Endurance, as the sub title will tell you is of Ernest Shackleton's great journey, his quest to be the first to cross the antarctic. Lansing begins the story in peculiar fashion. This story, rather than beginning with the background information behind the voyage, begins with Shackleton's order to abandon ship. The ship has been stuck in the ice for quite some time, and is beginning to be crushed by the immense pressure of the ice surrounding it. This brings with it a quite dreary mood. This is exemplified when Lansing writes: "Ordinarily, any activity of this sort would have driven the dogs mad with excitement, bu somehow they seemed to sense that something very extraordinary was going on. Not one fight broke out among them, and not a single dog attempted to break away." This shows that the atmosphere surrounding the floundering ship is one of seriousness. I found it interesting that amongst all the commotion, the dogs are able to sense the dire situation. Lansing then leaves the ship wreck to tell about Shackleton's intense preparations for the journey. Shackleton and his crew then begin their journey with only minor set backs until they reach a large section of ice. While they are attempting to get through it, they are hit by a strong northernly wind that freezes the ice in place, locking Endurance in the ice without a chance of escape.
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