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David Attenborough - Life on Air  By  cover art

David Attenborough - Life on Air

By: David Attenborough
Narrated by: David Attenborough
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Publisher's summary

David Attenborough reads his own bestselling memoir

David Attenborough is the acknowledged voice of nature, loved and revered worldwide for his groundbreaking wildlife documentaries. Over the course of his long BBC career, David has risen from trainee producer to award-winning film-maker, and in Life on Air, he tells the extraordinary stories of the people and animals he has met along the way.

We hear of his earliest days in television; his stint as Controller of BBC2, during which he introduced colour TV to Britain; and his encounters with luminaries such as Montgomery, Anthony Eden, Benjamin Britten and the Queen. Here, too, are tales of his travels to some of the most far-flung corners of the globe, including New Guinea, Borneo, Paraguay and the Australian outback, and the rare creatures he captures on film: from the exotic birds of paradise and the elusive Indri lemurs to the endangered Komodo dragon.

Featuring behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of his landmark natural history series, beginning with the pioneering Zoo Quest and concluding with Life in Cold Blood, this wonderful memoir - read by David Attenborough himself - recounts the highlights of a remarkable life in broadcasting.

Production credits

Read by David Attenborough

©2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Critic reviews

'An enthralling autobiography from one of the linchpins of television' Good Book Guide

What listeners say about David Attenborough - Life on Air

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Life Worth Living

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.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Made me think about childhood dreams

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.

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14 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Probably my favourite audiobook

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.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Life of a BBC stalwart

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.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Joy To Listen to

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.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Probably my favourite audiobook

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.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A joy to listen

Attenborough's memoirs are fantastic in helping to understand not only public broadcasting philosophy in Britain, but also how the BBC became the top producer of natural history documentaries that are educational, encourage critical thinking about the natural world, help us understand the myriad relationships in the natural and physical world, and great fun to watch. Attenborough's reading lends considerable personality to this first-hand account that is interesting, sometimes very comedic, and entertaining through its entire length. A must for David Attenborough devotees.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

professionally, I'm in my second decade in broadcast television poised rather fortuitously between the sharp ends of both the creative and the technical worlds. I'd like to think that this fact gives me unique insight into what David is telling his readership. However, I found this nothing short of surprising, and very educational. I highly recommend giving this title a shot, whether you know David for his zoology work (as I'm sure most do), or are inspired, or interested, by his broadcasting legacy. I recommend giving it a listen even moreso because the author reads himself with one of the most iconic voices in television history.

What a privilege it has been to share some of David Attenborough's experiences with him in this medium.

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3 people found this helpful

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Something for every interest

Good God, what a value, as far as length. Attenborough's voice soothes and his stories are epic. He covers every major program he's been involved with and delves into the animal behaviors as well, so this book acts as biography, a look into the development of the television industry, and the evolution of natural history as a science and an art.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

A good way to spend 19 hours

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.

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