Ernest Shackleton was a genuine hero. We have a contemporary opinion from Sir Raymond Priestley (1886 – 1974), who was a British geologist and Antarctic explorer. Priestley actually went on Shackleton’s expedition of 1907 – 1909. A paraphrase of his judgement is printed on my favourite T-shirt:
“For scientific leadership, give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems to be no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”
Follow the link to read Ernest Shackleton’s own account of his expeditions to Antarctica.
Read more about Shackleton.
November 16, 2009 at 12:42
[...] story] [Photo source] AKPC_IDS += "4100,"; 16. November 2009 | [...]
August 19, 2010 at 06:46
Hi
I am trying to find the source of the quote above from Raymond Priestley. I have seen it a number of times, but have not been able to obtain the original source. I am Priestley’s grandson and I would love to track down the quote.
August 20, 2010 at 19:54
I found it on a T-shirt in a gift shop in British Columbia in 2000. The shop also had a recent biography of Shackleton. I bought the T-shirt and for this blog post looked up the quote. Other than that, I know not, but I would guess it’s in the book.
I believe that the recent biography inspired a movie.
There are some online documents here: Shackleton, including an extended version of the quote. It shouldn’t be too hard.
August 20, 2010 at 19:56
The book is Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong.