'An ode to one of the world’s best-loved birds' Harper’s Bazaar

'The perfect book for the penguin person in your life' Daunt Books

'A joy' Horatio Clare, The Spectator

‘Electrifyingly charismatic’ Dan Snow, author of On This Day in History

‘The world's best-loved bird from the world's best-known publisher – what's not to like?’ Stephen Moss, author of The Bird Biography series

'Simply wonderful. If you like feeling joy, you'll love this book' Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree

‘Beautifully written and illustrated’ Matt Merritt, Editor of Bird Watching

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A charming and beautifully illustrated book about the world’s most beloved bird, written by Peter Fretwell, a leading scientist at The British Antarctic Survey, and illustrated by Lisa Fretwell.

There’s something about penguins that makes them irresistible. Maybe it’s their comical waddle, their black-and-white ‘tuxedo’ plumage, or their apparent cheerfulness in the face of extreme weather conditions. Whatever the reason, their cult following around the globe is indisputable. Penguins can tell us so much about the world we live in – and what the future of both our species might look like.

In The Penguin Book of Penguins, leading British Antarctic scientist Peter Fretwell introduces us to eighteen charismatic species of penguin and the fascinating lives they lead: their evolution, behaviours and habitats, and their history with humans. From the fact that emperor penguins dive twice as deep as any other bird, to the story of a king penguin called Sir Nils Olav III who was made a Major General by the Norwegian Army, we discover through fascinating first-hand encounters (and even penguin jokes and emojis!) why penguins matter so greatly to all of us.

The world's best-loved bird from the world's best-known publisher - what's not to like?! -- Stephen Moss * author of The Bird Biography Series *
Penguins are at once the most iconic of birds, and the least familiar, to those of us who have never visited the frozen south – this beautifully written and illustrated book is just what is needed to change the latter. Packed with information, from the purely scientific to the broadly cultural, it is admirably thorough but always utterly readable, and brings to vivid life an extraordinary avian family -- Matt Merritt * Editor of Bird Watching *
Simply wonderful! If you like feeling joy, you'll love this book. How have we managed without it? -- Tristan Gooley * author of How to Read a Tree *
Wedge-winged waddlers on land; sublime swimmers in southern seas, penguins are some of the most popular birds in all the world. This ace, accessible celebration of all the species - from Kings to Emperors, Gentoos to Macaroons - deftly mixes natural history and human history to explain both their enduring appeal and the many challenges they face -- Jon Gower * author of Birdland *
Always work with penguins. They are electrifyingly charismatic. When you run out of things to say or film, just cut to a penguin. The audience love them. It’s the Penguin Rule. Glad to see Penguin have embraced it in style -- Dan Snow * author of On This Day in History *
A lovely paean to penguins. Fretwell’s fascination for these birds is infectious and you come away from reading this warm, encyclopaedic book full of wonder for the penguins and the unique ways these birds have adapted to survive in some the most extreme places on the planet -- James Macdonald Lockhart * author of Raptor *
Beguilingly illustrated by Lisa Fretwell -- Horatio Clare * The Spectator *
Celebrate 90 years of a publishing powerhouse with an ode to one of the world’s best-loved birds, written by the polar scientist Peter Fretwell and illustrated by his artist wife Lisa * Harper's Bazaar *
In a perfect match of form and function one of the world’s favourite publishers delivers the last word on one of the world’s favourite birds. Peter Fretwell, the lead scientist at the British Antarctic Survey and his wife Lisa Fretwell, an artist and teacher, have produced a charming, beautifully-illustrated handbook on all things penguin. Rich with science, history and first-hand encounters this is the perfect book for the penguin person in your life * Daunt Books *
Peter Fretwell writes with concision and a lightness of touch which make absorbing complicated facts about penguins a joy -- Horatio Clare * The Spectator *

DR PETER FRETWELL is an award-winning cartographer and lead scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, renowned for being a world expert in emperor penguins. He pioneered the use of satellite imagery to find and monitor polar wildlife, which led to him discovering more than half of the world’s emperor penguin colonies. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has completed six field seasons in Antarctica. In 2020, he published the award-winning book Antarctic Atlas, which was a Financial Times Book of the Year.

LISA FRETWELL has been a working artist and teacher for over twenty-five years. She has exhibited her work in the Smith’s Gallery in London and in New York. She produced the line drawings and edited the book Antarctic Atlas alongside Peter.