On Assignment: Memoir of a National Geographic Filmmaker

Jim and Elaine Larison spent years studying, exploring, and living in wild places, making more than thirty environmental films, most for the National Geographic Society. These films won more than forty international awards from leading environmental and broadcast organisations. This memoir tells the story behind the adventure and describes the rather substantial personal costs of this career.

While shooting film in Alaska, Jim Larison narrowly survived a devastating airplane crash in the Bering Sea. Later, while filming on the Great Barrier Reef, the Larisons fought off an aggressive twelve-foot tiger shark. Midway through their careers, the Larisons were nearly swept to their deaths by an icefall while filming on Mount Robson. A thrilling adventure story, full of risk and personal conflict, On Assignment is also a touching look at the tender bonds that held the married couple together while they struggled to complete their many film assignments.

The Larisons were changed by what they saw and what they captured on film: the destruction of forests, the death of coral reefs, and global warming. In the beginning, the Larisons wanted nothing more than to spend time in the wilderness.

‘Excellent and profoundly moving. James Larison is a master storyteller who’s produced an adventure yarn and love story as deeply rewarding as his best films. On Assignment is insightful and inspiring, honest, engaging, and most of all, immensely entertaining.’ - Kevin Grange, author of Wild Rescues: A Paramedic’s Extreme Adventures in Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Teton