Description
This book, like the BBC television series on which
it is based, is an attempt to give us a history of
nature rather than a conventional natural history,
and it is told as much as possible in. terms of
animals and plants alive today. The result is a
pageant of Iife – a re-enactment of 3,500 million
years of history with a cast of characters drawn
from the whole range of life on earth today.
The book’s thirteen chapters cover all the
major events in the evolution of life: the first
multi-celled creatures; the move from sea to land,
and from land to air; the development of warm-
blooded animals; and the evolution of man him-
self. As the narrative unfolds, the extraordinary
manifestations of evolving life become apparent.
David Attenborough shows throughout how we
can only understand these by looking at the basic
nature of the creature itself, and at the limitations
its structure imposes, as well as at the environment
in which it lives. The South American frog which
hatches its young under the skin of its back so that
they emerge like animated warts; the lizard which
stands pointing north to south or east to west
according to the time of day; the Bower Bird with
a predilection for blue objects and a violent
aversion to white ones; the horseshoe crabs which
indulge in annual mass orgies on the New England
beaches; the gorilla, famed for its terrifying charges,
but which received the author into its family group
as gently as a lamb; all these and many more can
be seen to conform to the same basic rules of
evolution.
Finally, man himself is examined, both as an
integral part of life on earth, and as the species
whose unique cultural evolution has made him
responsible for the future of all living things.
David Attenborough writes with great vivid-
ness, clarity and perception, and the illustrations,
taken by some of the world’s leading wildlife
photographers, do full justice to the text. This
book is a permanent record of one of the most
ambitious projects ever undertaken by British
television. It will become a standard introduction
to natural history, as well as a source of fascina-
tion for anyone with an interest in the most awe-
some of all stories – the story oflife itself.
David Attenborough has twenty-five years ex-
perience as author and broadcaster. After study-
ing zoology at Cambridge, he made his first trip to
West Africa, to film animals in 1954. As he writes
in his introduction, the experience was “a revela-
tion of the splendour and fecundity of the natural
world from which I have never recovered”. For
the next ten years, he made annual expeditions
which resulted in a series of programmes and
books, called Zoo Quest. Despite his appointment
as controller of BBC 2 in 1965, and the ensuing
eight years of administrative work, there has
hardly been a year when he has not travelled to
some part of the world to study and film animals.
Life on Earth is undoubtedly the most ambi-
tious project he has yet undertaken. Filming of
the r j-part television series took three years and
involved the author and television crews in 1-1
million miles of travel. Although he is best known
as a presenter of wildlife programmes, David
Attenborough has made several films on anthro-
pology as well as appearing on BBC 2’s popular
Face the Music. He is also actively concerned with
nature conservation.
Jacket photographs. Front: Tree Frog, Panama.
David Attenborough. Back: The author with
sea lions, on location in the Galapagos. John
Sparkes.
Book Description: Book Club Associates, London, 1979. Hard Cover. Book Condition: Very Good to excellent. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good. Book Club (BCE/BOMC). This BCA edition publised by arrangement with William Collins (London) to coincide with the ground-breaking and much acclaimed BBC Television natural history series of the same name. The book is in pristine condition as is the very good to near fine D/J. Pages are crisp and clean. Profusely illustrated in full colour. 319pp. including index.