My Penguin Year: Life Among the Emperors

by Lindsay McCrae Narrated by Lindsay McCrae

Overview

An unprecedentedly intimate portrait of an emperor penguin colony in Antarctica, by a Bafta Award-winning BBC director of photography who observed these extraordinary birds for a year. This is the ultimate gift for any penguin or nature lover.

For 337 consecutive days, Lindsay McCrae followed 4,000 emperor penguins amid the singular beauty of Antarctica, chronicling their remarkable year-long journey of life, death, and birth. McCrae was there as the director of photography for the acclaimed BBC series Dynasties (narrated by Sir David Attenborough), for which he won a 2019 Bafta Award. Even in the depths of the Antarctic winter-the harshest environment on earth-McCrae witnessed the most intimate moments of these beloved animals as they sought survival with temperatures reaching 60 degrees below zero.

An unforgettable narrative account that is poised to become a classic of nature writing, My Penguin Year takes readers into the world of the emperor penguin as no book has before. Emperors are the world's largest penguins, and they play the game of life on the highest difficulty level, breeding in pairs on sea ice during the Antarctic winter. After mating, the female penguin lays her egg, and then disappears, not to return for months. The male penguin will starve himself for more than 100 days, incubating the egg in his pouch, while the female heads off in search of food. Finally, the female returns, and, recognizing her original mate by the sound of his call, is reunited with the father and their newly-hatched chick.

Highlights:

A decision to save penguins' lives. McCrae details the difficult decision to break documentary protocol and intervene to save a band of penguins who had become trapped in an icy ravine, sure to die without human intervention.

Becoming a new father while on the ice. While filming the lifecycle of the penguins, McCrae himself became a father. He did not see his son until the child was seven months old.

The emperors' uncertain future. The emperors breed on frozen sea ice. As ocean temperatures rise, their rookeries are endangered-and so too is this extraordinary species. Indeed in April 2019, the New York Times reported that “The Antarctic's second-largest colony of emperor penguins collapsed ... with more than 10,000 chicks lost, and the population has not recovered.”

One year in the wild Antarctic. McCrae's narrative is also wonderfully evokes an extraordinary natural place, from the rare vantage point of someone who has spent every season there.

Wonderfully compelling, filled with surprising depth, insight, and warmth, My Penguin Year is essential listening for animal lovers, amateur naturalists, and fans of true-life adventure tales as well as H is for Hawk and The Shepherd's Life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Reveals the brutal beauty of Antarctica and its most beloved creature." — Christian Science Monitor

“For 337 consecutive days, cameraman Lindsay McCrae made his home among 11,000 emperor penguins. In Antarctica, he watches as the colony experiences birth, death and everything in between. Annotating his photos, he writes of how penguins and humans alike adjust to an environment where temperatures can reach 60 degrees below zero. Filled with color photographs, this is a treasure.” — Los Angeles Times

"Part adventure story, part evocation of the last untouched place on Earth, this is mesmerizing."  — Daily Mail, “Books of the Year”

"Unforgettable. ... Readers will laugh, cry, wince, and even bristle at the incredible word-pictures McCrae paints of the birds' courting, births, and deaths." — Booklist

“A remarkable memoir. … Amid ice, whales, petrels, seals and vast shoals of fish, McCrae followed thousands of emperor penguins for nearly a year. … Most gripping are his fine-tuned observations of these beautiful metre-high birds.” — Nature

"My Penguin Year is an immersive insight into the life of a wildlife filmmaker and the challenges of surviving in the harshest, most unforgiving environment on Earth. ... Evockative" — The Herald (Scotland)

“Twelve men have walked on the moon. But how many have spent an entire season with the Emperors in the frozen south? Lindsay McCrae has, and this is his wonderful story–a dramatic saga forged by passion, honesty, and rare skill.” — Chris Packham, BBC Springwatch presenter 

“A gorgeously illustrated memoir.”  — Telegraph (UK)

"McCrae shares the joy and heartbreak of filming the penguins. ... With beautiful descriptions of the stark landscape, harsh weather conditions, challenges of filming, and isolation during the dark Antarctica winter, this work lovingly and accurately details emperor penguin behavior in an engaging memoir that will appeal to wildlife enthusiasts, adventurers, and armchair travelers." — Library Journal

“A touching story of courage, survival and persistence, My Penguin Year is a must-read for nature lovers and those who enjoy a stirring memoir.” — BookPage

"Delightful and picturesque. ... It's hard not to be enchanted." — Washington Independent Review of Books

“A stunning and often gut-churning account of the lifecycle of thousands of emperor penguins. … An unforgettable, intimate story of survival.” — Shelf Awareness

|Los Angeles Times

For 337 consecutive days, cameraman Lindsay McCrae made his home among 11,000 emperor penguins. In Antarctica, he watches as the colony experiences birth, death and everything in between. Annotating his photos, he writes of how penguins and humans alike adjust to an environment where temperatures can reach 60 degrees below zero. Filled with color photographs, this is a treasure.

Nature Lib

A remarkable memoir. … Amid ice, whales, petrels, seals and vast shoals of fish, McCrae followed thousands of emperor penguins for nearly a year. … Most gripping are his fine-tuned observations of these beautiful metre-high birds.

Telegraph (UK)

A gorgeously illustrated memoir.” 

Christian Science Monitor

"Reveals the brutal beauty of Antarctica and its most beloved creature."

Chris Packham

Twelve men have walked on the moon. But how many have spent an entire season with the Emperors in the frozen south? Lindsay McCrae has, and this is his wonderful story–a dramatic saga forged by passion, honesty, and rare skill.

Daily Mail

"Part adventure story, part evocation of the last untouched place on Earth, this is mesmerizing." 

BookPage

A touching story of courage, survival and persistence, My Penguin Year is a must-read for nature lovers and those who enjoy a stirring memoir.”

Booklist

"Unforgettable. ... Readers will laugh, cry, wince, and even bristle at the incredible word-pictures McCrae paints of the birds' courting, births, and deaths."

The Herald (Scotland)

"My Penguin Year is an immersive insight into the life of a wildlife filmmaker and the challenges of surviving in the harshest, most unforgiving environment on Earth. ... Evockative"

Washington Independent Review of Books

"Delightful and picturesque. ... It's hard not to be enchanted."

Shelf Awareness

A stunning and often gut-churning account of the lifecycle of thousands of emperor penguins. … An unforgettable, intimate story of survival.

Los Angeles Times

"For 337 consecutive days, cameraman Lindsay McCrae made his home among 11,000 emperor penguins. ... He writes of how penguins and humans alike adjust to an environment where temperatures can reach 60 degrees below zero. Filled with color photographs, this is a treasure."

Booklist

"Unforgettable. ... Readers will laugh, cry, wince, and even bristle at the incredible word-pictures McCrae paints of the birds' courting, births, and deaths."

Nature

A remarkable memoir. … Amid ice, whales, petrels, seals and vast shoals of fish, McCrae followed thousands of emperor penguins for nearly a year. … Most gripping are his fine-tuned observations of these beautiful metre-high birds.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173666727
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/12/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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