Literature
I
n 1922, a journalist remarked
to General Bruce, leader of the
British Everest Expedition, about
British tenacity. Bruce replied
with a single word: “Shackleton.”
Ernest Shackleton is one of history’s
great explorers, an extraordinary
character who pioneered the path
to the South Pole over one hundred
years ago and became a dominant
figure in Antarctic discovery.
A charismatic personality, his
incredible adventures on four
expeditions to the Antarctic have
captivated generations. He was
a restless adventurer from an
Irish background who joined the
Empire’s last great endeavour of
exploration— to conquer the South
Pole with Scott on the Discovery
expedition. A clash with Scott led to
Shackleton being ordered home and
began a bitter feud between the
two. Shackleton’s riposte was the
Nimrod expedition, which uncovered
the route to the Pole, and honed his
acclaimed leadership skills. These
skills would later keep despair at
bay and encourage men to overcome
unimaginable hardship on the
Endurance expedition of 1914.
But Shackleton was a flawed
character whose chaotic private
life, marked by romantic affairs,
unfulfilled ambitions, and failed
business ventures, contrasted with
celebrity status as the leading
explorer. Persistent money problems
left his men unpaid and his family
with debts.
Drawing on extensive research of
original diaries, letters, and many
other publications, Michael Smith
brings a fresh perspective to the
heroic age of Polar exploration
with this complex, compelling,
and enduringly fascinating story
of Ernest Shackleton.
Text is available for excerpt.
Michael Smith is available for
interview upon request.
Michael Smith is an author and
journalist who specializes in the
history of polar exploration. His first
book, An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean
Antarctic Survivor, was shortlisted
for the Banff Mountain Book Festival
and named one of the 100 Best
Books of All Time by the Irish
Examiner. Smith has written books
on polar history for both adult
and youth audiences, lectured
extensively, and contributed to
a wide range of television and
radio programs. His excerpts and
interviews have appeared in the
Guardian, Sunday Times, and the
Irish Independent, among many other
newspapers. He lives in Dublin,
Ireland, and can be found online
at www.micksmith.co.uk.
Q: Ernest Shackleton is certainly
a name many of us recognize—
a brave polar explorer whose
doomed Endurance expedition saw
no loss of life, a celebrated leader
of lovable rogues—and there have
been plenty of books on the
Endurance and Shackleton’s legacy.
Yet “Shackleton: By Endurance We
Conquer” is the first biography of
Ernest Shackleton in thirty years.
What compelled you to write this
book now? What fresh
perspectives do you offer
the history of Shackleton?
A: A whole generation has passed
since the last full biography of
Shackleton was published in 1985. I
felt that since 2014 is the centenary
of the epic Endurance expedition,
it was timely to re-examine one
of history’s most compelling
figures. New books, diaries
and correspondence regarding
Shackleton and his close companions
have emerged in the past 30 years,
and my book brings a fresh, 21stcentury perspective to his series of
incredible adventures. I also untangle
the myths from the reality of this
complex character’s packed life.
Q: Academics at Harvard Business
School and other top-tier MBA
programs often use Shackleton as
a role model for leaders in difficult
situations. Yet in your new book,
you note,“Shackleton’s expeditions
were built on credit and airy
promises.” Is Shackleton not the
polar exploration equivalent of Bill
Gates, as he has been called? What
problems or ironies do you find in
his legacy as it stands today?
A: Shackleton would be astonished
to learn that he is a model for
business schools. Someone recently
said that if he were alive today,
Shackleton would be another Bill
Gates—this is laughable. Shackleton
was a spectacular failure at every
business deal he touched and died
up to his neck in debt. Shackleton’s
greatest strength was his
inspirational leadership in a crisis.
He could lead men back from the
brink when all hope was lost. He
had an uncanny knack of choosing
dependable and resourceful
companions like Tom Crean and
Frank Wild. But he could not spot
a charlatan in a suit, and all his
business deals were catastrophic
failures. The paradox is that
Shackleton on dry land was different
to the man at sea or the ice.
Q: Throughout your new biography,
it’s clear Shackleton was
remarkably media-savvy, and well
ahead of his time. Can you give
us a few examples of how he
used the press to his advantage?
A: Shackleton was ahead of his time
in selling the exclusive rights to
books, photographs, even moving
films about his expedition. The late
Victorian-Edwardian era was a boom
time for newspapers and magazines
because people were better
educated, and Shackleton helped
pay for his expeditions by selling
the rights in advance. He may have
got the idea from the 19th century
American explorer, Charles Francis
Hall, who was among the first
explorers to be sponsored by the
press. As a child, Shackleton was
mesmerized by Hall’s accounts of
exploring the Arctic in the 1860-70s
and this encouraged him to become
a polar explorer. Shackleton’s men
also had to sign over the rights to
publish their own accounts of
expeditions to Shackleton.
Q: In what ways was Shackleton
a product of the British Victorian
and Edwardian eras in which
he lived?
A: Shackleton was born into an age
when Britain ruled the biggest the
empire the world had ever seen, with
25% of the world’s population living
under the British flag. It was an age
of imperial expansion and explorers
were the poster boys whose stories
captivated millions. Most boys were
brought up to serve the British
Empire as soldiers, sailors,
administrators, and merchants.
Explorers to the Antarctic
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