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My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future
by David Attenborough
In this scientifically informed account of the changes occurring in the world over the last century, award-winning broadcaster and natural historian shares a lifetime of wisdom and a hopeful vision for the future.
See the world. Then make it better.
I am 93. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how extraordinary.
As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day -- the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity.
I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake -- and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.
We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited.
All we need is the will do so.
"The eminent traveler and naturalist delivers a combination of memoir and manifesto, the first leisurely, the second earnest....Recognizing that we are at a tipping point, Attenborough is refreshingly optimistic, noting that one thing humans do well is solve problems. Anyone concerned with the planet's ecological future will want to spend time with this excellent book." - Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This shortish book is his troubled valedictory. It is also a "witness statement" warning of the end of the world that made him." - The Times (London)
This information about A Life on Our Planet was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sir David Attenborough is a BAFTA and Emmy-Award winning broadcaster and natural historian. He is the internationally bestselling author of over 25 books, including Life on Earth. He also served as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s, and as the President of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation in the 90s.
Jonnie Hughes is a science writer and documentary director, who has produced science and natural history films for the BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, and Netflix, as well as working on BAFTA award-winning BBC series The Hunt and the Emmy award-winning production Our Planet. He is the author of On the Origin of Tepees, and his writing has appeared in The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, BBC Wildlife Magazine,and Geographical, among others.
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Use what talents you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best
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