A dramatic chronicle of Antarctica's penguins that bears witness to climate changes that foreshadow our own future The towering mountains and iceberg-filled seas of the western Antarctic Peninsula have for three decades formed the backdrop of scientist Bill Fraser's study of Adélie penguins. In that time, this breathtaking region has warmed faster than any place on earth, with profound consequences for the Adélies, the classic tuxedoed penguin that is dependent on sea ice to survive. During the Antarctic spring and summer of 2005-2006, author Fen Montaigne spent five months working on Fraser's field team, and he returned with a moving tale that chronicles the beauty of the wildest place on earth, the lives of the beloved Adélies, the saga of the discovery of the Antarctic Peninsula, and the story—told through Fraser's work—of how rising temperatures are swiftly changing this part of the world. Captivated by the tale of these polar penguins and a memorable field season in Antarctica, readers will come to understand that the fundamental changes Fraser has witnessed in the Antarctic will soon affect our lives. Global warming has already come to the Adélie penguins at Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. Journalist Montaigne spent five months there working with biologist Bill Fraser and his devoted team of wildlife researchers. Fraser attests that much has changed since he first arrived in the polar region in 1975. Temperatures are up, the area’s glaciers have receded, and the ice shelf covering the nearby Wendell Sea has shrunk considerably. Krill that used to thrive under the blue ice are now harder for Adélie penguins to find. Receding ice has also allowed more predatory seals into the area. Sadly, Fraser has watched numerous penguin colonies established over 500 years ago disappear. In this sympathetic firsthand report, Montaigne describes the lives of both the researchers who brave the harsh weather and the penguins whose habitat is quickly becoming inhospitable to their reproduction. Montaigne’s compelling account is a clear and impassioned call for environmental action before the consequences of global warming turn catastrophic worldwide. --Rick Roche "Montaigne is a controlled writer, offering careful and clear explanations of matters technical and lexicographic, biologically microscopic and meteorologically global. But it’s his descriptive prowess, his ability to evoke lavender—and cobalt, magenta and violet—without waxing purple, that most impresses ....  Sometimes telling less reveals more. At other times, Montaigne gives thrilling, blow-by-blow accounts of bird battles and breakups .... Fraser’s Penguins leaves one feeling exhilarated—by these remarkable creatures, the landscape they inhabit and the scientists who’ve devoted their lives to studying both."—Elizabeth Royte, The New York Times Book Review   "Exceptionally poignant. [Montaigne] voices the emotions that inundate everyone who works in this vast wilderness. And he captures details such as the fantastic scenery as the boat picks its way through broken sea ice dotted with resting seals and groups of penguins squint-eyed under a dazzling light."—Yvon Le Maho, Nature   "In this sympathetic firsthand report, Montaigne describes the lives of both the researchers who brave the harsh weather and the penguins whose habitat is quickly becoming inhospitable to their reproduction. Montaigne’s compelling account is a clear and impassioned call for environmental action before the consequences of global warming turn catastrophic worldwide."—Rick Roche, Booklist   "A bittersweet account of the stark beauty of the continent and the climate change that threatens its delicate ecosystem .... Montaigne poetically portrays the daunting Antarctic landscape and gives readers an intimate perspective on its rugged, audacious, and charming penguin and human inhabitants."— PW   "Sobering, fact-based cautionary treatise on the quiet storm of climate change."— Kirkus "A glimpse into the blood-and-guano facts of penguin existence. . . . Montaigne fills Fraser's Penguins with research, both journalistic and scientific, presented in clear, well-wrought sentences."—B.T. Shaw, The Oregonian   "The best books about far-off places make the exotic relatable, make the unimaginable plausible. In Fraser's Penguins , journalist and travel writer Fen Montaigne does both. He puts us up on deck as life-ending stormy waters roil off the coast of Antarctica; puts us on the ice as he's attacked (and describes attacks) by some of the world's most mysterious creatures; bundles us in warmth as we tumble out into an otherworldly, snowy, icy, chilling, breathtaking expanse."—Karen Gaudette, The Seattle Times   "Encompassing geology, biology, chunks of Antarctic history, descriptions of living and working in a bleak and beautiful environment, and personality profiles of those who like being there, Montaigne's book is a fine work of natural history to tell u