The White Darkness by David Grann
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager, a thrilling and powerful true story of adventure and obsession in the Antarctic, lavishly illustrated with color photographs.
Henry Worsley was a devoted husband and father and a decorated British special forces officer who believed in honor and sacrifice. He was also a man obsessed. He spent his life idolizing Ernest Shackleton, the nineteenth-century polar explorer, who tried to become the first person to reach the South Pole, and later sought to cross Antarctica on foot. Shackleton never completed his journeys, but he repeatedly rescued his men from certain death, and emerged as one of the greatest leaders in history.
Worsley felt an overpowering connection to those expeditions. He was related to one of Shackleton’s men, Frank Worsley, and spent a fortune collecting artifacts from their epic treks across the continent. He modeled his military command on Shackleton’s legendary skills and was determined to measure his own powers of endurance against them. He would succeed where Shackleton had failed, in the most brutal landscape in the world.
In 2008, Worsley set out across Antarctica with two other descendants of Shackleton’s crew, battling the freezing, desolate landscape, life-threatening physical exhaustion, and hidden crevasses. Yet when he returned home he felt compelled to go back. On November 13, 2015, at age 55, Worsley bid farewell to his family and embarked on his most perilous quest: to walk across Antarctica alone. David Grann tells Worsley’s remarkable story with the intensity and power that have led him to be called “simply the best narrative nonfiction writer working today.” Illustrated with more than fifty stunning photographs from Worsley’s and Shackleton’s journeys, The White Darkness is both a gorgeous keepsake volume and a spellbinding story of courage, love, and a man pushing himself to the extremes of human capacity.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #29: Set in the Arctic or Antarctic)
The Reason
I needed a book for the 2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge prompt, but I also really liked the author’s other work, Killers of the Flower Moon, and wanted to read more of his books.
The Quotes
“Passion for something can easily tip into obsession, which is a dangerous thing, especially when those affected are they very people who so loyally stand and wait.”
“Men go out into the void spaces of the world for various reasons. Some are actuated simply by a love of adventure, some have the keen thirst for scientific knowledge, and others again are drawn away from the trodden paths by the ‘lure of little voices,’ the mysterious fascination of the unknown.”
“Death is Nature’s way of telling you you’ve failed.”
“First, optimism; second, patience; third, physical endurance; fourth, idealism; fifth and last, courage.”
My Thoughts
I’ve always been fascinated by tales of explorers and adventurers who boldly go where no one has gone before. I have absolutely no interest in extreme adventuring myself, so I feel safe reading about their harrowing exploits knowing that I will never suffer what they suffer. Part of what fascinates me is the psychology of it; why do they feel this need to explore, why do they feel this need to push their bodies to the extremes? I truly respect the kind of passion and dedication that a person must have to take these challenges on, and it is helpful in motivating me to do the little things even if that’s all I can do.
This is a short book and I think I would’ve benefitted from more knowledge of the initial Shackleton expedition because this book doesn’t go deep into it and focuses more on the more recent Antarctica expeditions with Henry Worsley and a couple of other descendents of Shackleton’s original crew. Reading about the descendents of Shackleton’s original crew trying to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps felt really meaningful, and then after when Worsley makes the trip on his own as well. I also loved the photos included in the book.
Several of the author’s other books are already on my TBR; The Wager, and The Lost City of Z, but now I’m going to be adding more books about Shackleton and the Endurance to the TBR too.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
