David Attenborough has been connected with all kinds of writings. These can be grouped as both articles and books in which he either wrote only the introduction or the entire books is attributed to him. The articles are mostly out of the realm of this project, being out of reach. This piece is meant to cover the books, specifically those connected with TV series that he has either presented or narrated.
The books that made Attenborough most famous were those accompanying various television series collectively known, and released by the BBC, as Life Collection. There were two versions of the boxed set known as Life Collection, the first one seemingly released prematurely because the final installment of the box, Life in Cold Blood, had not yet been released. There is, however, a different series – Life in the Freezer – that stands out in a more dramatic way. In addition to the series being the only one that is geographically restricted and the only one that has episodes of only 30 minutes playing time (the usual playing time is 50-60 minutes) this one was accompanied by a book not written by Attenborough. He only wrote the introduction. This is the only series in the Life Collection standing out in this way. All the rest were written by him, and all the rest also stick to a certain look. Regardless of the length of a series. Be it 6 episodes (Plant series) or 13 (Life on Earth) all the accompanying books have the same basic look on the book shelf.
The term ‘wildlife’ applies to all living beings. These could belong to any of the following
1. Animals – The most conspicuous because we belong to them
2. Plants – Maybe most underrated because they play a vital role through photosynthesis
4. Fungi – Often mistaken as plants they play a fundamental role in re-using material
5. Microbes (bacteria and viruses, the cause of covid) – rarely mentioned but when they are mentioned they are of fundamental importance
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Attenborough was born on 8 May 1926 in Isleworth, Middlesex,[10][11] and grew up in College House on the campus of the University College, Leicester, where his father, Frederick, was principal.[12] He is the middle of three sons; his elder brother, Richard (died in 2014), became an actor and director, and his younger brother, John (died in 2012), was an executive at Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo.[9] During the Second World War, through a British volunteer network known as the Refugee Children’s Movement, his parents also fostered two Jewish refugee girls from Germany.[13]
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Attenborough spent his childhood collecting fossils, stones, and natural specimens.[14] He received encouragement when a young Jacquetta Hawkes admired his collection.[15] He spent much time in the grounds of the university. Aged around 11, he heard that the zoology department needed a large supply of newts, which he offered through his father to supply for 3d each. The source, which he did not reveal at the time, was a pond right next to the department.[16] A year later, his adoptive sister Marianne gave him a piece of amber containing prehistoric creatures; some sixty years later, it would be the focus of his programme The Amber Time Machine.[17]
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In 1936, Attenborough and his brother Richard attended a lecture by Grey Owl (Archibald Belaney) at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, and were influenced by his advocacy of conservation. According to Richard, David was “bowled over by the man’s determination to save the beaver, by his profound knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Canadian wilderness and by his warnings of ecological disaster should the delicate balance between them be destroyed. The idea that mankind was endangering nature by recklessly despoiling and plundering its riches was unheard of at the time, but it is one that has remained part of Dave’s own credo to this day.”[18] In 1999, Richard directed a biopic of Belaney entitled Grey Owl.[19]
Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester.[20] He won a scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge in 1945 to study geology and zoology and obtained a degree in natural sciences.[21] In 1947, he was called up for national service in the Royal Navy and spent two years stationed in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.[15] In 1950, Attenborough married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel. The couple had two children, Robert and Susan. Jane died in 1997.[22] Robert is a senior lecturer in bioanthropology for the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra.[23][24] Susan is a former primary school headmistress.[20]
Attenborough had a pacemaker fitted in June 2013, as well as a double knee replacement in 2015.[25] In September 2013 he commented: “If I was earning my money by hewing coal I would be very glad indeed to stop. But I’m not. I’m swanning round the world looking at the most fabulously interesting things. Such good fortune.”[26]