike similar polar expeditions, every man survived—not only in good health, but also in good spirits—all due to Shackleton's leadership. Now, Shackleton scholar Margot Morrell and Wall Street Journal writer Stephanie Capparell team up to present Shackleton's timeless leadership skills—skills that can be learned by anyone—to a new generation. "A thrilling survival story makes an inspirational handbook for a new generation of leaders." (Amazon.com)
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"I was expecting a true-life adventure story, and this book does contain the elements of Shackleton's extraordinary failed attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914-1916, but what it really is is a business book that focuses on the lessons for managers to be gleaned from Shackleton's leadership."
— Leslie (4 out of 5 stars)
" I'll endeavor to lead like Shackleton did. A great guide for managers (and an interesting look at early exploration of Antartica). "
— Aimee, 2/7/2014" Refresh of the different tools / behaviours to be a good leader, by referring to examples of Sir Shckleton's way during his various exciting Antarctic exploration trips. "
— Wing, 2/5/2014" Another great read for any leader "
— Jeff, 2/4/2014" Re-reading this book as research for leadership development program I am designing. "
— Peter, 2/3/2014" The book was wonderful in showing great qualities of a leader. I would recommend it for anyone going into management. However, if you're reading this purely for the incredible story of Shackleton and survival...stop, read something else or watch either one of two excellent documentaries on video. The only thing that was a turn off and somewhat jovial was that I'm led to believe that the authors created a god and not a man! Oh, I'm not discounting Shackleton's unique and amazing skills of survival and leadership, but did the authors contort every characteristic about him to be that exceptional? Was he truly that perfect of a human being? All I know is that if he were alive today, the authors would be to busy bowing down to him, all the while I would sneak in an autograph and sell it on ebay. "
— Jake, 1/22/2014" While I don't think much of this book billing itself as a leadership training tool, I found Shackleton and his story fascinating. The "lessons" seemed like throw ins to serve as a way to market this book to a wider audience when it really wasn't necessary. "
— Kelly, 1/20/2014" An inspirational story. A great read for anyone in a management position or anyone in need of inspiration "
— Carly, 1/17/2014" Pretty slow to develop but it was an excellent story (true) about leadership in the direst of circumstances. Organized chaos at it's best. What tenacity, drive, and foresight Shackleton had. Makes to you want to push through obstacles with unwaivering persistence and organization. "
— Jeff, 1/10/2014" Excellent book about leadership. What would our world be like if we all followed Shacketon's ways. WOW! "
— Jennette, 1/7/2014" Non-fiction. Absolutely wonderful examination of how Shackleton, a seasoned Antarctic explorer made a complete failure a stupendous, incredible, unbelieveable success. Anyone in a leadership position, whether at home, at work or religious group should read this book. "
— Kristie, 12/30/2013" Leadership put to it's best in an incredible setting. "
— Andrew, 12/15/2013" Leadership examples from a great explorer "
— John, 12/10/2013" I LOVED this book and learned so much from it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is involved in a leadership position in the community, church, office, or school. So much to learn! "
— L, 11/26/2013" I listened to the audio book and it was very good though different than what I expected. It does some very good leadership qualities and it is amazing that Shackleton was able to get his entire crew home after being exposed for nearly one year in one of the harshest environments on the planet. "
— Chris, 5/23/2013" Good book about adventure, exploration, and leadership. This book was assigned to be for a leadership class, but I'm so glad I read it. Very interesting. "
— Megan, 2/18/2013" Great story of survival and interesting management techniques...good if you are into the leadership stuff. "
— Brian, 12/25/2012" One of the best books on Shackleton and leadership in general- re-read all the time an use the principles daily on the job "
— Marijo, 10/19/2012" Great book on leadership, but I wish it had a few more exciting/gory details about Shackleton's Endurance expedition. "
— Brenda, 10/9/2012" Slow to read but insightful and interesting. Not the best Shackleton book out. "
— Matt, 9/14/2012" One of my favorite books on leadership. I just re-read it to prepare for a leadership workshop. Great adventure story and excellent example of leadership during rough times. "
— Donna, 9/3/2012" The biography part about Shackleton is great, but the leadership stuff feels forced. Read it for the biography, or better yet, read "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing for the full story. "
— Marcus, 8/18/2012" excellent read - life changing leadership lessons "
— Patricia, 4/14/2012" Read it for class, but have to say I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Beginning is a bit slow, but got better as the story went on. Least favorite part was the "Working it in" section at the end of each chapter. To me, they weren't necessary. "
— Laura, 4/5/2012" This book was not something I would normally read. It was given to me and turned out to not be so bad "
— Michael, 11/27/2011" Fantastic book that walks you through Shackleton's leadership philosophy. He endured so much and brought his entire team out of an Antarctic shipwreck alive and did it with grace. A must read for any manager or anyone who aspires to be a leader professionally, or in life. "
— Emily, 8/11/2011" I love the story of Shackleton, and I think the "leadership lessons" are great, but it's a pretty dry read, and reading the first page of every chapter would suffice for someone who knows the basics of the story. "
— Allison, 7/7/2011" Shackleton is a very good leader but not a very good person. "
— Chanell, 5/3/2011" excellent read - life changing leadership lessons "
— Patricia, 2/24/2011" Great book on leadership, but I wish it had a few more exciting/gory details about Shackleton's Endurance expedition. "
— Brenda, 12/2/2010" Intersting read for class. I liked many of the topics on leadership but I thought the characterization of Shackleton felt forced and unrealistic. "
— Elizabeth, 10/24/2010" Non-fiction. Absolutely wonderful examination of how Shackleton, a seasoned Antarctic explorer made a complete failure a stupendous, incredible, unbelieveable success. Anyone in a leadership position, whether at home, at work or religious group should read this book. "
— Kristie, 10/11/2010" This book was not something I would normally read. It was given to me and turned out to not be so bad "
— Michael, 5/28/2010" Shackleton is a very good leader but not a very good person. "
— Chanell, 5/11/2010" I LOVED this book and learned so much from it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is involved in a leadership position in the community, church, office, or school. So much to learn! "
— L, 3/12/2010" Leadership examples from a great explorer "
— John, 11/8/2009" Leadership put to it's best in an incredible setting. "
— Andrew, 9/22/2009" The biography part about Shackleton is great, but the leadership stuff feels forced. Read it for the biography, or better yet, read "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing for the full story. "
— Marcus, 12/2/2008" One of my favorite books on leadership. I just re-read it to prepare for a leadership workshop. Great adventure story and excellent example of leadership during rough times. "
— Donna, 10/6/2008" Biography, adventure, and lessons of leadership all rolled into one. I liked it! "
— Eli, 9/6/2008Margot Morrell, a twenty-year veteran of corporate America, has worked in financial services and consulting. Her research into Shackleton’s leadership has taken her to such far-flung destinations as Antarctica, Australia, and Argentina.
Stephanie Capparell, a journalist for more than twenty years, is an editor for the Wall Street Journal’s Marketplace page.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.