Ernest Shackleton led two Antarctic expeditions, and diedshortly after the beginning of the third. His first expedition wasnot a total success (they did not reach the South Pole), and thesecond was, in some senses, a total failure (they never reached theAntarctic mainland at all). Yet it is the second for which he isremembered. His expedition ship Endurance was trapped, then crushedin the ice, before his party could be landed, leaving his men in ahopeless situation. For months Shackleton held his party togetherbefore taking to boats and bringing everyone to safety to ElephantIsland. His open-boat journey to South Georgia, and the eventualrescue of the party left behind, are now legendary. Visitors toShackleton s grave in South Georgia, stepping over the loungingelephant seals that keep the dead company, pay homage to the manwho had the vision, bravery and strength to open up Antarctica forall who followed. Shackleton showed the flame of leadership as fewin the history of exploration have done, and nowhere do
