Description
‘A dramatic saga forged by passion, honesty and a rare skill as a naturalist and film-maker.
Twelve men have walked on the moon. But how many have spent an entire season with the Emperors in Antarctica? Maybe more, likely less. Lindsay McCrae has – and this is his wonderful and frank story. There are lines of penguins and blizzards, but there’s also the emotional turmoil of being separated from his home, his new wife and his unborn child. All his musings and observations combine to produce a compelling tale of the man, those extraordinary birds and that lonely place at the end of the earth.
So turn off the heating, put on your gloves and head deep south into a frozen land of dreams and nightmares, all played out in the world of beautiful Emperors’
–Chris Packham
Emperor penguins have the most extraordinary lifecycle. They march up to 100 miles over solid ice to reach their breeding grounds. They choose to breed in the depths of the worst winter on the planet; and in an unusual role reversal, the males incubate the eggs, fasting for over 100 days to ensure they introduce their chicks safely into their new frozen world.
My Penguin Year recounts award-winning cameraman Lindsay McCrae’s adventure to the end of the Earth, spending a year filming the most resilient creatures in nature. He had to overcome the inevitable sacrifices that came with living his childhood dream; facing down the personal obstacles of being over 15,000km away from the comforts of home almost proved too much. Out of that experience he has written an unprecedented portrait of Antarctica’s most extraordinary residents.