Levison Wood - Endurance: 100 Tales of Survival, Adventure and Exploration

ENDURANCE

100 TALES OF SURVIVAL, ADVENTURE
AND EXPLORATION

THE ART OF THE GLIMPSE
100 Irish Short Stories
Chosen by Sinad Gleeson

THE BIG BOOK OF CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES
The Very Best Yuletide Whodunnits
Chosen by Otto Penzler

DEADLIER
100 of the Best Crime Stories Written by Women
Chosen by Sophie Hannah

DESIRE
100 of Literatures Sexiest Stories
Chosen by Mariella Frostrup and the Erotic Review

FOUND IN TRANSLATION
100 of the Finest Short Stories Ever Translated
Chosen by Frank Wynne

FUNNY HA, HA
80 of the Funniest Stories Ever Written
Chosen by Paul Merton

GHOST
100 Stories to Read With the Lights On
Chosen by Louise Welsh

HOUSE OF SNOW
An Anthology of the Greatest Writing About Nepal
Chosen by Ed Douglas

JACK THE RIPPER
The Ultimate Compendium of the Legacy and Legend of Historys Most Notorious Killer
Chosen by Otto Penzler

LIFE SUPPORT
100 Poems to Reach for on Dark Nights
Chosen by Julia Copus

OF GODS AND MEN
100 Stories from Ancient Greece and Rome
Chosen by Daisy Dunn

QUEER
A Collection of LGBTQ Writing from Ancient Times to Yesterday
Chosen by Frank Wynne

SHERLOCK
Over 80 Stories Featuring the Greatest Detective of all Time
Chosen by Otto Penzler

THAT GLIMPSE OF TRUTH
100 of the Finest Short Stories Ever Written
Chosen by David Miller

THE TIME TRAVELLERS ALMANAC
100 Stories Brought to You From the Future
Chosen by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer

THE STORY
100 Great Short Stories Written by Women
Chosen by Victoria Hislop

WE, ROBOTS
Artificial Intelligence in 100 Stories
Chosen by Simon Ings

THE WILD ISLES
An Anthology of the Best of British and Irish Nature Writing
Chosen by Patrick Barkham

WILD WOMEN
and their Amazing Adventures Over Land, Sea & Air
Chosen by Mariella Frostrup

ENDURANCE

100 TALES OF SURVIVAL, ADVENTURE
AND EXPLORATION

LEVISON WOOD

www.headofzeus.com

First published in the UK in 2022 by Head of Zeus Ltd,
part of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Copyright in the compilation and introductory material
Levison Wood, 2022

The moral right of Levison Wood to be identified as the editor of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 .

The moral right of the contributing authors of this anthology to be identified as such is asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 .

The list of individual titles and respective copyrights on constitutes an extension of this copyright page.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

All excerpts have been reproduced according to the styles found in the original works. As a result, some spellings and accents used can vary throughout this anthology.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN (HB) 9781801102568
ISBN (E) 9781801102582

Head of Zeus Ltd

58 Hardwick Street

London EC R RG
WWW . HEADOFZEUS . COM

For all those who never gave up

A remarkable thing happened while I was compiling this anthology. One hundred and seven years after the sinking of the famed ship Endurance in cold, Antarctic seas, its wreckage was discovered on none other than the one hundredth anniversary of the death of its captain, Sir Ernest Shackleton. The story of this ships demise has gone down in history as one of the greatest displays of leadership, courage and perseverance of all time. It has inspired countless people and was one of the influences for me to create this book.

In 1915, Shackleton and his team of twenty-seven men embarked on an expedition to be the first to cross the South Pole. On their way, their ship became trapped in pack ice in the most treacherous and freezing ocean in the world slowly crushing the hull. It seemed there was no way out. Yet Shackleton and his men persisted in their quest to survive. After a dark and difficult winter, they were forced to abandon their sinking ship and camp on the floe. When the sea ice finally started melting, they began their escape, rowing in lifeboats to Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others continued rowing for a further 800 miles to South Georgia to get help, and returned to rescue their crew. Almost two years after they set off, all of them made it home alive. Against all the odds, Shackleton managed to turn a seemingly catastrophic situation into a miraculous success.

This new, thrilling chapter in the story has been called the most difficult shipwreck discovery of all time. The ship was found perfectly preserved, standing almost upright, with its name still emblazoned in gold on its hull, some 10,000 feet at the bottom of the icy Weddell Sea. Shackletons tale is so far removed from most peoples lives, yet it resonates with many as a blueprint for resilience and leadership. These are qualities it is possible for every human to possess.

This anthology is filled with stories of courage and heroism. I think, even from this one example, it is clear why tales of endurance are so powerful. Stories are a force to educate and inspire, to make you curious about what drives others to do extraordinary things. For as long as I can remember, Ive had a burning desire to explore to learn and to understand and I can say that much of this desire can be attributed to storytelling. I have always devoured books of all kinds, but especially those about history, exploration, or great feats of survival. As a child, I would sneak into my fathers study and select the most heroic or gruesome accounts I could find. My parents were both teachers and introduced me to some of the great works of history. I was instantly enamoured, my eyes wide and open to the incredible tales on the pages in front of me, filled with lessons in survival, determination and exceptional courage. The stories that most fascinated me were those that spoke of the enduring nature of the human spirit.

I came across the Odyssey as soon as I could read and was hooked by the tales of great adventure and discovery in verse. As most kids are, I was thrilled by monsters, Greek Gods and heroes the terrifying Cyclops and the Sirens who lured men to their doom. I have re-read it many times since and what grips me is the sheer perseverance of Odysseuss two-decade-long journey and fight for survival. I think, as humans, we are innately drawn to stories of people defying the odds. It reminds us of what we are capable of. Theres no fakery, no faade, and in those stories, deep truths about human nature are revealed.

When I was first asked to create this anthology, I was faced with the daunting task of selecting which books and excerpts to include. I cannot say that I had a method for this process, other than that each of these books has, at some point or another in my life, taught me a valuable lesson about the human spirit. I would be the first to admit that this is not an exhaustive list of the most important, influential, or fascinating stories of human endurance ever written. There are millions of stories out there, happening every day, that could fall under this theme and there are many more books that I wanted to include and simply did not have the space. But I hope that the ones I have chosen will resonate with you as they did with me. For I truly believe that some of the most important lessons in life can be derived from the pages of great literature; the seeds of an idea or the spark of inspiration can spring off of a page and be the catalyst for lifelong passions and we can further our understanding of the world by viewing it through the eyes of another.