Living Planet: The Web of Life on Earth

Description

The Sunday Times Bestseller A new, fully updated narrative edition of David Attenborough's seminal biography of our world, The Living Planet. Nowhere on our planet is devoid of life. Plants and animals thrive or survive within every extreme of climate and habitat that it offers. Single species, and often whole communities adapt to make the most of ice cap and tundra, forest and plain, desert, ocean and volcano. These adaptations can be truly extraordinary: fish that walk or lay eggs on leaves in mid-air; snakes that fly; flightless birds that graze like deer; and bears that grow hair on the soles of their feet. In The Living Planet, David Attenborough's searching eye, unfailing curiosity and infectious enthusiasm explain and illuminate the intricate lives of the these colonies, from the lonely heights of the Himalayas to the wild creatures that have established themselves in the most recent of environments, the city. By the end of this book it is difficult to say which is the more astonishing - the ingenuity with which individual species contrive a living, or the complexity of their interdependence on each other and on the habitations provided by our planet. In this new edition, the author, with the help of zoologist Matthew Cobb, has added all the most up-to-date discoveries of ecology and biology, as well as a full-colour 64-page photography section. He also addresses the urgent issues facing our living planet: climate change, pollution and mass extinction of species.

David Attenborough is one of the world's leading naturalists and broadcasters. His distinguished career spans more than sixty years, and his extraordinary contribution to natural history broadcasting and film-making has brought him international recognition, from Life on Earth to Frozen Planet, Planet Earth to Blue Planet. He has achieved many professional awards, honours and merits, including the CBE and OM, and was knighted in 1985.

Praise for the New Edition of Life on Earth: 'It does not disappoint. The new Life on Earth is as glorious as the first' Guardian 'A beautiful and wide ranging work. The breadth of natural history covered is extraordinary and mesmerising. Life on Earth is still breathtakingly rich, and we would know far less about it were it not for Attenborough's wonderful skills of communication over the years: our cultural and scientific lives would be poorer without him' New Scientist 'This natural history masterpiece offers a spectacular snapshot of a once-wild planet' New Scientist Praise for David Attenborough: 'A marvellous book ... unputdownable ... utterly engaging' Telegraph 'An elegant and gently funny writer' The Times 'His writing is as impressive and as enjoyable as his TV programmes and there can be no higher praise' Daily Express 'A great educator as well as a great naturalist' Barack Obama 'Sir David is a wizard of television, and, like Gandalf or Dumbledore, he has a near-magical gift for combining warmth and gravitas . . . the man who, for me, exemplifies the best in British broadcasting' Louis Theroux 'When I was a young boy I used to love turning on the television and watching David's programmes and really feeling like I was either back out in Africa or I was learning about something magical and almost out of this planet' HRH Prince William