When their ship draws near the Island of South Georgia, Leah Carlberg senses immediately that something is wrong. What she witnesses on the remote whaling station shocks her—a brutal industry operating far from the eyes of the world. Faced with the destruction unfolding before her, Leah makes a life-altering decision: she will escape this place, leave her parents behind, and never return. But an unexpected turn of events shatters her plans, trapping her in circumstances she never imagined.

Nineteen-year-old Jack Robinson faces a dilemma of his own. Torn between duty and desire, he must decide whether to remain behind with the girl he has come to love or rejoin the crew of the Endurance, who depend on him for their survival. The choice weighs heavily, made even more painful by the absence of his brother, who has abandoned the ship to fight in the growing war against Germany—somewhere on a battlefield in France. Jack must face his decision alone.

In the opening days of World War I, the sailing ship Endurance departs England bound for the distant Southern Ocean. Its mission is bold and dangerous: a team of explorers will attempt to cross the vast, uncharted continent of Antarctica—more than 1,800 miles on foot with sleds and dogs—in what is known as the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
Yet as Europe turns its attention toward war, this epic journey fades from public view, nearly forgotten.

The Endurance is in dire straits. She and her crew had sailed from the Island of South Georgia in December 1914, to land on the icy shores of Antarctica. Now, months later, she is beset in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea. Ernest Shackleton, the famed Antarctic explorer, is in a struggle to free the ship before it’s crushed and shipwrecked.

Jack Robinson and his new friend, Perce Blackborow, find solace and strength in each other as they battle the fierce cold and ice. Their youth and inexperience has caused trouble, and some of the expedition members look down on them now. These inner struggles of fear and self confidence, and pressure from an antagonist on the ship, Marlow, will soon reach the boiling point. 

Leah Carlberg saw her whirlwind romance with Jack torn apart by forces beyond her control. Now, while battling the demons of hopelessness and despair, she has turned her anger onto the brutal harvesting of whales on this desolate island. 

Meanwhile, a half a world away, Jack’s older brother Edward, struggles to survive on the battlefields of Europe in the Great War.  

The early twentieth century marked a turning point in human history. The long European Age of Discovery was drawing to a close, and its final chapter—known as the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration—pushed explorers into the last uncharted regions of the world. At the same time, rapid industrial progress was transforming daily life. Advances in manufacturing, transportation, housing, and agriculture reshaped societies in ways that continue to influence the modern world. Yet these same forces also carried unintended consequences.

This era saw the rise of mechanized warfare during World War I, introducing weapons and tactics that changed conflict forever. Industrial expansion and resource extraction placed new pressures on fragile ecosystems, altering landscapes and biodiversity in ways that were not yet fully understood. Exploration, innovation, ambition, and conflict existed side by side, revealing both the promise and the limits of human progress.

Endurance: Exploring Antarctica is designed to help students examine this complex moment in history through story-driven learning. Used alongside the graphic novels Endurance: The Frozen Keep and Endurance: The Beckoning Shore, this workbook invites students to slow down and look beneath the surface of the narrative. As they follow the expedition, students explore historical context, scientific realities, and moral questions surrounding the journey.

Throughout the workbook, learners are encouraged to think critically, ask thoughtful questions, and reflect on choices made by individuals facing uncertainty, helping them connect history, science, geography, and character development to the world they inhabit today.