Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best-known natural history film-maker. His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly five decades and there are very few places on the globe that he has not visited. In this volume of memoirs David tells stories of the people and animals he has met and the places that he has visited. Sir David's first job - after Cambridge University and two years in the Royal Navy - was at the London publishing house Hodder & Stoughton. Then in 1952 he joined the BBC as a trainee producer and it was while working on the "Zoo Quest" series (1954-64) that he had his first opportunity to undertake expeditions to remote parts of the globe to capture intimate footage of rare wildlife in its natural habitat. He was Controller of BBC2 (1965-68), during which time he introduced colour television to Britain, then Director of Programmes for the BBC (1969-1972). However in 1973 he abandoned administration altogether to return to documentary-making and writing. Over the last 25 years he has established himself as the World's leading Natural History programme maker with several landmark BBC series, including "Life on Earth" (1979), "The Living Planet" (1984), "The Trials of Life" (1990), "The Private Life of Plants" (1995) and "Life of Birds" (1998).
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Travel the world with THE documentary presenter/producer/narrator of the natural world,
By Andy Wright (Melbourne, Victoria) - See all my reviews
This review is from: David Attenborough: Life on Air (Paperback)
While mentioning several highpoints in his childhood, David Attenborough's book mainly covers his working career upon graduation from university. Most people will be familiar with his animal and natural world documentaries from the late 80s onwards. I was surprised that he almost fell into the BBC and that he first started his involvement in natural history in the 1950s. He covers in great detail the problems encountered in broadcasting live from the studio during the infancy of television and the limitations of filming in the wild with basic equipment. David Attenborough, besides being famous for his documentaries, is also one of TV's pioneers. For a long time as well, he was senior management within the BBC and largely responsible for a lot of the programming that that boradcaster produced in the 60s and 70s. This surprised me as I was only familiar with his later documentary work.
Told with a lot of humour, the reader will meet all manner of fascinating people and animals in every corner of the world. This man has done more in his life than any of us will ever do and he has shared it with us on screen and in this marvellous book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Attenborough : A True Gentle Man,
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This review is from: David Attenborough: Life on Air (Paperback)
David Attenborough's 'Life on Air' gives a fascinating insight into the work of a true gentle man of the airwaves.
The book is entirely readible with several unexpected laughs in store. A master at understating his own achievements, Attenborough tells the story of his work with the BBC, spanning an incredible fifty years. Often facing the worst inconveniences of tropical insects for days on end to get illusive shots of nature's wonders, he has tirelessly laboured to bring precious knowledge to the world of the richness of our planet. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A reader's delight,
By Dr. LH Salwiczek (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: David Attenborough: Life on Air (Paperback)
David Attenborough is a master of the English language; it is an absolute pleasure to read as well as to listen to his book. He presents his life travelling the world for collecting and filming animals and plants with his typical humour. His private life is rarely mentioned, just some corner events like marriage, child birth, death of his beloved wife. It is, however, an excellent biography about the BBC from its low budget beginning to the point of today's multi-billion enterprise. His jocular way describing disappointing, difficult and possibly even dangerous situation might remind the reader of English understatement or - much better - serve as an attitude to be acquired. It was a delight for me to read the book, and I have recommended it several times to fellow biologists - all agreed: it's another David Attenborough masterpiece.
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