Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

1. Bibliography

Armstrong, Jennifer. 1998. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance. New York: Crown Publisher’s, Inc. ISBN 0517800144


2. Plot Summary

This story describes in detail of an expedition of twenty-eight men to try who got stranded in the southern continent, Antartica, with no way to contact anyone for months and how they all survived.

3. Critical Analysis

Armstrong includes specific date, times, and quotes from the actual journals of the men themselves. For example on page 59, “ At 5p.m. she went down by the head: the stern… was the last to go under the water,” Shackleton recorded in his diary that night. “I can’t write about it.”
By this use of quotes you know the book is as accurate as possible. She also uses actual photographs taken from the journey throughout the book.

The book is well organized with a table of contents, members of the crew, diagrams and maps, and an overview at the beginning of the book. Then it goes through each chapter that is in sequential order and easy for the reader to follow.

The design is well though out. The cover of the book itself is very simply illustrated with a vague picture of men pulling a ship with a completely white background. The photographs and story are compelling. The layout is very appropriate for the subject matter.

Armstrong’s overall style is notices through her vivid descriptions and vocabulary that makes the readers truly engaged in the facts of the story. Her writing reveals her interest in this heroic story. The quotes she chose to put into the story help bring out the attitudes of the characters. As in their toast, “The toast, as always, was, “To our sweethearts and wives – may they never meet!” (Armstrong, 34).
She includes many compelling details that give the reader that “wow” factor.
“His frantic cries brought Wild out of his tent with a rifle, and Wild immediately dropped to one knee, raised the weapon, and began firing-and cursing furiously at Orde-Lees. The leopard seal now rushed toward Wild, who shot again and again. The animal was only thirty feet away from Wild when it fell at last. The entire crew was breathless.”
This is one of the many details that really help the reader feel like they are right there with the character in the story. Armstrong’s has an overall style that keeps the reader wanting to read more.


4. Review Excerpts (s)

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-When their ship, Endurance, became icebound in Antarctica and sank in 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27 crewmen were 100 miles from land. Unbelievably, they all survived. At first, the men played on the ice to kill time, but after Endurance sank, they took to their life boats, and spent a year and a half traveling over ice, water, and mountains to reach safety.

5. Connections

* Invite students to research the Antarctica
* Invite students to discuss and write what items they would like if they were stranded in the ice and could only have a limited number of things.
* Discuss what the men used to know their location.