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David Attenborough - Life on Air

Memoirs of a Broadcaster

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David Attenborough - Life on Air

By: David Attenborough
Narrated by: David Attenborough
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About this listen

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
Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Animals Biological Sciences Entertainment & Celebrities Outdoors & Nature Science Inspiring Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

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

All stars
Most relevant
Hours upon hours on delightful listening. This gentle, humble, tenacious man takes us on the journey of his life and, if like me you grew up with him on the television, our lives too. Always compelling, sometimes a little sentimental but always delightful I sometimes sat on a bench once getting off the tube before going to where I had to just to here the end of a story. It's an utter delight and I will easily, nay definitely, listen to it more than once.

Utter wonderful. Download; you won't regret it.

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I loved every minute of listening to the Author reading his memoirs, he has such an amazing voice and is a brilliant story teller. I raced through it but towards the end started rationing my listening because I simply didnt want it to end. Thank you David for a wonderful listen.

I didnt want it to end

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I'm not really interested in other people talking about their life, but this book is really interesting, it is much more than David Attenborough telling a story of his life, he talks about the development of natural history programmes, how filming the natural world has changed and the work that has gone into filming. What a life he has had. The book was informative, funny and sad, but if you are interested in the world and wildlife then, this book is a must.

Fantastic

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Despite now being a certified "National Treasure" (an accolade he must hate!), David Attenborough is a naturally gifted story-teller, who has led an extraordinary life, during a unique period of our history.

He was there, telling how it was in the very early days of BBC television, where thick white makeup was mandatory, the lighting had to be blindingly bright, and the huge immovable cameras were only inches from your face. ascending to become controller of BBC2, as the first colour TV channel and finally "controller of programmes". It was DA who commissioned greats such as "The Ascent of Man", "Civilization" and "Cosmos", before getting bored of management and going off to create his own fantastic mega-series such as "Life on Earth", "The Living Planet", "The Life of Plants" and the whole cannon of his natural history and anthropological works.

As part of his pioneering work in the BBC, he ventured to wild and far-flung places, to live among aboriginal tribes, traversing the outback or hacking through dense jungles to study rare and exotic species, some of which are now extinct. Who can forget his exchanging glances with a Silverback Gorrilla in the jungle! His courageous adventures into dangerous terrains show there is much more steel to his character than the urbane, gently spoken persona might lead us to believe.

I feared I would not enjoy this book, as it covers very little of his formative years, and such adult autobiographies can become lists of names to be credited. Not a bit of it - while giving full credit to those he worked with, his narration is delightful and enchanting, full of wonderful anecdotes and never for a moment dull. I cannot give it less than 5 stars!

What a life! Fantastic.

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Would you listen to David Attenborough - Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster again? Why?

This is a gentle reminiss of the start of his broadcasting career and with many anecdotes of how he encouraged the BBC to employ him in the roles that he wanted

Which character – as performed by David Attenborough – was your favourite?

David Attenborough

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it is really good to dip into at different times though

A True raconteur

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