Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton attempted to cross the continent of the Antarctic with 27 other men. I won't spoil it by letting you know that they didn't make it, the back of the book openly informs us of this. This story is not about crossing the Antarctic, it's about the survival of 28 men who, quite honestly, should have all perished on more than one occassion during their time spent in the ridiculously harsh conditions they endured.

Alfred Lansing tells the tale, which is totally non-fiction, in such a manner that huge adversities and mammoth obstacles are described in an almost monotone fashion. If he were to use the biggest and toughest words to describe each new event that threatened the crewmen's lives, then by page 30 all available adjectives would have been exhausted. Instead, the story is told in a simple factual manner, but you often find yourself stopping mid-sentence to take a moment to digest what you have just read, and on numerous occassions I found it mind-boggling that at the end of all this everyone makes it out alive.

This book takes leadership and a will to survive to a whole new level, the likes of which I will hopefully never experience in my lifetime. Read this book, it's inspiring.