(1) DAVID ATTENBOROUGH –

LIFE ON EARTH (1979)

 

What are we but fish that couldn’t swim and had to crawl?

Or apes that couldn’t climb and had to think?

 

That’s from me rather than Sir David Attenborough, “British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian, and writer…best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth”.

And this is the book of the first of the Life collection, that with Desmond Morris’ The Human Animal are my Old Testament and New Testament of, well, life on earth and the human animal. In particular, Life on Earth was my Book of Genesis, the unfolding story of evolution that thrilled me far more than its Biblical counterpart of creation from episode to episode when I watched it (and chapter to chapter when I read it) as a child. Indeed, so much so that when I see the account of creation in the Book of Genesis, I reconstruct it as Life on Earth – and hear it in Attenborough’s voice.

In short, Attenborough is nothing short of a hero of mine – you might call me an…Atten-bro. Yes – I groaned too.

But seriously, I have been an avid fan of his Life collection, which I have consistently both watched as TV series and read as books – although I will always hold Life on Earth in my heart as my favorite.

“Beginning with Life on Earth in 1979, Attenborough set about creating a body of work which became a benchmark of quality in wildlife film-making, and influenced a generation of documentary film-makers. The series established many of the hallmarks of the BBC’s natural history output. By treating his subject seriously and researching the latest discoveries, Attenborough and his production team gained the trust of scientists, who responded by allowing him to feature their subjects in his programmes.”

Of course, the quality of film-making is not as evident in the book, given that it is a book rather than a TV series – although it is still a gloriously beautiful book, with photographs drawn from the series or its production. The globe-trotting that was such a delight in the TV series – cutting from one continent to another – is still evident to a degree in the juxtaposition of subjects. Just don’t be surprised if you also see it pop up in my Top 10 TV list.

 

There are thirteen chapters, each corresponding to an episode of the series – with subjects reasonably self-evident from the titles.

1 – The Infinite Variety

This is where it all began – from single cell organisms to sponges, jellyfish and coral.

Although it is odd to think that although this was a single chapter or episode, it’s over half the timespan involved in the evolution of life. In other words, if the evolution of life was compressed into a single year, it’s not until July that we move past this first chapter.

2 – Building Bodies

Aquatic invertebrates, culminating in crustaceans on land leading to…

3 – The First Forests

Terrestrial vegetation and invertebrates.

An intriguing aspect is this was when sexual reproduction began to involve actual bodily contact (rather than letting water do the work) – and the evolution of courtship rituals for the male to avoid being eaten by the female. Sometimes. Hmm – I wonder how my ex-wife is these days…

4 – The Swarming Hordes

Following on from the previous chapter – insects and the flowers they pollinate, one of my favorite episodes or chapters

5 – Conquest of the Waters

Behold the backbone!

Go, fish!

6 – Invasion of the Land

Yeah – this is when we get to the fish that couldn’t swim and had to crawl part. In other words, amphibians.

7 – Victors of the Dry Land

The former rulers of the earth – reptiles!

8 – Lords of the Air

The former and present rulers of the air – birds! And a few odd ones that can’t fly

 

9 – The Rise of the Mammals

10 – Theme & Variations

11 – Hunter & Hunted

Yeah – it’s mammals all the way down from here

Again, odd to think of five chapters of thirteen – more than a third – devoted to mammals, tiny part of all life on earth in species or span. But what can I say – I’m a fan of my fellow mammals so I’m not complaining about the mammal-heavy focus.

 

12 – Life in the Trees

Primates! The best of mammals!

13 – The Compulsive Communicators

And here we are, at the apes that couldn’t climb and had to think part.

The original hardback book had a cover image of a Panamanian red-eyed tree frog, photographed by Attenborough himself and which “became an instantly recognizable emblem of the series”.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER – OR IS THAT LIFE TIER?)