Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #287728 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Synopsis
Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice desert of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins by the thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Resolute, indomitable, driven by the overpowering urge to reproduce, they cross the frozen continent. And that is where the real story of love and dedication - between penguin mates and penguin parents and their chicks - begins. "March of the Penguins" tells this extraordinary story of love and survival through remarkable photographs taken during the production of the film. Illuminating text elaborates on the film, and a special appendix features behind-the-scenes photos and the story of the film itself, which required 13 arduous months in Antarctica.

Customer Reviews

Stunning Photography. Not Much Else
`March of the Penguins' concerns the annual struggle of the Antarctic's emperor penguin to raise its solitary chick over the nine months of freezing cold. It's an awe-inspiring feat of parent-hood and this book is meant as a companion to the acclaimed big screen production of the same name.

The photography is truly spectacular and there are epic double-page spreads featuring Antarctic vistas as well as single-page and smaller photos featuring more intimate images. One fault is that not all of them are captioned or referred to in the text, while at the same time some things are mentioned that don't have photographs to accompany them. One gets the impression that the words and pictures were done separately with little cooperation.

Furthermore the makers refrain from including any distressing photographs (predation, starvation, death, etc) all of which are be significant features and this really detracts from the book, giving it a slightly `cuddly' feel - as if it is aimed at children who need `protecting' from such scenes.

The text is extremely thin on the ground so in terms of education about the animals and their journey there are other publications which will give you a lot more information. In this sense the book relies too heavily on being simply a companion to the DVD and looses value as a book in its own right.

The awesome photography apart, this book could and should be a lot better and takes barely an hour to read. It is not worth the £11 that amazon charges. A good one to get from `old and new' section.