Description

Lab Girl meets Why Fish Dont Exist in this compelling blend of memoir environmental writing and scientific exploration Kirkus Reviews from a young scientist studying penguins in Antarcticaa firsthand account of the beauty and brutality of this remote climate the direct effects of climate change on animals and the challenges of fieldwork

Offering a dramatic captivating window into a onceinalifetime experience The Last Cold Place details Naira de Gracias time living and working in a remote outpost in Antarctica alongside seals penguins and a small crew of fellow field workers In one of the most inhospitable environments in the world for humans anyway Naira follows a generation of chinstrap penguins from their parents return to shore to build nests from pebbles until the chicks themselves are old enough to head out to sea

Naira describes the life cycle of a funny engaging colony of chinstrap penguins whose food source krill or small crustaceans is powerfully affected by the changing ocean in lively and entertaining anecdotes Weaving together the history of Antarctic exploration with climate science field observations and her own personal journey of growth and reflection The Last Cold Place illuminates the complex place that Antarctica holds in our cultural imaginationand offers a rare glimpse into life on this uninhabited continent