What do you think?
Rate this book
Life on air: memoirs of a broadcaster
nan
423 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
350 people are currently reading
5955 people want to read
About the author
David Attenborough
173 books2,751 followersSir David Frederick Attenborough is a naturalist and broadcaster, who is most well-known for writing and presenting the nine "Life" series, produced in conjunction with BBC's Natural History Unit. The series includes Life on Earth (1979), The Living Planet (1984), The Trials of Life (1990), Life in the Freezer (about Antarctica; 1993), The Private Life of Plants (1995), The Life of Birds (1998), The Life of Mammals (2002), Life in the Undergrowth (2005) and Life in Cold Blood (2008).
He is the younger brother of director and actor Richard Attenborough.
Photo credit: Wildscreen's photograph of David Attenborough at ARKive's launch in Bristol, England © May 2003
He is the younger brother of director and actor Richard Attenborough.
Photo credit: Wildscreen's photograph of David Attenborough at ARKive's launch in Bristol, England © May 2003
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 445 reviews
March 17, 2016
I've read the book twice, yet when I saw the man himself was the narrator of the audiobook, I couldn't resist the experience of hearing him relate it all over again.
Attenborough's contribution to natural history broadcasting in the UK is without equal, and, in my opinion, unlikely ever to be matched. His autobiography is an incredible mix of stories on animal behaviour, technological advancement, the BBC, travel and exploration, people, places, the Queen...and more. His unceasing enthusiasm and determination is astounding, his knowledge and humour shine through every chapter.
When I worked at Waterstones, I was lucky enough to meet and have my photo taken with him, while also getting the 2nd edition of his book signed. I found it difficult to hold a conversation, as I was rather star struck, and it seemed strange to be hearing that voice in person, instead of from my tv. Still, It was one of the many perks of being a bookseller!
His life has got to be one of the most interesting of the 20th Century and I urge anyone with the slightest interest to give the book a read.
Attenborough's contribution to natural history broadcasting in the UK is without equal, and, in my opinion, unlikely ever to be matched. His autobiography is an incredible mix of stories on animal behaviour, technological advancement, the BBC, travel and exploration, people, places, the Queen...and more. His unceasing enthusiasm and determination is astounding, his knowledge and humour shine through every chapter.
When I worked at Waterstones, I was lucky enough to meet and have my photo taken with him, while also getting the 2nd edition of his book signed. I found it difficult to hold a conversation, as I was rather star struck, and it seemed strange to be hearing that voice in person, instead of from my tv. Still, It was one of the many perks of being a bookseller!
His life has got to be one of the most interesting of the 20th Century and I urge anyone with the slightest interest to give the book a read.
September 2, 2019
With any biography the early historical references can sometimes seem distant from what you know of the subject. However, it is vital ti appreciate what drove David to do what he has done . When remembering some of his work, it makes you wonder just how it is done and this is where the technical details come in. Davis is truly a master of his craft and this helps you to appreciate him all the more.
February 2, 2020
“[…] the fundamental reason why I have spent my life in the way I have, and why I am reluctant to stop making programmes, is that I know of no pleasure deeper than that which comes from contemplating the natural world and trying to understand it.”
Who cannot agree with that statement? Every time I watch a documentary with him, Jeff Corwin, Austin Stevens, Kevin Richardson or late Steve Irwin, as well as many others, I cannot help feeling a pang of envy at their marvelous lives. To be able to connect with nature and its animals on such deep levels seems to me the ultimate fulfillment.
Of course, it isn’t an easy life; just read the book and you’ll understand what lies behind an hour of documentary: hard work, injuries, illnesses, shortcomings, hard conditions to live by for months – in some cases, even for years.
And not all of us can do that, even given the chance; I, for one, most certainly could not, given my insects phobia. But I would have loved such a life.
The book itself is the journey of Sir David Attenborough from the beginning of his career in television to nowadays. His unmistakable voice can be heard even in his written words. His subtle humor, vivid descriptions, enthusiasm, sadness, awe and love for nature are present in every page.
My only discontent is that I did not listen the audio version of it, hearing his voice telling his own story. I think that’s the best way to get the maximum pleasure from this book.
There are too many passages that I loved, and I thought including them here. Turned out there were way too many. It was hard to choose just a few, but I had managed in the end.
Stepping out into the heat and humidity of a West African afternoon was like entering a heated sauna. The hedge beside the ramshackle airport was bright with the scarlet trumpets of hibiscus. […] Among them I suddenly spotted, clinging to the branch but rigidly immobile, a bright green chameleon. As I took a step towards it to get a closer look, my foot trod on the grassy verge and the leaves, to my astonishment, suddenly hinged back to lie alongside the main stems. It was sensitive mimosa. All in all, that little strip of ordinary hedge was a revelation of the glory and fecundity of tropical nature from which I have never recovered.
It was simple enough to calculate how many birds these represented. A King of Saxony male only produces two head plumes, only two bunches spring from the flanks of Count Raggi’s Bird. A Superb Bird has only one green bib. So I could easily see that each man wore the plumes of between twenty and thirty birds. And there were at least five hundred dancers. At that one performance, the men of Minj had decorated themselves with the feathers of twenty thousand slaughtered birds of paradise.
There were at least half a dozen different species of armadillo to be found there. In Guarani, they are known as tatu. After several people had reacted oddly to our explaining that we hoped to chase all kinds of tatu, we discovered that tatu was also a slang expression for girls. An English equivalent might be ‘crumpet’. When we cleared up any misunderstandings on this point, people seemed to find it even stranger that we should be chasing four-legged tatu rather than two-legged ones.
‘You do know what is it, don’t you?’ she whispered.
‘Well, yes’, I said nervously. ‘It’s three quartz crystals covered with mammiferous haematite.’
I sensed that this was not the right answer.
‘You are wrong,’ she said firmly. ‘Those are the fossilized private parts of a pygmy. Why on earth you would think they are quartz crystals?’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘they are hexagonal. They have six sides and a pointed end.’
She snatched the specimen away from me and wrapped it up again.
‘And how do you know,’ she said haughtily, ‘that a pygmy’s private parts don’t get six sides when they fossilize?’
To which question I failed to find an answer.
An amazing man with an even more amazing life.
Who cannot agree with that statement? Every time I watch a documentary with him, Jeff Corwin, Austin Stevens, Kevin Richardson or late Steve Irwin, as well as many others, I cannot help feeling a pang of envy at their marvelous lives. To be able to connect with nature and its animals on such deep levels seems to me the ultimate fulfillment.
Of course, it isn’t an easy life; just read the book and you’ll understand what lies behind an hour of documentary: hard work, injuries, illnesses, shortcomings, hard conditions to live by for months – in some cases, even for years.
And not all of us can do that, even given the chance; I, for one, most certainly could not, given my insects phobia. But I would have loved such a life.
The book itself is the journey of Sir David Attenborough from the beginning of his career in television to nowadays. His unmistakable voice can be heard even in his written words. His subtle humor, vivid descriptions, enthusiasm, sadness, awe and love for nature are present in every page.
My only discontent is that I did not listen the audio version of it, hearing his voice telling his own story. I think that’s the best way to get the maximum pleasure from this book.
There are too many passages that I loved, and I thought including them here. Turned out there were way too many. It was hard to choose just a few, but I had managed in the end.
Stepping out into the heat and humidity of a West African afternoon was like entering a heated sauna. The hedge beside the ramshackle airport was bright with the scarlet trumpets of hibiscus. […] Among them I suddenly spotted, clinging to the branch but rigidly immobile, a bright green chameleon. As I took a step towards it to get a closer look, my foot trod on the grassy verge and the leaves, to my astonishment, suddenly hinged back to lie alongside the main stems. It was sensitive mimosa. All in all, that little strip of ordinary hedge was a revelation of the glory and fecundity of tropical nature from which I have never recovered.
It was simple enough to calculate how many birds these represented. A King of Saxony male only produces two head plumes, only two bunches spring from the flanks of Count Raggi’s Bird. A Superb Bird has only one green bib. So I could easily see that each man wore the plumes of between twenty and thirty birds. And there were at least five hundred dancers. At that one performance, the men of Minj had decorated themselves with the feathers of twenty thousand slaughtered birds of paradise.
There were at least half a dozen different species of armadillo to be found there. In Guarani, they are known as tatu. After several people had reacted oddly to our explaining that we hoped to chase all kinds of tatu, we discovered that tatu was also a slang expression for girls. An English equivalent might be ‘crumpet’. When we cleared up any misunderstandings on this point, people seemed to find it even stranger that we should be chasing four-legged tatu rather than two-legged ones.
‘You do know what is it, don’t you?’ she whispered.
‘Well, yes’, I said nervously. ‘It’s three quartz crystals covered with mammiferous haematite.’
I sensed that this was not the right answer.
‘You are wrong,’ she said firmly. ‘Those are the fossilized private parts of a pygmy. Why on earth you would think they are quartz crystals?’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘they are hexagonal. They have six sides and a pointed end.’
She snatched the specimen away from me and wrapped it up again.
‘And how do you know,’ she said haughtily, ‘that a pygmy’s private parts don’t get six sides when they fossilize?’
To which question I failed to find an answer.
An amazing man with an even more amazing life.
June 8, 2018
I will let you in on a secret. I knew I would give this book 4 or 5 stars before even starting it. David Attenborough was the hero of my childhood and a set of his VHS tapes sold by TV shopping was the object of my deepest desire. They were so expensive, and I could never convince my mum to buy them (or, seeing the price, didn’t dare to try even) but I did passionately watch those ads.
I was absolutely obsessed with all things animals - I memorised Latin names of countless of species, I read all the books about animals available to me. Animals were all I drew or painted, and I even made a newspaper all about animals (proceeds from which went directly a dog shelter).
Gosh, I wanted that VHS set so badly. I would’ve probably sold my little sister for it.
Anyhow, now I’m a big girl, I have a salary, and I’m buying this stuff online and no one can stop me!
I also spend some money on my audible subscription even though I am not exactly sure I like audiobooks. There is something about the way I process audio information (in a way that I don’t process it all that well). I was never able to pay attention in classes and completely unable to take any notes. Given a textbook though, I would absorb all the necessary information without any problem and then excel at the exam. Honestly, I don’t even like talking on the phone. If I’m to absorb audio, there must be lots of visual aides so that my attention doesn’t drift.
Yet, I try. I perceive this feature of mine to be a flaw and want to fight it. Hence the audible subscription. My first book was some god-awful thriller where the narrator was giving it all to ‘doing voices’ which was driving me nuts. So for my next venture I wanted to settle on something that is narrated in the first person, ideally a memoir, so hopefully there will be almost no ‘voice doing’. And what could possibly better than listening to David Attenborough! If there is one person that could hold my attention it’s him.
And it did work! I listed to David Attenborough telling me about his ‘Life on Air’ and that’s exactly what it was. It was a very career-based memoir and we don’t learn much about his life ‘off air’. We just catch affectionate glimpses of his wife and children but the focus here is on working for TV. From the very beginning of BBC and its programs, where Attenborough cheerfully confesses they were pretty much making it up as they went (which often resulted in spectacular failures). The excitement of those early days, of pushing the boundaries, chartering the unknown is keenly felt in those chapters.
Attenborough is full of self-deprecating humour but don’t be fooled. In between the anecdotes there is a lot of serious paragraphs about how the television business works, and the ethics of shooting wildlife documentaries as well as concerns about the state of the planet in general. He is quite honest about the colonial attitudes of the early programs he was involved in and it’s clear Attenborough is not afraid to change his mind about things as his thinking about certain matters evolves.
I was surprised by how long his career has been already, and he just keeps going, with same enthusiasm as decades before! I hope he lives forever.
I was absolutely obsessed with all things animals - I memorised Latin names of countless of species, I read all the books about animals available to me. Animals were all I drew or painted, and I even made a newspaper all about animals (proceeds from which went directly a dog shelter).
Gosh, I wanted that VHS set so badly. I would’ve probably sold my little sister for it.
Anyhow, now I’m a big girl, I have a salary, and I’m buying this stuff online and no one can stop me!
I also spend some money on my audible subscription even though I am not exactly sure I like audiobooks. There is something about the way I process audio information (in a way that I don’t process it all that well). I was never able to pay attention in classes and completely unable to take any notes. Given a textbook though, I would absorb all the necessary information without any problem and then excel at the exam. Honestly, I don’t even like talking on the phone. If I’m to absorb audio, there must be lots of visual aides so that my attention doesn’t drift.
Yet, I try. I perceive this feature of mine to be a flaw and want to fight it. Hence the audible subscription. My first book was some god-awful thriller where the narrator was giving it all to ‘doing voices’ which was driving me nuts. So for my next venture I wanted to settle on something that is narrated in the first person, ideally a memoir, so hopefully there will be almost no ‘voice doing’. And what could possibly better than listening to David Attenborough! If there is one person that could hold my attention it’s him.
And it did work! I listed to David Attenborough telling me about his ‘Life on Air’ and that’s exactly what it was. It was a very career-based memoir and we don’t learn much about his life ‘off air’. We just catch affectionate glimpses of his wife and children but the focus here is on working for TV. From the very beginning of BBC and its programs, where Attenborough cheerfully confesses they were pretty much making it up as they went (which often resulted in spectacular failures). The excitement of those early days, of pushing the boundaries, chartering the unknown is keenly felt in those chapters.
Attenborough is full of self-deprecating humour but don’t be fooled. In between the anecdotes there is a lot of serious paragraphs about how the television business works, and the ethics of shooting wildlife documentaries as well as concerns about the state of the planet in general. He is quite honest about the colonial attitudes of the early programs he was involved in and it’s clear Attenborough is not afraid to change his mind about things as his thinking about certain matters evolves.
I was surprised by how long his career has been already, and he just keeps going, with same enthusiasm as decades before! I hope he lives forever.
March 27, 2019
There are some people on this planet that have accomplished great things and are wonderfully intelligent and kind people and talking to them is as easy as talking to an old friend. This book, in fact, reads as if you were meeting Sir David Attenborough himself, at a dinner party say, and he indulged you by telling you anecdotes of his career while you listen with rapt attention to his unique narration since you both don't enjoy such formal occasions.
Sir David Attenborough is a man many know. He's accompanied countless childhoods, including my own. Before the gentle man with his distinct narration became who he is today, he had been to the University of Cambridge where he got a degree in Natural Sciences, then served in the Navy, before working in a publishing house. However, he soon realized that it was killing him to have to sit in an office every day. So despite being married now and having a child, he took the risk to quit his job and managed to get a traineeship at the BBC (not in the radio department he originally had applied to, but in BBC TV).
He worked his way up to assistant producer back when the TV program was still live and mostly black-and-white and there were still hours every day when there was no TV program at all so as not to interfere with household duties and such.
In his capacity as assistant producer, he pitched the idea of a quest to find and capture certain rare animals for and with staff members of London Zoo and was offered to go himself as well. It wasn't planned that he'd be the presenter of the program once he, the film material and animals were back in London, but Jack Lester (the show's intended presenter) unexpectedly died and 28-year-old David Attenborough was asked to fill in so the program could air as scheduled. He did and Zoo Quest was an almost instant success, establishing Sir David as a documentary presenter.
I had already read his biographical book about the Zoo Quest expeditions and was therefore pleasantly surprised that he chose different anecdotes to flesh out the overall journey. It made for a diversified read.
That was the start of many more documentaries, one of the most famous ones nowadays, certainly, being the Life series.
I could now rattle off other biographical information such as his knighthood, but I think it's more important to describe the man and wet your appetites for his documentaries so you all go and watch them. :D
While the television world changed, Sir David Attenborough, I was surprised and delighted to read, was basically always at the forefront. He liked to keep up to date with the newest technology to shake off the limitations of the old ways of filming (heavy cameras, only certain types of films, laughable zooming capabilities when compared what even only phones are capable of nowadays, murky under-water images). Moreover, he loved that the world and society slowly changed as well as can be seen by the fact that people learned that there was NOT an infinite amount of animals that could just be captured as anyone pleased for zoos. Nowadays, of course, we film animals in their natural habitat, but back then it was a novel idea. Sir Attenborough apparently loved and still loves few things as much as travelling around the world to meet these animals.
It was breathtaking and touching to read of how deeply moved he was when meeting gorillas and orang-utans for example. The man has unlimited respect and love for all animals and nature in general and that respect and love leapt off the page.
Equally, I was delighted how easily and with how much humour (often directed towards himself) he recounted mishaps and (often cultural) misunderstandings, also showcasing that he's a very relaxed person, enjoying life and not taking himself too seriously.
What he certainly does take serious is conservation and his efforts in this regard are tireless to this day (as can be seen by the soon-to-be-released newest production of his addressing climate change and what every individual can do about it).
It is marvellous to behold how easily he addresses the general public, never preaching or appearing aloof but down-to-earth and approachable, breaking complex topics down in an easy-to-follow manner and with a warm and welcoming air that certainly explains why so many of us love the man.
He might not be a doctor or professor but he knows his stuff and what he doesn't know, he learns, even now at the age of almost 94 (his birthday is in May)!
He also doesn't specialize. Sure, he has animals he loves a tiny little bit more than others, but in general it is absolutely correct to say that he's a nature person - mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, plants, insects, ... it doesn't matter what living creature (I hear he even is inclined to say favourable things about a species called homo sapiens, showing how gracious and generous a man he is).
He's also still an adventurer at heart and continues to go exploring as much as his body still allows him to (yes, that is him in a submarine in the picture below and let me remind you that the guy is almost 94 years old and that image was taken not too long ago)!
Another striking feature is that he is the embodiment of a gentleman. I've recently seen an interview with him for British breakfast television. The interviewer was (excuse me but it's true) dumb as shit and audacious about it as well, rattling off her script, not even really knowing what the hell was going on, why the project Sir Attenborough was scheduled to talk about mattered and why, therefore, her constant asking about the Royal family was so disrespectful. To say nothing of the almost entire lack of an IQ which she demonstrated with one of her questions. However, while anyone knowing Sir Attenborough can immediately tell he was being pissed off, he was clipped at best, answering certain things only with "yes" or "no", never getting mean. You can see the interview here => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLv03...
Anyway, much like this great man, I'm an animal lover and total weirdo that I am, there are some rather astonishing ones on my list of favourite animals (Komodo dragons, Great White sharks and owls amongst others). Therefore, I am so very happy to have found his documentaries being broadcast on German television when I was a little girl so I didn't have to miss out on too much (not that I wouldn't have managed to catch up eventually, but having had him as a childhood companion does feel different).
5 April marks the start of a new mini series of documentaries, also narrated by Sir Attenborough, that will be streamed on Netflix. As usual, it's a perfect blend of awesome images, striking music, incredible animals/plants/landscapes and the narration we have all come to know and love as it brings it all together.
What came only as a mild surprise was that Sir Attenborough didn't get personal often. It was palpable that he had been shocked back when Jack Lester suddenly died and how much he needed to be out and about instead of sitting in an office like a caged animal, but he usually made his expeditions stand at the forefront, not wanting to talk about himself too much (told you he was a gentleman). The only exception was when he talked of his wife's sudden death in 1997 and I swear, despite never even having heard her name before, I had tears in my eyes when he described her as "his anchor". When this man loves, he does it right. A rare speciman indeed (especially since his older brother, the beloved Sir Richard Attenborough of Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic Park fame, is dead).
There is so much more to say and so many more pictures to show you but it would never really suffice to adequately describe this man, what he means to me (and, indeed, the world) and what wonderful things he's done in his life.
No matter if you like biographies or not, I encourage you to read this - I'm absolutely sure you'll love it. What a man, what a life! Here's to many more years!
Sir David Attenborough is a man many know. He's accompanied countless childhoods, including my own. Before the gentle man with his distinct narration became who he is today, he had been to the University of Cambridge where he got a degree in Natural Sciences, then served in the Navy, before working in a publishing house. However, he soon realized that it was killing him to have to sit in an office every day. So despite being married now and having a child, he took the risk to quit his job and managed to get a traineeship at the BBC (not in the radio department he originally had applied to, but in BBC TV).
He worked his way up to assistant producer back when the TV program was still live and mostly black-and-white and there were still hours every day when there was no TV program at all so as not to interfere with household duties and such.
In his capacity as assistant producer, he pitched the idea of a quest to find and capture certain rare animals for and with staff members of London Zoo and was offered to go himself as well. It wasn't planned that he'd be the presenter of the program once he, the film material and animals were back in London, but Jack Lester (the show's intended presenter) unexpectedly died and 28-year-old David Attenborough was asked to fill in so the program could air as scheduled. He did and Zoo Quest was an almost instant success, establishing Sir David as a documentary presenter.
I had already read his biographical book about the Zoo Quest expeditions and was therefore pleasantly surprised that he chose different anecdotes to flesh out the overall journey. It made for a diversified read.
That was the start of many more documentaries, one of the most famous ones nowadays, certainly, being the Life series.
I could now rattle off other biographical information such as his knighthood, but I think it's more important to describe the man and wet your appetites for his documentaries so you all go and watch them. :D
While the television world changed, Sir David Attenborough, I was surprised and delighted to read, was basically always at the forefront. He liked to keep up to date with the newest technology to shake off the limitations of the old ways of filming (heavy cameras, only certain types of films, laughable zooming capabilities when compared what even only phones are capable of nowadays, murky under-water images). Moreover, he loved that the world and society slowly changed as well as can be seen by the fact that people learned that there was NOT an infinite amount of animals that could just be captured as anyone pleased for zoos. Nowadays, of course, we film animals in their natural habitat, but back then it was a novel idea. Sir Attenborough apparently loved and still loves few things as much as travelling around the world to meet these animals.
It was breathtaking and touching to read of how deeply moved he was when meeting gorillas and orang-utans for example. The man has unlimited respect and love for all animals and nature in general and that respect and love leapt off the page.
Equally, I was delighted how easily and with how much humour (often directed towards himself) he recounted mishaps and (often cultural) misunderstandings, also showcasing that he's a very relaxed person, enjoying life and not taking himself too seriously.
What he certainly does take serious is conservation and his efforts in this regard are tireless to this day (as can be seen by the soon-to-be-released newest production of his addressing climate change and what every individual can do about it).
It is marvellous to behold how easily he addresses the general public, never preaching or appearing aloof but down-to-earth and approachable, breaking complex topics down in an easy-to-follow manner and with a warm and welcoming air that certainly explains why so many of us love the man.
He might not be a doctor or professor but he knows his stuff and what he doesn't know, he learns, even now at the age of almost 94 (his birthday is in May)!
He also doesn't specialize. Sure, he has animals he loves a tiny little bit more than others, but in general it is absolutely correct to say that he's a nature person - mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, plants, insects, ... it doesn't matter what living creature (I hear he even is inclined to say favourable things about a species called homo sapiens, showing how gracious and generous a man he is).
He's also still an adventurer at heart and continues to go exploring as much as his body still allows him to (yes, that is him in a submarine in the picture below and let me remind you that the guy is almost 94 years old and that image was taken not too long ago)!
Another striking feature is that he is the embodiment of a gentleman. I've recently seen an interview with him for British breakfast television. The interviewer was (excuse me but it's true) dumb as shit and audacious about it as well, rattling off her script, not even really knowing what the hell was going on, why the project Sir Attenborough was scheduled to talk about mattered and why, therefore, her constant asking about the Royal family was so disrespectful. To say nothing of the almost entire lack of an IQ which she demonstrated with one of her questions. However, while anyone knowing Sir Attenborough can immediately tell he was being pissed off, he was clipped at best, answering certain things only with "yes" or "no", never getting mean. You can see the interview here => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLv03...
Anyway, much like this great man, I'm an animal lover and total weirdo that I am, there are some rather astonishing ones on my list of favourite animals (Komodo dragons, Great White sharks and owls amongst others). Therefore, I am so very happy to have found his documentaries being broadcast on German television when I was a little girl so I didn't have to miss out on too much (not that I wouldn't have managed to catch up eventually, but having had him as a childhood companion does feel different).
5 April marks the start of a new mini series of documentaries, also narrated by Sir Attenborough, that will be streamed on Netflix. As usual, it's a perfect blend of awesome images, striking music, incredible animals/plants/landscapes and the narration we have all come to know and love as it brings it all together.
What came only as a mild surprise was that Sir Attenborough didn't get personal often. It was palpable that he had been shocked back when Jack Lester suddenly died and how much he needed to be out and about instead of sitting in an office like a caged animal, but he usually made his expeditions stand at the forefront, not wanting to talk about himself too much (told you he was a gentleman). The only exception was when he talked of his wife's sudden death in 1997 and I swear, despite never even having heard her name before, I had tears in my eyes when he described her as "his anchor". When this man loves, he does it right. A rare speciman indeed (especially since his older brother, the beloved Sir Richard Attenborough of Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic Park fame, is dead).
There is so much more to say and so many more pictures to show you but it would never really suffice to adequately describe this man, what he means to me (and, indeed, the world) and what wonderful things he's done in his life.
No matter if you like biographies or not, I encourage you to read this - I'm absolutely sure you'll love it. What a man, what a life! Here's to many more years!
June 22, 2019
Remarkable man.
Remarkable life.
Remarkable life.
December 30, 2016
This is one of the very best audiobooks I've read. David Attenborough reads his own memoir in his own measured, professional, passionate style that anybody familiar with any of his documentaries will be entirely familiar with. He also injects his own brand of slightly sly yet twinkling good natured sense of humour fairly regularly.
Anybody who is a fan of his work should read this book; it's like having the man himself over to stay for a week or so, and spending several sessions out on the porch (disclaimer: I don't actually have a porch) listening to him tell the most engaging series of anecdotes you will ever hear. I am genuinely sad that I've finished it; although it could have been five times as long and I still wouldn't have had enough.
I'd like to be able to thank David personally for opening my eyes to the wonder and incredible diversity of the world I live on back when I first watched Life on Earth as a young boy and for sticking around long enough to help my love of the natural world grow over the last few decades. Oh, well; perhaps he'll join Goodreads and stumble across this review...
Anybody who is a fan of his work should read this book; it's like having the man himself over to stay for a week or so, and spending several sessions out on the porch (disclaimer: I don't actually have a porch) listening to him tell the most engaging series of anecdotes you will ever hear. I am genuinely sad that I've finished it; although it could have been five times as long and I still wouldn't have had enough.
I'd like to be able to thank David personally for opening my eyes to the wonder and incredible diversity of the world I live on back when I first watched Life on Earth as a young boy and for sticking around long enough to help my love of the natural world grow over the last few decades. Oh, well; perhaps he'll join Goodreads and stumble across this review...
December 14, 2025
"I know of no pleasure deeper than that which comes from contemplating the natural world and trying to understand it." 🍀💚
March 12, 2012
"Life on Air" was a truly beautiful read.
As a fan of David Attenborough (who isn't?!), I particularly enjoyed the audiobook version, which really captures the true Attenborough spirit through his own reading.
Having already known quite a bit about David Attenborough and the development of his views regarding the environment, I was intrigued to see how he would treat some of his earlier television adventures. Unsurprisingly as honest as ever, Attenborough is highly critical of the driving forces of some of his early years in tv. He considers, for example, the continuing 19th Century colonial attitude of the program “Zoo Quest”, which he hosted for some years, and despite having taken part in collecting tribal art, is critical of the colonial attitude of many museum collections.
Equally, while proud to be the first to film a number of animals, he questions the role he played in the exposure of certain animals, for example the komodo dragon, and the way this may have lead to their later exploitation.
He discusses issues of controversy and integrity surrounding the truthfulness of natural history documentaries, especially with consideration of the potential for untruth due to developing technology. Yet also notes the importance and impact of these same technologies for increasing the ability to view animal and plant life in their true light.
His description of natural history is as wonderful as on his own documentaries. However, possibly the highlight of this memoir is his descriptions of the characters he met along his travels. His characterisations of people, especially the Australians he met during “Quest under Capricorn”, were particularly insightful.
This is a really worthwhile read, whether or not you are an Attenborough fan.
As a fan of David Attenborough (who isn't?!), I particularly enjoyed the audiobook version, which really captures the true Attenborough spirit through his own reading.
Having already known quite a bit about David Attenborough and the development of his views regarding the environment, I was intrigued to see how he would treat some of his earlier television adventures. Unsurprisingly as honest as ever, Attenborough is highly critical of the driving forces of some of his early years in tv. He considers, for example, the continuing 19th Century colonial attitude of the program “Zoo Quest”, which he hosted for some years, and despite having taken part in collecting tribal art, is critical of the colonial attitude of many museum collections.
Equally, while proud to be the first to film a number of animals, he questions the role he played in the exposure of certain animals, for example the komodo dragon, and the way this may have lead to their later exploitation.
He discusses issues of controversy and integrity surrounding the truthfulness of natural history documentaries, especially with consideration of the potential for untruth due to developing technology. Yet also notes the importance and impact of these same technologies for increasing the ability to view animal and plant life in their true light.
His description of natural history is as wonderful as on his own documentaries. However, possibly the highlight of this memoir is his descriptions of the characters he met along his travels. His characterisations of people, especially the Australians he met during “Quest under Capricorn”, were particularly insightful.
This is a really worthwhile read, whether or not you are an Attenborough fan.
March 27, 2021
They need to have an extra public holiday in the UK dedicated to Sir David Attenborough, his life has impacted so many in such a positive way, he is a great influencer of our time. This book is as amazing as he his, such an interesting life.
August 3, 2023
This book brought me back to the days of expeditions during my studies at uni. Also made me chuckle couple of times. Definitely worth reading especially for people related to biology.
June 30, 2025
Nobody has left more of a mark on British nature and wildlife documentaries than Mr Attenborough. He also did so for the remarquable span of his 50+ yrs career as a broadcaster / naturalist for the BBC. He has one of the most recognized and soothing voices in TV history. He is the one and only, the legend and this book is his story from his memories. This was such a fun read and narrated by the man himself, if you choose to go the audio way.
December 22, 2017
First off, I love David Attenborough. I have seen most of his nature programs and find them thoroughly fascinating. However, I found this book thoroughly boring. Talking about the BBC and what types of cameras were used in filming is not my idea of enjoyment and I felt it both unnecessary and uncontributary. Another bug bear was his constant use of 'for there are', or 'for there is', which was, in my opinion far too dramatic. I couldn't even put this down to the fact that he is of an older generation. Maybe it was for theatrical effect but it was too constant for my liking. Very rarely for me, filed under 'B' - binned.
March 25, 2017
As a long time Attenborough aficionado I had to read this once I stumbled across its existence. Chock full of anecdotes from his half century or more in the field, it was a very easy read even though I'd heard a few of them before in various TV programs or live appearances.
I would've been interested to hear a bit more about his personal life but he kept it very focused on his public and professional career. Regardless of that I greatly enjoyed this and powered through it.
I would've been interested to hear a bit more about his personal life but he kept it very focused on his public and professional career. Regardless of that I greatly enjoyed this and powered through it.
March 25, 2018
Fascinating and extraordinary tale of how a chimpanzee became the program manager of the BBC, ultimately influencing British politicians to solve the banana crisis of 1976.
January 8, 2026
I love David Attenborough (the nervous obligatory caveat before saying anything negative about the work of this national treasure), but this book just didn’t do it for me.
Attenborough has had a phenomenal career, which the book focuses on at the expense of much personal insight at all, and his love of animals shines through beautifully as ever.
However most chapters boiled down to the same formulaic patter of: “We were commissioned for a new show, we created a new camera for it, we travelled to a place, we met some eccentric local chaps, we hiked around a bit, and we filmed an animal doing a thing”. This was exceedingly charming the first few times, but after a while it began to feel a very repetitive and bland. When the animal at the end wasn’t a fun one (I’m looking at you, plants), it was downright painful.
It also doesn’t take long before this formula is without any jeopardy, as Attenborough becomes senior and well-known enough for the BBC to seemingly accept every pitch for a commission that he makes, and for every filming challenge to be overcome by the progress of time and technology.
In some ways it was refreshing to see that even in a career so successful and unique as Attenborough’s, when it’s boiled down to its essence it can often still feel monotonous and cyclical to the outsider. My takeaway is that to really love what you do is the secret to a long and happy career, and when you love something as much as Attenborough loves animals, maybe it becomes impossible to distinguish between what’s interesting and what isn’t for an outside audience.
Ultimately he’s happy, and I’m happy for him. My last point about what a reader finds interesting is also objectively wrong, as most other people seemed to love this book. Sorry David, I’ll try harder next time…
Attenborough has had a phenomenal career, which the book focuses on at the expense of much personal insight at all, and his love of animals shines through beautifully as ever.
However most chapters boiled down to the same formulaic patter of: “We were commissioned for a new show, we created a new camera for it, we travelled to a place, we met some eccentric local chaps, we hiked around a bit, and we filmed an animal doing a thing”. This was exceedingly charming the first few times, but after a while it began to feel a very repetitive and bland. When the animal at the end wasn’t a fun one (I’m looking at you, plants), it was downright painful.
It also doesn’t take long before this formula is without any jeopardy, as Attenborough becomes senior and well-known enough for the BBC to seemingly accept every pitch for a commission that he makes, and for every filming challenge to be overcome by the progress of time and technology.
In some ways it was refreshing to see that even in a career so successful and unique as Attenborough’s, when it’s boiled down to its essence it can often still feel monotonous and cyclical to the outsider. My takeaway is that to really love what you do is the secret to a long and happy career, and when you love something as much as Attenborough loves animals, maybe it becomes impossible to distinguish between what’s interesting and what isn’t for an outside audience.
Ultimately he’s happy, and I’m happy for him. My last point about what a reader finds interesting is also objectively wrong, as most other people seemed to love this book. Sorry David, I’ll try harder next time…
January 8, 2026
This book took us almost a year to finish, and for good reason!
David Attenborough has lived a very exciting life as a broadcaster and is clearly a lovely man. I adore his passion for the natural world, whether that be mammals, reptiles, plants, birds, you name it.
The best sections of this book were the ones you didn’t expect. For example, Attenborough’s quest to find the age and place in the world where his wooden figurine carving came from was truly fascinating. Another was a chapter detailing his dissatisfaction with working a desk job at the BBC, which contained many amusing anecdotes.
However the majority of the book was it was exactly what you’d expect it to be — and this book was long. We’re talking 19 hours of Attenborough discussing filming locations, why they chose a particular animal, why that animal was interesting, whether they filmed that animal… rinse and repeat.
Parts of this I loved. But once I’d heard about a few different animals/plants in the same format, it became a little tedious. Ultimately we were relieved to finish the book, though my fondness for Attenborough is still unparalleled.
David Attenborough has lived a very exciting life as a broadcaster and is clearly a lovely man. I adore his passion for the natural world, whether that be mammals, reptiles, plants, birds, you name it.
The best sections of this book were the ones you didn’t expect. For example, Attenborough’s quest to find the age and place in the world where his wooden figurine carving came from was truly fascinating. Another was a chapter detailing his dissatisfaction with working a desk job at the BBC, which contained many amusing anecdotes.
However the majority of the book was it was exactly what you’d expect it to be — and this book was long. We’re talking 19 hours of Attenborough discussing filming locations, why they chose a particular animal, why that animal was interesting, whether they filmed that animal… rinse and repeat.
Parts of this I loved. But once I’d heard about a few different animals/plants in the same format, it became a little tedious. Ultimately we were relieved to finish the book, though my fondness for Attenborough is still unparalleled.
April 29, 2025
“And it was technology that guided us in the order that we did so. The harnessing of computers to time-lapse cameras brought new ways of filming plants. The development of lowlight electronic cameras that were more sensitive than the human eye made it possible to film mammals during the night when so many of them are at their most active. Hypersensitive electronic cameras enabled us to enter the macro-world and look at insects without incinerating them; and thermal cameras gave a new dimension to observing cold-blooded animals. And with that series I had, as it were, completed the set. It was a satisfying feeling. But I cannot claim that it was the completion of a long-held plan. I spent all those years enjoying myself, for I have always found looking at the natural world and trying to understand it one of the greatest pleasures I know.”
David Attenborough speaks about his adventures lightly yet the book is filled with a sense of adventure and exploration. The way the reader is also taken through how sequences were filmed and edited together and how such processes evolved - both in efficiency and quality - over the decades felt really fulfilling. I also admired everyone’s patience in filming the natural world.
David Attenborough speaks about his adventures lightly yet the book is filled with a sense of adventure and exploration. The way the reader is also taken through how sequences were filmed and edited together and how such processes evolved - both in efficiency and quality - over the decades felt really fulfilling. I also admired everyone’s patience in filming the natural world.
December 31, 2025
What a life! I will have to come back to this review because I cannot do justice to this book now in one sitting. But what a life! What a fascinating, great and amazing life! ❤️❤️❤️
For now, I will only quote how he ends the book.
"... completed the set. It was a satisfying feeling. But I cannot claim that it was the completion of a long held plan. I spent all those years enjoying myself for I have always found looking at the natural world and trying to understand it one of the greatest pleasures I know."
Happy reading! 🙃
For now, I will only quote how he ends the book.
"... completed the set. It was a satisfying feeling. But I cannot claim that it was the completion of a long held plan. I spent all those years enjoying myself for I have always found looking at the natural world and trying to understand it one of the greatest pleasures I know."
Happy reading! 🙃
December 3, 2023
Sublime. The latter chapters should be read accompanied by the music of the different series. I'll be rewatching each one after reading this.
October 22, 2022
The biography part was more than interesting, I didn't expect some of the things I read about him. His life is definitely one of the most fascinating ones I've read about. The only bit that was frustrating at times was that he would start describing certain animals and plants as if he were filming a Planet Earth episode, which is not at all what I would expect in a memoir.
December 31, 2013
Fascinating look at Attenborough's life at the BBC as a producer, controller (of BBC2) and finally as a world famous presenter and narrator of some of the best loved nature documentaries I have ever seen.
Don't expect to discover much about his private life, apart from small but loving mentions of his family and his late wife. But do expect to discover a lot of fascinating details about early British television history and the art of producing documentaries.
This book has been updated to include some brief information on his later projects (up to "Life in Cold Blood") so you don't miss much if you have read the earlier edition of this book. You can safely skip to the end to get the updates on his life.
Don't expect to discover much about his private life, apart from small but loving mentions of his family and his late wife. But do expect to discover a lot of fascinating details about early British television history and the art of producing documentaries.
This book has been updated to include some brief information on his later projects (up to "Life in Cold Blood") so you don't miss much if you have read the earlier edition of this book. You can safely skip to the end to get the updates on his life.
November 3, 2014
First of all, don't expect to be able to read this book without hearing his voice in your head narrating as you go along!
It's fascinating to realise how much has changed in the world of tv/film production. His first expedition shot on black and white 16mm film with the sound recorded separately! And he used to be able to bring home a lemur or cockatoo as a gift for his kids. The technology available has changed so much, in part thanks to him and his team pushing boundaries, and our awareness of conservationism has developed for the same reason.
It's a weighty tome, crammed with photos, but very detailed - I often skimmed over bits that weren't him playing with baby gorillas in Rwanda.
It's fascinating to realise how much has changed in the world of tv/film production. His first expedition shot on black and white 16mm film with the sound recorded separately! And he used to be able to bring home a lemur or cockatoo as a gift for his kids. The technology available has changed so much, in part thanks to him and his team pushing boundaries, and our awareness of conservationism has developed for the same reason.
It's a weighty tome, crammed with photos, but very detailed - I often skimmed over bits that weren't him playing with baby gorillas in Rwanda.
February 3, 2017
What a life!
I really enjoyed this. Who doesn't know and love David Attenborough? Jerks, that's who.
I listened to this. It's always nice when authors narrate their own books; David's voice is easy and, strangely, comforting to listen to. I usually listen to all of my audiobooks at at least 1.4×speed, but I could easily have listened to this at normal speed. Mr. Attenborough is a sufficiently speedy reader!
Life on Air is just that, it deals mostly with his career. I would have liked to hear more personal stories added in here and there, but I guess that's just me. So 4.5 stars, rounded up because he is a legend.
I really enjoyed this. Who doesn't know and love David Attenborough? Jerks, that's who.
I listened to this. It's always nice when authors narrate their own books; David's voice is easy and, strangely, comforting to listen to. I usually listen to all of my audiobooks at at least 1.4×speed, but I could easily have listened to this at normal speed. Mr. Attenborough is a sufficiently speedy reader!
Life on Air is just that, it deals mostly with his career. I would have liked to hear more personal stories added in here and there, but I guess that's just me. So 4.5 stars, rounded up because he is a legend.
March 16, 2023
I loved this book! I have been meaning to read it for a long time, and finally read it now as it was chosen for our April read for Thought Foundation Book Club. I started the book well in advance of the meeting to discuss it, because it is so long, but it was so easy to listen to and so interesting that I finished it within a couple of weeks. It is amazing to think of all the changes in the world that David Attenborough has seen first hand and/or has been directly involved with! Thoroughly recommended!
I listened again to this book in March 2023 during the worst gastroenteritis I have ever had. It was a very welcome, comforting distraction during a very difficult time.
I listened again to this book in March 2023 during the worst gastroenteritis I have ever had. It was a very welcome, comforting distraction during a very difficult time.
March 9, 2017
I've listened to the audiobook. The book goes through the author's journey of being a broadcaster who mostly specialised in natural history. Most of it is behind-the-scenes stories for each of the 'quests' that David Attenborough embarked on. I recommend watching all the programmes first (I had not) in order to understand the book well. Lot of the chapters went on about very specific details that required quite a lot of imagination, thus making it hard to keep up with the audio track.
November 25, 2016
What can I say... I love this man.
May 21, 2019
Brilliant story of a pioneering giant of television and conservation.
July 12, 2025
Seems sad to give only four stars to a book written by someone who filled the Grandfather-shaped hole in my life, but I did find a couple of factual errors in dates he gave, and wrong details to two of the Queen's Christmas Speeches he produced in the 1980s. There were also scenes he described making for his bird series which actually appeared in 1990s The Trials of Life, which I still consider to be the best nature documentary series ever made.
Since Sir David has written so many books pertaining to natural history, this book is thin on the ground in providing details to his groundbreaking documentary series, (called "sledgehammers", which may be yet another reason why Peter Gabriel gave that title to his biggest ever hit song), this book is more like additional commentary. It focuses on what went on behind the scenes, including a bizarre misadventure at the place where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set The Lost World.
If you're looking for a book that goes into Sir David's family life, or anything to do with his equally famous brother Sir Richard Attenborough -- forget it. He does mention the agony of losing his wife Jane to a sudden hemorrhage, and the times he managed to make his Dad smile. This does include memories of working with BBC television pioneers like Michael Peacock.
He also worked with George and Joy Adamson, infamous for taking in a lioness cub,Elsa, after George shot her mother. Elsa would be immortalized in the bestselling book Born Free and subsequent movie. However, both of the Adamsons were shits, and Sir David pulled no punches with how uncomfortable he was with this racist pair whose ignorance led to the deaths of many lions and people.
He also worked with Dion Fossey, famous for her National Geographic documentary on mountain gorillas and the biopic Gorillas in the Mist. He and his crew showed up on the day Digit's mutilated corpse was discovered. Sir David pulled no punches here, with a harrowing tale.
Sir David spent most of his life writing for television, so he focuses on the important bits and leaves out a lot of details. It's just his style. He bounces from one topic to another. He turned out to be a major collector of tribal art. Although I love art, I can't get into tribal art. That chapter went pretty slow for me.
Sir David himself was one of the pioneers of television, and also was once head of BBC2. If you are interested in the history of British television, here's your book.
I'm going to miss reading a bit of this book every day.
Since Sir David has written so many books pertaining to natural history, this book is thin on the ground in providing details to his groundbreaking documentary series, (called "sledgehammers", which may be yet another reason why Peter Gabriel gave that title to his biggest ever hit song), this book is more like additional commentary. It focuses on what went on behind the scenes, including a bizarre misadventure at the place where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set The Lost World.
If you're looking for a book that goes into Sir David's family life, or anything to do with his equally famous brother Sir Richard Attenborough -- forget it. He does mention the agony of losing his wife Jane to a sudden hemorrhage, and the times he managed to make his Dad smile. This does include memories of working with BBC television pioneers like Michael Peacock.
He also worked with George and Joy Adamson, infamous for taking in a lioness cub,Elsa, after George shot her mother. Elsa would be immortalized in the bestselling book Born Free and subsequent movie. However, both of the Adamsons were shits, and Sir David pulled no punches with how uncomfortable he was with this racist pair whose ignorance led to the deaths of many lions and people.
He also worked with Dion Fossey, famous for her National Geographic documentary on mountain gorillas and the biopic Gorillas in the Mist. He and his crew showed up on the day Digit's mutilated corpse was discovered. Sir David pulled no punches here, with a harrowing tale.
Sir David spent most of his life writing for television, so he focuses on the important bits and leaves out a lot of details. It's just his style. He bounces from one topic to another. He turned out to be a major collector of tribal art. Although I love art, I can't get into tribal art. That chapter went pretty slow for me.
Sir David himself was one of the pioneers of television, and also was once head of BBC2. If you are interested in the history of British television, here's your book.
I'm going to miss reading a bit of this book every day.
September 19, 2018
This is a big old book, or at least it felt it to me.
The book is a series of tales spent fighting through jungle or conquering some unknown frontier, for a television crew at least. It tracks a huge swathe of his career, from a tedious office job, which as an aspiring film maker with a tedious office job struck a chord, through documentaries, broadcasts, several iterations of the BBC and breaking free to his freelance career. I wasn’t counting, but i reckon there were almost an even split between the humans Attenborough worked with and the plants and animals that fascinated him. That fascination with animals and stories are really does shine through in the reserved and polite manner of the quickly retiring british gent who seems soon to fade away.
It reminds me of Indiana Jones as he pops into the office for a moment between his various archeological adventures. Attenborough politely hops over the admin and office politics of running BBC 2. In stead he devotes as many pages to the feild work that he has become renown for, telling the story behind the footage that has now become iconic. There is much more dangling from trees, trekking through forests and talking to the locals than scratching his head back in the office. In some ways it disappoints me that i didn’t hear more about the sprawling jungle of beuracracy that is the BBC. That said, much like idiana jones, there are several historical characters who make a camera including guiding prime ministers taking their tentative first steps in television and the ever gentle task of directing Queen Elizabeth II for the camera.
Coming from a time where international travel was reserved for the upper crust and their administrators and soldiers, it seems every other tale is a first. As a student of film it is a veritable history of broadcast television and practical film making. The impact of sound and camera equipment can be a dry topic at the best of times. Hearing about the sound recordist needing to crack open the tape recorder and fan the overheating transistors grounds those technological leaps in a practical, human way. Film makers will be reassured to find that the icon of natural history documentaries is more than happy to talk about fluffing peices-to-camera, losing footage and fighting with the equipment as much as the indigenous creatures they came to film.
It was a long book to finish, but in the end i couldn’t help but be inspired. Attenborough seems to be content and happy with his life, and having read his book you can see why. He has spent as much time adventuring as witnessing, if not shaping, history as it happened. In the end though, it didn’t quite cover his entire life and even finishes on the optimistic note that comes with what we know is a colourful retirement. You can tell he works in showbiz. All ways leave them wanting more.
The book is a series of tales spent fighting through jungle or conquering some unknown frontier, for a television crew at least. It tracks a huge swathe of his career, from a tedious office job, which as an aspiring film maker with a tedious office job struck a chord, through documentaries, broadcasts, several iterations of the BBC and breaking free to his freelance career. I wasn’t counting, but i reckon there were almost an even split between the humans Attenborough worked with and the plants and animals that fascinated him. That fascination with animals and stories are really does shine through in the reserved and polite manner of the quickly retiring british gent who seems soon to fade away.
It reminds me of Indiana Jones as he pops into the office for a moment between his various archeological adventures. Attenborough politely hops over the admin and office politics of running BBC 2. In stead he devotes as many pages to the feild work that he has become renown for, telling the story behind the footage that has now become iconic. There is much more dangling from trees, trekking through forests and talking to the locals than scratching his head back in the office. In some ways it disappoints me that i didn’t hear more about the sprawling jungle of beuracracy that is the BBC. That said, much like idiana jones, there are several historical characters who make a camera including guiding prime ministers taking their tentative first steps in television and the ever gentle task of directing Queen Elizabeth II for the camera.
Coming from a time where international travel was reserved for the upper crust and their administrators and soldiers, it seems every other tale is a first. As a student of film it is a veritable history of broadcast television and practical film making. The impact of sound and camera equipment can be a dry topic at the best of times. Hearing about the sound recordist needing to crack open the tape recorder and fan the overheating transistors grounds those technological leaps in a practical, human way. Film makers will be reassured to find that the icon of natural history documentaries is more than happy to talk about fluffing peices-to-camera, losing footage and fighting with the equipment as much as the indigenous creatures they came to film.
It was a long book to finish, but in the end i couldn’t help but be inspired. Attenborough seems to be content and happy with his life, and having read his book you can see why. He has spent as much time adventuring as witnessing, if not shaping, history as it happened. In the end though, it didn’t quite cover his entire life and even finishes on the optimistic note that comes with what we know is a colourful retirement. You can tell he works in showbiz. All ways leave them wanting more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 445 reviews