Escape from the Antarctic

Although Shackleton's (1874-1922) epic expedition (which began in 1914) to reach the South Pole was a complete disaster when their ship, The Endurance, was crushed by ice and the crew was marooned, it was rescued from absurdity by his heroic, terrifying crossing of the Southern Ocean in a small boat to a whaling station on South Georgia. Through one of the greatest recorded feats of navigation and of leadership, he overcame almost impossible odds and rescued every one of his men from otherwise certain death.