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The Lost Men (Abridged): The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party Audiobook
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(4.00) - 325 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed south aboard the Endurance to be the first to cross Antarctica. Shackleton’s endeavor is legend, but few know the astonishing story of the Ross Sea party, the support crew he dispatched to the opposite side of the continent to build a vital lifeline of food and fuel depots.
When the Ross Sea ship, the Aurora, broke free of her moorings and disappeared in a gale in 1915, she left ten men stranded on the continent with only the clothes on their backs and little hope of rescue. Against all odds the men decided to go forward with their mission, sledging 1,700 miles in a record-setting two-year odyssey. They never imagined that their immense sacrifice was futile—for Shackleton never set foot on the continent, and the Endurance lay crushed at the bottom of the Weddell Sea.
Inexperienced and poorly equipped, the men of the Ross Sea party endured the unspeakable suffering of malnutrition, hypothermia, and extreme weather conditions with fortitude. With their personal journals and previously unpublished documents, Kelly Tyler-Lewis brings us close to these men in their best and bleakest times and revives for us their heroic, astounding story of survival in the most hostile environment on earth.
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"I'd always wondered about the other half of Shackleton's expedition, and this book is an excellent account of what happened to the men in the Ross Sea party--a story every bit as riveting as the story of what Shackleton's party was enduring on the other side of the continent. It seems like virtually all books about Shackleton hold him up as the most amazing of men; I kind of liked that this book shows him as more human and fallible. The whole expedition sounds as though it was woefully under-financed and under-planned, perhaps a serious downside to Shackleton's overly optimistic nature. It's really incredible that these men managed as well as they did in such harsh conditions when they were so terribly unprepared. The Ross Sea Party especially accomplished something really incredible--they did what they set out to do, and they did it despite so many crippling obstacles. Kelly Tyler-Lewis clearly did a huge amount of research in order to put this book together, and managed to tell the Ross Sea party's story every bit as well as Alfred Lansing did Shackleton's party's tale in Endurance. Definitely recommended if you have a hankering for travel, exploration, adventure or survival stories like I do!"
— Warnie (5 out of 5 stars)
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Amazingly detailed...a gripping work." -- Publishers Weekly
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“A gripping story embracing both tragedy and triumph.”
— New York Times -
“Do we need another story about a gloriously tragic British polar expedition, all stiff upper lips and frozen woollen long-johns? We do, if it’s as good as this…gripping immediacy and sensuous detail, so that it reads more like a contemporary exploration yarn—say, Krakauer’s Into Thin Air—than a scholarly reconstruction of events long past. The result is unputdownable, and makes you very glad to be reading it in a warm room.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Working from the survivors’ diaries, notebooks, and logs, Tyler-Lewis delves into the harrowing details of their ordeal. She even spent two months in Antarctica to familiarize herself with the terrain. The result is one of the most compelling tales of polar exploration you will find…Their saga, long a footnote in the history of Antarctica, has finally, and rightly, been rescued from oblivion.”
— National Geographic Adventure -
“The heart of the book lies in Tyler-Lewis’ dissection of the men’s relationships with one another. As friends are made, alliances formed and resentment festers, humanity is never lost, even amid inhumane conditions. Given the collection of military, civilian, scientific and blue-collar personnel that made up the expedition, it’s compelling to see how each man deals with his fate.”
— Publishers Weekly
The Lost Men Listener Reviews
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" A tale of survival and foolish mistakes, of men of by gone days. "
— Mandy, 2/20/2014 -
" Very good real-life story of the Ross Sea Party, but not particularly well written. "
— Diana, 2/20/2014 -
" I'm very intrigued by those who have a certain, special need to leave a "normal" to go exploring in places known and unknown. I enjoyed reading about the challenges the team faced, and how they managed to overcome despite horrible odds. At times the book felt a little over technical but overall it was an interesting read. "
— Sue, 2/7/2014 -
" After reading Shakleton's story I was interested in the what happened to the other ship that was sent to the other side of the continent to lay supply depots for Shakleton's men on the 2nd half of their journey. Of course they never made it, but these men could not have known. Their story is, as the title says, "harrowing," but not quite as jaw-dropping as Shakelton's journey. They lost a few men and experienced a lot of hardship, and you could say that in the end, it was really for nothing. Still, the men felt that pride that they had completed their mission regardless of the futility. Supposedly, some of those supply depots are still there, in remote areas of antarctica where they were left almost 100 years ago. "
— Annastaissia, 1/28/2014 -
" This is a well researched account. The Ross Sea Party was the supporting cast of Shackleton's attempt to cross the southern most continent. The author tapped diaries of the inviduals involved to write a story like none to date. Very enjoyable. "
— A., 1/18/2014 -
" Excellent book! Very compelling book about the struggles of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party who sailed to the other side of the Antarctic to lay supply depots for Shackleton's attempt to be the first explorer to cross the Antarctic. Very well researched. I liked the analysis of their lack of nutrition, the voyage did not have nearly enough financial backing to properly outfit the ship and men, and the information about the physical and mental struggles the men had to overcome. Many direct quotes from the men's diaries. "
— Sheila, 1/9/2014 -
" The flip side to the legend. Things didn't go so well for the boys who set out to meet Shackelton. "I may be a while..." "
— S., 1/8/2014 -
" This book plays into my fascination with Shackleton. This part of the story shows clearly that the difference between the main party and the Ross Sea Party was leadership. Shackleton, for all his faults kept everyone together and moving in the same direction. The Ross Sea party had no such luck. "
— Sarah, 12/27/2013 -
" What a great book! I read the Endurance a few years back and regretfully didn't remember all the details. Would highly recommend reading the two books one after the other. "
— Matthew, 11/28/2013 -
" What happened to the other half of Shackleton's expedition. Can't keep me away from these Antarctic exploration stories. "
— Lynne, 11/22/2013 -
" this book was very intense. there was moments in this book were i was at the edge of my seat and my heart was racing. if you are into antarctic expedition thing and freezing cold i would recomend this book to you. "
— Ian, 8/23/2013 -
" yet another take on the Endurance voyage. You would not believe what these fellows went through, it wadn't no chicha song that's for sure. "
— Tuck, 7/27/2013 -
" The amount of research she has done was immense, but as a story it did not flow. At times she would draw me in then the scene would change, but not enough to hold my attention. I am glad I read it, but would not re-read it for pleasure. "
— Jae, 7/2/2013 -
" Kelly Tyler-Lewis has written a great read on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Ross Sea Party. She brings their story of survival into your mind's eye. I for one put it up on my top shelf along with Skeletons on the Zahara. Oh to be one of "The men that don't fit in". "
— Michael, 5/31/2013 -
" This was an interestng book. I learned some and was bored some but it was a good listen. "
— Mariola, 2/19/2013 -
" Account of a group who were trying to make a transatlantic crossing of Antartica "
— Jen, 12/9/2012 -
" It's so rare that someone with such a thoroughly researched interest is also a good writer. This is truly history brought to living, breathing, suffering, triumphant life. Definitely up there with Erik Larsen's writing. "
— Beck, 9/22/2012 -
" Brave men whom survived the harshest environment with the minimum in supplies for a long period of time in mostly unexplored territory. "
— Daniel, 9/8/2012 -
" In the category of what I learned from this book, it is that I never want to be an Antarctic explorer, or get scurvy. "
— Matt, 8/21/2012 -
" I read this before reading "The endurance". I actually enjoyed this better although I found the pictures in "The endurance" much better. Facinating account of survival in the antartic. "
— Sbuckley, 8/5/2012 -
" This is a wonderfully vivid telling of the story of the Ross Sea party and their trials while laying supply caches for Shakelton's trans-antarctic crossing. Very interesting, well researched, and beautifully written. "
— Heather, 5/4/2012 -
" what a bunch of crazy bastards, they should all be kicked repeatedly for what they did to those dogs "
— Stephen, 3/13/2012 -
" pretty insane "
— Justin, 2/17/2012 -
" Read this after reading Shackleton's incredible journey. The group is separated and this is an account given by the other men. "
— Paige, 1/18/2012 -
" If you are interested in Shackleton's journey then this story just completes the picture. An amazing story and very well written. "
— Emily, 7/3/2011 -
" yet another take on the Endurance voyage. You would not believe what these fellows went through, it wadn't no chicha song that's for sure. "
— Tuck, 5/12/2011 -
" what a bunch of crazy bastards, they should all be kicked repeatedly for what they did to those dogs "
— Stephen, 5/7/2011 -
" This is a wonderfully vivid telling of the story of the Ross Sea party and their trials while laying supply caches for Shakelton's trans-antarctic crossing. Very interesting, well researched, and beautifully written. "
— Heather, 1/7/2011 -
" What a great book! I read the Endurance a few years back and regretfully didn't remember all the details. Would highly recommend reading the two books one after the other. "
— Matthew, 7/29/2010 -
" The amount of research she has done was immense, but as a story it did not flow. At times she would draw me in then the scene would change, but not enough to hold my attention. I am glad I read it, but would not re-read it for pleasure. "
— Jae, 5/19/2010 -
" A tale of survival and foolish mistakes, of men of by gone days. "
— Mandy, 8/16/2009 -
" What happened to the other half of Shackleton's expedition. Can't keep me away from these Antarctic exploration stories. "
— Lynne, 6/23/2009 -
" Very good real-life story of the Ross Sea Party, but not particularly well written. "
— Diana, 9/30/2008 -
" The flip side to the legend. Things didn't go so well for the boys who set out to meet Shackelton. "I may be a while..." "
— S., 9/17/2008 -
" It's so rare that someone with such a thoroughly researched interest is also a good writer. This is truly history brought to living, breathing, suffering, triumphant life. Definitely up there with Erik Larsen's writing. "
— Beck, 8/20/2008 -
" This was an interestng book. I learned some and was bored some but it was a good listen. "
— Mariola, 8/6/2008
About Kelly Tyler-Lewis
Kelly Tyler-Lewis traveled for her research as a historian to Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica, where she spent two months with the National Science Foundation’s Artists and Writers Program. She was a visiting scholar of the Scott Polar Research Institute of the University of Cambridge from 2002 to 2004. She is also an Emmy Award–winning documentary writer and producer for her historical film, Shackleton’s Voyage of Endurance.
About Graeme Malcolm
Graeme Malcolm was an actor and winning audiobook narrator who earned twelve AudioFile Earphones Awards. He has performed on Broadway as Pharaoh in Aida and as Sir Edward Ramsay in The King and I. His television appearances include Law & Order, Follow the River, and Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson (with Laurence Olivier). His film credits include A Further Gesture, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, and Reunion.