David Attenborough - Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster

It's one of the most inspiring books I've read, extremely well narrated by the Sir. Attenborough. It's not one of the boring memoirs where you start with childhood and go on. You'll like it if you like Sir. Attenborough's work, nature, or want to find out how nature films are made. I loved the witty style of writing and the subtle jokes. It made me think of childhood dreams when I wanted to be an explorer and study animals and have my own natural reservation and it made me want to get up and run to the park to look at birds ans squirrels, which I did. Any book that can do this is a great book, in my opinion.

I've listened to many really great audiobooks, but I think this is probably my favourite so far.

As well as covering the flora and fauna for which Attenborough is most famous, this is a fascinating insight into the early life of the BBC, the technical challenges of dragging 16mm cameras through rain forests, and a whole variety of other unexpected treasures.

Very highly recommended.

This is the first time I have ever given a book 5 Stars. Anyone reading this review should bear in mind that I am English and the Attenborough experience delivers nostalgic recall of evenings sitting in front of the family's black and white TV while his programs were the highlight of the week. Yes...I am biassed!

Even so, who ever thought that DA had such a sense of humor and knew instinctively how to write and tell a story; i was in stitches at least 50 times. His English is unfussy, grammatically sound and so easy to understand. His humility is admirable; his subject fascinating; his absorption with his professional career quite enviable. His enjoyment of colleagues has a charm all its own. His love of animals is, of course, a constant rumble though the Chapters. All comes across with the resounding clarity of the trained broadcaster's voice. His respect for others who lived to make a difference in broadcast media simmers constantly. His association with such landmark projects as 'The Ascent of Man', 'Civilization', 'Bicentennial' and others underlines DA's sense of what is important, what should be recorded in the annuls of man. His comments on the pace of change of media technology and its impact on his work remind us how far we've come in 70 decades. Yes...DA has been around, working in broadcsating, for 70 decades.

Thoroughly enjoyable; I shall search his other writings the moment I close the last page.

Possibly the very best audiobook I have downloaded. Fascinating on so many different levels such as the start of television documentaries, the primitive nature of the equipment and what went on to get the superb images. How "sledgehammer" productions such as Life on Earth came about, the research and time required and the care the whole crew put in to get the images just right. All delivered with clarity of speech and an obvious concern for the people and animals encountered over 50 years of tv production. Simply wonderful.

I've listened to many really great audiobooks, but I think this is probably my favourite so far.

As well as covering the flora and fauna for which Attenborough is most famous, this is a fascinating insight into the early life of the BBC, the technical challenges of dragging 16mm cameras through rain forests, and a whole variety of other unexpected treasures.

Very highly recommended.

I did enjoy the book, liked listening to how shows were filmed and the expeditions. But for the first time I wanted to be able to speed a book up and could not. I have enjoyed David's adventures but wanted to read the book at a faster pace.

This book will satisfy your craving for the inside story of many of the iconic programs presented by the legendary broadcaster. What I found particularly interesting were the unexpected anecdotes: How snooker may well owe its popularity to Attenborough. General Montgomery's tales of Churchill urinating in the Rhine. Attenborough directing the Queen's New Year message. Etc. Great stuff!!

This was a really entertaining listen. It didn’t really hold too many surprises. David Attenborough is a great speaker and of course he narrates his own story to his usual impeccably high standards. It begins with the early days of television, with big clumsy noisy cameras and an industry finding its way with the new technology, learning by its many mistakes.

Over the next 50 years Attenborough makes more and more programmes with a naturalist focus, including the classic Life on Earth and many subsequent series about different groups of animals and their environments.

By the end, the author felt that he had filmed a full set, and had filmed every major group of living creature on the planet. Although he seems very modest and genteel, and tells his tales with stereotypical British understatement, he was actually an intrepid adventurer who put himself in significant danger on multiple occasions, and this makes for great listening.

19 hours is just not enough to cover such a prolific career. I was worried this might be a bit slow, but found in the end that I still had a few questions and could have happily listened for another few hours. Written with humility and a sense of humor. Extra good if you like animals.

The story was very interesting, and David Attenborough's reading of it was excellent. the only issue is that some of the anecdotes have been used in other books published on this site, for example his bbc sties. But in general a very enjoyable listen.