Product Description

In 1914, Shackleton led 27 men through a fight for their lives after they became stranded on an ice flow. Every man survived, ascribing it to Shackleton's superb leadership. This book draws on anecdotes and interviews to illustrate Shackleton's tactics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21601 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

If more 'leaders' learnt lessons...
A fantastic book and inspirational lessons; I have read many books on both leadership, exploration and Shackleton and was inspired by Shackleton's Way as I was the first time I read about him.
The 'lessons' at the end of each chapter are excellent and allow the book to act as a direct, useful reference.
Anyone who is or is striving to become, or already is, a 'leader' of an organisation should read this. It will inspire and provide you with thought from day one.

Great story - but a bit rose-tinted
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - it zips along with the famous "escape from the ice back to safety" epic. Shackleton was clearly the perfect man for such a desperate trek to safety. We can only stand in awe of his achievements, so much so that we almost forget that he never actually reached the south pole in his life-time.

There are many helpful insights into Shackleton's leadership style, which any young "leader" (in business or in any team structure) would find helpful - BUT - and it is a big but - We are fools to imagine that all of life is like Shackleton's adventure down south!!! This is where the book is a bit simplistic and seems to offer us too much. We must remember that Shackleton was famous as the man who escaped from death in an incredible situation. The other sad aspect of the book is the cartoon cut-out caricature it makes of Robert Scott. I imagine this book draws heavily on the Scott as tyrant, failure myth created almost single-handedly by Roland Huntford (1979 book). Sadly, this pathetic image of Scott has been circulated around the world by Huntford's vitriolic and pathological hatred of Scott, put down in print in his book. So in The Shackleton way, Scott is terrible at just about everything and Shackleton is brilliant! This gets more than a bit galling after a time. So sometimes one feels the book is a bit simplistic.

Having given that caveat, I imagine that almost anyone interested in either team-work, leadership or antarctic exploration will not enjoy this book - just keep thinking as you read and don't fall for the "Shackleton is the greatest ever" spin!

PS - If you want an excellent biography of Scott - Ranulph Fiennes, "Captain Scott," is 1st rate.

Masterpiece on Leadership
What makes a leader? Reading this book will not give you a "final answer" but will get you quite close....

Indeed, no-one (or book or otherwise) could claim to have a comprehensive and concluding view of the leadership conundrum. Leadership is part of the essence of humanity, as much coming from innate character as acquired by learning and experience.

Shackleton's way gives us a "phenomenological" representation of leadership: a view of a leader in action from which we can take our own lessons.

There are indeed many checklists in this book, conveniently at the end of most chapters, to summarise "Shackleton's Way" to Leadership. Yet the best and most enduring lessons will be learnt by going through the book, trying to get into the shoes of Mr Shackleton and his people stranded on the Antarctica ice pack, with their misery, their pain and their joys for their infrequent - but crucial! - successes. Their journey offers one of the best testimony of what Leadership is all about.

Get through this book, and I will be very hard pressed to believe it will not make a lasting difference in your way of understanding Leadership in the future.