Antarctica is a land still locked in the grip of an ice age, where the sun disappears for months at a time, and temperatures can drop as low as -78[degrees]F. It was the last great region of the world to be discovered, and even today great tracts of Antarctica lie unexplored. In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail aboard his ship Endurance, heading an audacious expedition to cross the continent of Antarctica on foot. It was a failure, but the story that emerged of survival against the odds remains one of the most gripping dramas of all time. Published following "The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition", Shackleton charts the achievements of Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton and many others. It reveals why Scott died while Amundsen survived, and documents Shackleton"s legendary leadership skills as he kept his men from despair when their ship was crushed by ice in 1915.