Empire Antarctica: Ice Silence & Emperor Penguins (9780099565963)

* WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2013 *
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n*Shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Biography Prize*
n* Shortlisted for the 2013 RSL Ondaatje Prize *
n* Shortlisted for Banff Adventure Travel Prize *
n* Shortlisted for Saltire Book of the Year Award * 
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nGavin Francis fulfilled a lifetime's ambition when he spent fourteen months as the base-camp doctor at Halley, a profoundly isolated British research station on the Caird Coast of Antarctica. So remote, it is said to be easier to evacuate a casualty from the International Space Station than it is to bring someone out of Halley in winter.
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nAntarctica offered a year of unparalleled silence and solitude, with few distractions and very little human history, but also a rare oppurtunity to live among emperor penguins, the only species truly at home in the Antarctic. Following the penguins throughout the year -- from a summer of perpetual sunshine to months of winter darkness -- Gavin Francis explores a world of great beauty conjured from the simplest elements, the hardship of living at 50 DegreesC below zero and the unexpected comfort that the penguin community bring.