The Ship Beneath the Ice

Over one hundred years after its wreck, Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, was found in the depths of the most hostile sea on Earth. The Ship Beneath the Ice is the astonishing story of the ship and its discovery, told by Mensun Bound, the Director of Exploration on the Endurance22 Expedition.

On 21 November 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, finally succumbed to the crushing ice. Its crew watched in silence as the stern rose twenty feet in the air and then, it was gone. The miraculous escape and survival of all twenty-eight men on board have entered legend. And yet, the iconic ship that bore them to the brink of the Antarctic was considered forever lost.

A century later, an audacious plan to locate the ship was hatched. The Ship Beneath the Ice gives a blow-by-blow account of the two epic expeditions to find the Endurance. As with Shackleton's own story, the voyages were filled with intense drama and teamwork under pressure. In March 2022, the Endurance was finally found to headlines all over the world.

Written by Mensun Bound, maritime archaeologist and Director of Exploration in the search to find the Endurance, this captivating narrative recounts incredible stories of Shackleton and his legendary ship, and the journey to its rediscovery. Beautifully illustrated with Frank Hurley's photos from Shackleton's original voyage in 1914–17, as well as from the expeditions in 2019 and 2022, The Ship Beneath the Ice is the perfect tribute to this monumental discovery.

About the Author

Mensun Bound is a leading maritime archaeologist who has discovered many of the world's most famous shipwrecks. Artefacts that he has raised can be found on permanent display in over a dozen museums worldwide. His excavations have featured in many documentaries and were the subject of a four-part series by the Discovery Channel entitled Lost Ships. He founded the first academic unit for maritime archaeology in England and from 1992 to 2013 was the Triton Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at St. Peter's College, Oxford University. He is a Trustee of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and was Director of Exploration on the 2019 and 2022 expeditions to locate Shackleton's Endurance.

Praise for The Ship Beneath the Ice

'As thrilling as any tale from the heroic age of exploration . . . Bound's account is a triumph'
– The Sunday Times

'The story of Shackleton's Endurance is one of the most extraordinary in the history of exploration. This is more than just an astonishing sequel. It is a tale just as powerful, and one which redefines the meaning of impossible'
– Sir Michael Palin

'As thrilling as any tale from the heroic age of exploration . . . Bound's account is a triumph. The storytelling is piano-wire taut, the writing saturated with polar moodiness'
– The Sunday Times

'Bound has a natural flair for storytelling and his narrative cracks along with the pace of a well-crafted thriller . . . Captivating and engrossing'
– Mail on Sunday

'Gloriously written . . . Written with the verve of a thriller, Bound's narrative deftly weaves together his voyages and Shackleton's . . . Bound is blessed with a poet's ear for richly evocative language'
– Times Literary Supplement