The Penguin Book of Penguins

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A charming and beautifully illustrated book about the world’s most beloved bird, written by a leading scientist at The British Antarctic Survey, illustrated by his wife.
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.
‘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
‘Beautifully written and illustrated’ Matt Merritt, Editor of Bird Watching
'Simply wonderful. If you like feeling joy, you'll love this book' Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree

© Peter Fretwell and Lisa Fretwell 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

The world's best-loved bird from the world's best-known publisher - what's not to like?!
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
Editor of Bird Watching
Simply wonderful! If you like feeling joy, you'll love this book. How have we managed without it?
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
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
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
author of Raptor

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