The Last Cold Place

A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica

By: Naira de Gracia

Narrated by: Aven Shore

Lab Girl meets Why Fish Don’t Exist in this “compelling blend of memoir, environmental writing, and scientific exploration” (Kirkus Reviews) from a young scientist studying penguins in Antarctica—a firsthand account of the beauty and brutality of this remote climate, the direct effects of climate change on animals, and the challenges of fieldwork.

Offering a dramatic, captivating window into a once-in-a-lifetime experience, The Last Cold Place details Naira de Gracia’s time living and working in a remote outpost in Antarctica alongside seals, penguins, and a small crew of fellow field workers. In one of the most inhospitable environments in the world (for humans, anyway), Naira follows a generation of chinstrap penguins from their parents’ return to shore to build nests from pebbles until the chicks themselves are old enough to head out to sea.

Naira describes the life cycle of a funny, engaging colony of chinstrap penguins whose food source (krill, or small crustaceans) is powerfully affected by the changing ocean in lively and entertaining anecdotes. Weaving together the history of Antarctic exploration with climate science, field observations, and her own personal journey of growth and reflection, The Last Cold Place illuminates the complex place that Antarctica holds in our cultural imagination—and offers a rare glimpse into life on this uninhabited continent.

Critic reviews

"The sounds of penguins chattering and a blowing wind open Naira de Garcia’s audiobook recalling her experiences as a biologist in Antarctica. Aven Shore narrates with de Garcia’s tone of self-deprecation about her life of grime; at the same time, she gently suggests the author’s fascination with the penguins she’s monitoring. Shore conveys the routine of the work even as she revels in de Garcia’s fascination with penguin individuality. Shore sounds sad as she narrates the decline of a seal colony. Occasionally, Shore brings humor to an anecdote such as de Garcia’s discovery of what a washboard is or the adjustments in New Year’s rituals needed in such a challenging locale. Shore surprises listeners late in the audiobook with a dead-on masculine voice as colleague Matt mimics earlier explorers."

A story well told

I enjoyed learning of the benefits of Antarctic research, the dedication and care of the researchers and the lifecycle of the animals.

Fantastic read

An ice-cool escapade into the fascinating world of penguins and Antarctica!

The author's storytelling skills are as sharp as a penguin's beak! They whisk you away on an epic journey filled with fun facts and quirky tales about these adorable creatures.

A vivid experience of science exploration in the Antarctic

This is a book for those who enjoy nonfiction stories of science explorations in exotic places. Gracia takes us on a fascinating journey sharing day to day details of how wildlife studies are conducted, in this case on penguins and seals on an isolated island in the Antarctic. It is these types of studies that will help determine the impacts of climate change and intrusions into this fragile ecosystem in hopes of safeguarding it.

Too Little About Penguins

After reading a review that described the author as the Jane Goodall of Penguins, I expected the book to be primarily about penguins. Instead, the author mostly describes her experience spending five months with four other researchers in a small isolated shack in Antarctica located near two penguin colonies she was studying. She described trudging up and down hills in freezing weather using snowshoes to count penguin nests, eggs, and hatchlings. A few weeks after the eggs hatched, she banded some of the youngsters at the base of their flippers. I recommend this book if you are interested in how it feels to do biological field research in a challenging environment. However, if you are interested in the lives of penguins, I think the book provides too little information about these fascinating birds.