Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

"You'll have to change your life, Boss," Macklin said."You're always wanting me to give up things. What is it I ought to give up?" The one thing he had to truly give up was the Antarctic, and that he could not do. He died a few minutes after Macklin came to him. (126)            

While reading Shipwreck at the Botom of the World, I often grew bored. On the other hand, there were numerous situations in which I could not stop the adventure. The tedious moments, for me, were the portions where the nautical vocabulary became too much. However, some could find it greatly educating and exciting if that is what you are into.  Regardless, Jennifer Armstrong combines the incredible true tale of Sir Earnest Shackleton and the rest of the crew of the Endurance with facts about sailing, the Antarctic, and early 20^th century exploration.

            Granted I have never been on an ocean vessel, but I was able to understand and envision what was going on in the expedition. I felt for the crew. Towards the end, I was enthralled and excited to read about how they would be saved. Even though in the beginning the reader is told everyone survives, I kept thinking and waiting for something bad to happen. It was almost as though the story is too good to be fully true.

            Critically, this book has some benefits, as well as some major issues. On the plus side, the images throughout the text add more information as well as clarifying what is written in the text. The maps and diagrams at the beginning of the book serve as a suitable frontloading of information for the reader to refer to while reading the text. In addition, the simple joys of music, games, and laughter that the men discover while seemingly hopeless, are universal values. Without a doubt, the true tale of this expedition can be extremely engaging.

            But even in the title of the expedition, there are issues that a critical lens needs to unpack. The name of the voyage is The IMPERIAL Trans-Atlantic Expedition, and throughout the text that imperialism, as well as other ideologies, are clearly apparent. Not only is the text solely about men, but the only hints at females in the world are in the toasts (“To our lovers and wives, may they never meet”) and when towards the end the lack of cleanliness is not suitable for them to meet women. These paternalistic thoughts are just the beginning. There are issues of race (minstrelsy page 38) as well as social standing in the fo’c’isle hands, that occur time and time again in the text but are not addressed.

            However, the text does meet the genre needs quite well. It seems historically accurate, and uses primary sources when useful. There are also explanations of nautical language and that of the Antarctic. Students could be drawn by the adventure, as I was.