Author:David Attenborough,David Attenborough
One of the nation's most popular presenters examines twenty marvels of the natural world from his extraordinary and pioneering experiences.What was Sir David's first pet? Which animal would he most like to be? What creature lays 'the biggest egg in the world'? How do you communicate with an ancient nomadic community in Fiji? And what did Sir David do when confronted by a ten-foot-long reptile? His enthusiasm is as infectious as ever, and conveys a unique fascination on topics as diverse as the Sloth, Monstrous Flowers, the Platypus, Giant Birds, Dragons, the Fire Salamander, Faking Fossils, the Coelacanth, the Dodo, Bird's-nest Soup and the Large Blue Butterfly. So listen to these stories to find out the real reason why animals sing, the story behind a 150-million-year-old feather and what it is about snakes that really unnerves Sir David.
3 CDs. 3 hrs 9 mins.
his opening talk, about his affinity with the gently ruminant three-toed sloth, was pure delight
—— Daily Telegraph , Gillian Reynoldsall the time the lilting, dancing voice is alight with wonder and — let’s call a spade a spade — love.
—— Simon Barnes , The Timeshis seen-it-all air is like aural comfort food, and the asides are as good as ever.
—— Elisabeth Mahoney , The GuardianIn After the Ice, Alun Anderson, former editor of New Scientist, has made a heroic effort to understand the science of the region. Parts of his wise book will interest only the thriving new species of Arctic wonks - but Anderson does address what should be the world's great concern.
—— Simon Kuper , Financial TimesThe inside story of how nations will soon be vying for control over the defrosting Arctic.
—— The TimesA clear and chilling account of the science of the Arctic and a gripping glimpse of how the future may turn out there
—— The EconomistConcise, literate, truthful and often moving... as well-written and sensitive an account, by a decent, cultivated and highly intelligent person, of the glories and miseries of the practice as are likely ever to read
—— Literary ReviewThis is a compassionate, front-line report from what can often seem like alien territory.
—— Daily Telegraph Summer ReadsThe practice of medicine is a way of living: vivid and engrossing, it stimulates senses physical and metaphysical...It is a rare skill for a doctor to be able to communicate this rich sensorium in writing. It is a delight to read the words of one who does it so well
—— The EconomistA superb account of life on the grisly front line of the operating theatre
—— Christopher Hart , Sunday TimesThis slender, elegantly written memoir by a female surgeon, Gabriel Weston, is a fascinating, no holds barred account of life in the operating theatre
—— IndependentThrough this insightful book, Weston succeeds superbly in communicating the fascinating brutal reality of a surgeon's life
—— Ian Critchley , Daily TelegraphGabriel Weston's story succeeds better than any I have known...more riveting and thought-provoking than any fiction
—— The Lady, Susan HillGlinting like a tray of instruments, her prose is satisfyingly precise
—— Victoria Segal , The GuardianA curiously thrilling read, written with an elegance heightened by its clarity and economy
—— Elizabeth Day , ObserverA valuable and unflinching account, since it so clearly tells the truth
—— Christopher Hart , The Sunday TimesThis book is mesmerising
—— William Leith , ScotsmanHer description of the struggle to remain individual and hence moral is her real achievement. This, to me, is what female writing has to do, and she does it with style and humour and beauty
—— Rachel CuskRichard Dawkin's new book... gives the fact-rejecters their just deserts
—— Daily TelegraphThe book is full of evidence, some familiar and some new. Its case is presented in a manner succinct, clear and sometimes vivid
—— Daily TelegraphNo other book currently available approaches Dawkin's comprehensive yet accessible treatment of the extraordinarily diverse and massive body of data that drives ineluctably to the same conclusion
—— National Center for Science EducationThe Greatest Show on Earth is a lucid, thorough and often exciting survey of evolution and takes in rats' teeth, dogs, bacteria, the so-called missing link, crustaceans, giraffe anatomy, hummingbirds, chimpanzees, enzymes - you name it. It is informed in nearly every paragraph by Mr. Dawkins's irrepressible enthusiasm
—— Sarah Lyall , New York TimesThe Greatest Show on Earth... is essential reading. I would currently rate it... as the best overall book on the evidence for Evolution
—— Marc E. Miquel , SCOPEThis is a magnificent book of wonderstanding: Richard Dawkins combines an artist's wonder at the virtuosity of nature with a scientist's understanding of how it comes to be
—— Matt Ridley, author of "Nature via Nurture"