Life in Cold Blood (Hardcover)

by David Attenborough (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Careful observation and love of nature are the hallmarks of Sir David's work. Life in Cold Blood covers far more than snakes, being an investigation of all amphibians and reptiles, and it is the latest in a series of projects that have covered almost all life on earth. Sir David is now in his early eighties, and the arduous nature of his work suggests that this may well be the last of the great ventures into nature. In Life in Cold Blood, Sir David has left the best wine for last.
(Tim Flannery New York Review of Books )

Attenborough travels to the ends of the earth to tell the story of these creatures, raising awareness of the threats of environmental destruction along the way.
(Scientific American )

Even a person normally immune to the charms of amphibians and reptiles will soon be drawn in by the fascinating color photographs of Life in Cold Blood, the latest book by broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough. The next thing you know, you're shoving the book under your friends' noses, insisting that they have a look.
(Flora Taylor American Scientist )

Life in Cold Blood adds to film naturalist and author Attenborough's rich legacy of fine books and documentaries providing vivid, concise accounts of life-forms. . . . The book offers a nice balance between large conceptual issues that define the world of ectothermic tetrapods and less well-known yet fascinating facts. Basic life history including diet, locomotion, reproductive habits, and geographical distribution are presented, with just the right amount of fossil record content tying it all together. This modest-sized, nicely bound book is generously illustrated with excellent color plates and includes explanations of the origins of numerous names and terms.
(J.E. Platz Choice )

The latest tour de force of naturalist and prolific author, David Attenborough, Life in Cold Blood takes us on a fascinating tour through the often bizarre and alien world of Tikaalik's amphibian and reptile descendants.
(Explorers Journal )

Profusely illustrated and written in Sir David Attenborough's inimitable style--his writing is wonderfully effortless--this is the final book of four in a series on vertebrates by the respected 80-year-old naturalist. Experts might find much of the material here familiar, but generalists who are fascinated by the world around us will be captivated. I'll confess a weakness for books where you learn something new every page. With Attenborough you're likely to learn something new every paragraph.
(Marc Horton The Edmonton Journal )

Naturalist Attenborough uses his considerable talent to explain the world of reptiles and amphibians, the descendants of the first vertebrates of prehistoric life. He also warns of the threat of man-made environmental changes that threaten their existence. This volume includes 200 photos, some of them truly amazing.
(Angelyn N. Hutchinson Deseret Morning News )

[T]he accessibility and accuracy of the text, combined with its low price, make this an ideal choice for the amateur naturalist's introduction to the herpetological world.
(Aaron M. Bauer Quarterly Review of Biology )

Review
Admirably illustrated, this book completes David Attenborough's great exploration of the world's main animal groups. He shows us the lives of amphibians and reptiles in all the fascinating detail we have come to expect from him. A treasure trove for everyone--from the child seeing flying dragons or man-eating crocodiles for the first time to the professional zoologist realizing that there is still much to learn.
(Philip Rainbow, Natural History Museum, London )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691137188
• ISBN-13: 978-0691137186
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #301,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #9 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Amphibians
  #21 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Reptiles
  #89 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Fauna > Reptiles & Amphibians

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A new book from sir Attenborough., March 9, 2008

By	M. G. Kuijpers - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book as soon as it came out, as i am greatly interested in reptiles and in general like the books/films the BBC/Attenborough makes.

This book is for me dissapointing.

Why you are asking ?

The photos first of all, i always expect something new,beautiful or rare on the photos from somebody as Attenborough and the BBC, the photos are not. A lot of older,allready published photos and grade B photos,not the best of the best anyway.

The quality of the paper is dull and not glossy this makes it even worse for the photos to come to life and is something i am not used to for books in this price range (i bought it in the Netherlands for around 40 euros).

The text is general, heard it and seen it before....

Conclusion,the book is for someone that wants some general information about reptiles. But they can get that a lot better with other reptilian books on the market.
The photos do not stand out, so no point there for buying the book either.

A missed chance by the BBC and the Attenborough franchise, they could and should have done a lot better.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't agree more!, March 12, 2008

By	David Mangham (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am in general agreement with the previous review, however, I would like to add that the book is not as technically accurate as one would normally expect from a BBC publication.

Throughout, the 'Strawberry Poison Dart Frog' is referred to by it's scientific name of 'Dendrobates Pumilo(sic)', this should actually be 'Dendrobates Pumilio', a basic error, possibly evidence of poor proof-reading, but as it is repeated so often, possibly not.

The chapter on lizards also refers to an 'American Anole'. By definition ALL Anolids are American, this being the only continent on which they are found. What is actually shown is a 'Cuban Brown Anole'.

Sloppy!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marvels of life among the cold blooded., June 8, 2008

By	Saty Satya Murti "Aspiring vege-fusion cook" (NorthEast Kansas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Life in Cold Blood

My admiration for this book stems from a mix of my ignorance of taxonomy and my perspective as a neurologist. This explains my inability to comment on any of the misspellings and errors detected by some of the other reviewers. With every book I read on comparative anatomy or evolutionary physiology, my erstwhile enthusiasm, rigid and fixed, for the human nervous system relents. It admits graciously a greater pervasive wonder for life across the spectra of all animal forms. This is the promontory from which I approach this work.

This book of 281 pages and 6 chapters is aglow with vivid pictures of animal grandeur. Frogs, salamanders, lizards, iguanas, crocodiles, turtles or snakes greet you page after page. We learn about the anatomy, behavior and evolution of amphibians, reptiles and other cold-blooded animals. There are exquisite descriptions, whether it is of snakes calibrating their predatory strikes or of frogs producing internal anti-freeze to survive the arctic chill. Elaborate mating rituals of frogs and eating patterns of pythons would fascinate the reader.

It is likely that other books in this area have covered as much ground or even more. That possibility need not reduce the merit of this volume. The comparative biology that underpins this volume is a riveting reading experience in itself. There are numerous utterly captivating mechanisms that the cold blooded animals use to protect and evolve. They may suppress one lung, right or left, from fully developing, secrete, shoot or spit various venoms, protrude and circumduct their fangs, hibernate in extreme cold and even carry their own radiators and solar panels.

Preservation and reproduction call for such grand and complex acts.
Across all living organisms, including humans, the overriding emphasis is on self-preservation and procreation. We might be relying on precision bombing and in-vitro fertilization, and they may use their toxins and gastric pregnancy with regurgitation of their young. Even herding and social structuring apparently existed from prehistoric to contemporary times. Regardless of our own sophistication, we still share many basics with the cold-blooded animals. If nothing else, this is a beautiful lesson that I learn and relearn from works such as this. My only quarrel with this delicious book is the absence of scholarly citations or references to primary research that would have enabled further reading.