My penguin year Life among the emperors

Award-winning wildlife photographer McCrae's memoir, which chronicles his nearly year-long trip to observe the lives of Antarctica's emperor penguins, is a companion of sorts to BBC Earth's Dynasties. Readers will laugh, cry, wince, and even bristle at the incredible word-pictures McCrae paints of the birds' courting, births, and deaths. Interspersed with his observations of penguin habits and habitats are stories from his personal life; his wife, Becky, gives birth to their son while he's away, and he learns, slowly, of the patience and endurance required in temperatures of negative 50 degrees Celsius. Sharing well-documented science almost passively, McCrae, infuses his descriptions with plenty of scientific information, as well as compassion. Scenes of egg-laying, chick-hatching, and the inevitable struggles for survival in a world threatened by major climate change are especially unforgettable. Includes photographs not seen at time of review.--Barbara Jacobs Copyright 2019 Booklist

Filmmaker McCrae energetically relates the 11 months he spent living in Antarctica filming a colony of emperor penguins for the BBC in this swift, but surface-level, debut. McCrae's choice to travel to Antarctica while his wife was expecting their first child allows him to contrast his own experience with that of the birds he's filming, as the females leave their unhatched eggs in the care of their mates as they depart to feed in advance of the birth of the next generation of penguins. However, the comparison falls flat and does not achieve the hoped-for feeling of kinship among species. McCrae is at his best when simply relating his experience of natural wonders, such as when the penguins all huddle together in the face of a threatening storm, a collective action which presents him with a "seemingly motionless mosaic of row upon row of emperors." Despite brief expressions of concern for the future of the Arctic world, most references to the changing climate are surprisingly oblique for such an existential crisis. Beautifully captured individual moments won't be enough to allow the reader to entirely warm up to this uneven Antarctic tale. (Nov.)

Natural history cameraman McCrae, winner of the 2019 BAFTA award in Factual Photography, spent his childhood observing the wildlife of England's Lake District, which led to his appearance, at age 14, on the BBC wildlife program Springwatch. He later secured a job as a runner at Springwatch, which led to camera assistant job, and then had a freelance career filming wildlife in the UK and abroad. When the BBC offers McCrae his dream job, filming emperor penguins in Antarctica, there's a catch: The job requires an 11-month commitment with no possibility of leaving Antarctica for eight of those months. McCrae accepts the job and begins a year of training and testing camera equipment, and then travels to Germany's Neumayer III research station. McCrae shares the joy and heartbreak of filming the penguins from their march to their breeding grounds to their courtship, egg laying, and raising chicks. VERDICT With beautifully 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.--Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove, IL