School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-One of several recent titles about the explorer and his ill-fated expedition to Antarctica, this generously illustrated volume focuses on the man rather than the expedition. Shackleton's life is traced from his early childhood to his death en route to another Antarctic voyage. Readers learn how he went to sea at an early age, and how his hunger for adventure and interest in exploring developed. It is not surprising that the author devotes a great deal of attention to Shackleton's Endurance expedition. Unfortunately, that amazing story has already been told several times in more compelling narratives, most notably in Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World (Crown, 1998). The stunning, archival black-and-white photographs are this book's strength, but there is little new information here. Libraries already owning other books on Shackleton and the Endurance may also want to have this one as a starting place for readers. It tells enough about the man and his adventures to whet the appetite for deeper reading on the subject.-Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Following the Antarctic explorations of Shackleton, the book emphasizes his 1914 trek to the South Pole in which his ship, the [cf2]Endurance[cf1], became frozen in ice and was destroyed. The text is adequate; far more compelling are the two-tone archival photographs showing the intrepid explorers and their doomed vessel trapped in a world of ice and snow. A time line is included. Bib., ind. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Kostyal has written a tight, bracing biography of the renowned Antarctic explorer, illustrated with dramatic black-and-white photographs. Shackleton, a man whose sense of romance and adventure repeatedly drew him from conventional British society to Antarctica (``that lonely, windswept desert of ice and snow at the bottom of the world''), succeeded neither in reaching the South Pole nor traversing the continent, but he exhibited such remarkable valor that, according to the author, his name has become ``synonymous with bravery and endurance.'' As usual, there is more about his expeditions than the man, but Kostyal renders the tale in vivid prose that is enhanced by maps, quotes, a timeline and some remarkable photographs. This quality book will be a useful addition in both home and school libraries. (map, chronology, index) (Biography. 8-10)
Booklist Review
Gr. 4^-8. There have been several books recently about the 1915 Antarctic voyage, shipwreck, and survival of the explorers aboard the ship Endurance. This large-size volume is not nearly as detailed as Jennifer Armstrong's Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World (1998), but Kostyal does add a biographical framework about Shackleton, with a brief account of his childhood, marriage, and first polar voyage with Captain Robert Scott. The the main focus, though, is on Shackleton's leadership of the Endurance expedition. It's a story of failure and disappointment. Kostyal shows that even though Shackleton never achieved his goals, he is now considered one of the great world explorers and natural leaders. The book design is too busy at times, with some text printed on the photographs. It is the photographs that will grab browsers: there are great spreading unframed views of the polar regions, of the small ship dwarfed by an iceberg, as well as informal snapshots of Shackelton and the men who followed him on an astonishing adventure. --Hazel Rochman
