The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was perhaps the most ambitious, elaborate, and self-assured of all British attempts to conquer the South Pole. Like the others, it ended in disaster when the Endeavour became trapped in the ice and was subsequently crushed, leaving its crew stranded in Antarctica, seemingly condemned to a slow and cruel death. Faced with extraordinary adversities, Shackleton, the leader of the expedition, decided on the only course that might save them: a 700-mile journey in a small boat across the wild Southern Ocean in the vain hope of reaching the only human settlement within reach: a small whaling station on the rugged, ice-covered island of South Georgia. South tells the story of the entire remarkable expedition and of Shackleton's journey to rescue his men—one of the greatest navigational feats ever recorded.