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  • Published: 1 October 2010
  • ISBN: 9781408495032
  • Imprint: BBC DL
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 19 hr 23 min
  • Narrator: David Attenborough
  • RRP: $32.99

David Attenborough Life On Air: Memoirs Of A Broadcaster



David Attenborough reads his revised and updated edition of the Sunday Times bestseller, the fascinating account of his life as a presenter and natural history programme-maker

David Attenborough reads his own bestselling memoir

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

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.

  • Published: 1 October 2010
  • ISBN: 9781408495032
  • Imprint: BBC DL
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 19 hr 23 min
  • Narrator: David Attenborough
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best-known natural history film-maker. His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly six decades.

His first job - after Cambridge University and two years in the Royal Navy - was at a London publishing house. 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, and 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), Life of Birds (1998), The Blue Planet (2001), Life of Mammals (2002), Planet Earth (2006) and Life in Cold Blood (2008).

Sir David was knighted in 1985, is an Honorary Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society, and stands at the forefront of issues concerning the planet's declining species and conservation.

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Praise for David Attenborough Life On Air: Memoirs Of A Broadcaster

What shines through most of all is his enthusiasm

Sunday Telegraph

David Attenborough wears his achievements lightly and there as many laughs here as there are animals

Michael Palin
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