Where the Earth Meets the Sky - A Story of Penguins, People, and Place in Antarctica

A stunning work of natural history, science and polar travelogue, Where the Earth Meets the Sky chronicles one woman's journey to study penguins in Antarctica, the most isolated place on the planet.

Antarctica is a land of extremes. It is the coldest, windiest, and most inaccessible part of our planet—and now one of the places most affected by climate change. In this moving and personal narrative, conservation scientist Louise K. Blight recounts her time researching Adélie penguins with one of the world’s great Antarctic scientists.

Surrounded by hostile weather and the hypnotic splendour of Antarctica’s Ross Island, Louise and pioneering penguin biologist David Ainley embark upon their research—documenting how the Earth’s largest-ever iceberg is affecting the tens of thousands of breeding penguins rushing to mate and rear their young. She records details of penguin courtship, incubation, and chick-rearing against a backdrop of transcendent beauty. The narrative is interwoven with stories of early explorers and modern-day Ant­arcticans, and poetically conveys the isolation and the endless silence that ultimately allow Louise to explore the grief that has lingered since the untimely deaths of her father and sister.

Blending polar travelogue, science, and natural history, Where the Earth Meets the Sky is an unforget­table story about how the world’s most unforgiving environment has shaped the psyches of Antarctica’s human visitors, past and present—and how an immersion in nature can provide solace and renewal.