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| Original Title: | David Attenborough: Life on Air |
| ISBN: | 0563487801 (ISBN13: 9780563487807) |
| Edition Language: | English |
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David Attenborough hardly needs any introduction; his voice has accompanied so many of the best natural history programs that have graced our televisions over several decades. Life On Air, his autobiography, tells the story of how he has managed to professionalise his schoolboy interests in such a remarkably successful way.Attenborough's Life On Air began in 1950, having taken a degree in Natural Sciences in the University of Cambridge, done National Service in the Navy, got married, done a year as an editor with an educational publisher, had a son and then answered a BBC recruiting ad in the Times. Turned down for BBC Radio, he was offered a traineeship in BBC TV which was pioneering the medium in Britain and he has never looked back. The rest is TV history and you can read Sir David's personal view of it all in his engaging and highly entertaining book.
This is no boring story of the rise and rise of a media mogul in the smoke-filled rooms of Ally Pally and Lime Grove. Having served his apprenticeship producing programmes like Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? and Song Hunter with the famous American folk singer and song collector Alan Lomax, he managed to escape from the confines of overlit studios into the natural world. Zoo Quest began in 1954 with an animal collecting trip to Sierra Leone and David Attenborough had found his metier. Since then he has managed to bring the wonders of the natural world into millions of living rooms around the world and to reach general audiences without patronising them, without any spurious antics, silly voices or dumbing down. His animal and plant subjects are the stars, Attenborough is the master of ceremonies who introduces the acts for our wonder and amazement. But his scope extends way beyond the birds and the bees.
In the 1960s, it was suggested that he took up an administrative post--"after all, you won't want to be gallivanting around the world when you are 50". Fortunately, he did not abandon gallivanting for admin but went freelance, studied anthropology and helped extend our view of native peoples and sympathies for their life styles. He went on to become responsible for coming up with famous BBC TV series such as Kenneth Clark's incredibly successful Civilisation series, followed by Bronowski's The Ascent of Man. Inevitably, he did become one of the BBC suits but one that wore a camouflage jacket.
What is remarkable is that Attenborough has managed to do it for so long without really changing his own style too much. He has not had to because the technology has changed and so he has constantly been able to give new views and insights into the details of life on Earth. Writing pretty much as he speaks, it is easy to hear his voice, dry sense of humour and generosity coming through all the time. Do not expect to read personal details, navel-gazing or malicious gossip--that is not his style. The only personal note comes at the end with the death of his wife in 1997. Over 100 photos associated with the huge range of programmes he has been intimately involved with decorate Life On Air, a fascinating personal story of our times. He says that he knows of "no pleasure deeper than that which comes from contemplating the natural world and trying to understand it"; he certainly manages to convey that in Life On Air. --Douglas Palmer
Present Of Books David Attenborough's Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster
| Title | : | David Attenborough's Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster |
| Author | : | David Attenborough |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 384 pages |
| Published | : | September 4th 2003 by BBC Books (first published 2002) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Biography. Autobiography. Audiobook. Science |
Rating Of Books David Attenborough's Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster
Ratings: 4.41 From 3046 Users | 305 ReviewsCrit Of Books David Attenborough's Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster
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.Not a single typo 👌
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.
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
David Attenborough is one of my personal heroes. He has an unquenchable curiosity about the natural world and anthropology of tribal cultures; a quiet passion for public service; a talent for applying new technologies as they become relevant to his work; and an incredibly dry sense of humor that weaves throughout every story he tells. And he is a born story-teller.He virtually invented the modern nature documentary with "Zoo Quest" in the 1950s, and continued to push the envelope in this field
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.
One of the people I most admire, listening to Attenborough's biography on audiobook was a true delight.
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