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The original book which has now been updated.

David Attenborough’s unforgettable meeting with gorillas became an iconic moment for millions of television viewers. Life on Earth, the series and accompanying book, fundamentally changed the way we view and interact with the natural world setting a new benchmark of quality, influencing a generation of nature lovers. Told through an examination of animal and plant life, this is an astonishing celebration of the evolution of life on earth, with a cast of characters drawn from the whole range of organisms that have ever lived on this planet. Attenborough’s perceptive, dynamic approach to the evolution of millions of species of living organisms takes the reader on an unforgettable journey of discovery from the very first spark of life to the blue and green wonder we know today.

Review on the new edition: I suspect that I was one of many who availed themselves of the opportunity of purchasing the kindle copy when this was on promo, and a very good book this is. One thing to be aware of though if you also have downloaded this kindle edition is that apart from the drawings at the beginning of a chapter, all the photos are in colour, so personally I read this on my iPad. Even therefore if you decide to read the actual text on a standard e-reader I would strongly recommend you if and when you get an opportunity to view the photos on a colour device, so that you can take in the wonderful coloration of some of the species on our amazing planet. I would also advise you to read the prologue before starting the rest of the book as well.

This is a special edition because the series that accompanied this was first broadcast way back in the Seventies, and of course our understanding on some subjects has altered due to further study and technological advances, thus this book takes in this newer information. So, for those who saw the original series they will know that it was a success not only in this country, but throughout the world, and made David Attenborough a household name. I know that some people will not accept evolution by natural selection which the majority of us do subscribe to (although it does have to be admitted that a number of people do not understand that when talking about the process Darwin wrote about natural selection is entwined with evolution, and they are not some completely separate issue), and of course there is mention of the subject here, as well as geology and the age of our planet, but whether you agree with this or not, this book does show the wide variety of life on our planet, and how strange some creatures really appear to be compared to ourselves.

For the majority of us, whatever a person’s own beliefs are, we can only gasp in amazement at the life teeming around us, from plants to simple living organisms, up to and including the most complex animals, and it is wonderful to read about this, and see how everything is interconnected. As David Attenborough points out in the epilogue, we can see and know about how important our integration is, and without the diversity around us we would suffer with problems such as food and its production. If you just think about earthworms and bees, you immediately understand their importance in the world and the reasons for this, and this applies to so much of what is around us. Showing us how different species evolved and similarities and dissimilarities between them, so we can see how creatures can cope with different climates around the world, after all there are creatures who can survive and thrive somewhat in some of the most inhospitable regions that are known. In all this makes for a fascinating and absorbing read and is surely a book that you will come back to time and time again, even if it just to read about a certain animal. With well-reasoned and informative text, the number of colour photos here is like the icing on a cake, thus making this a book well worth owning. Now, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the book’s first publication, David Attenborough has revisited Life on Earth, completely updating and adding to the original text, taking account of modern scientific discoveries from around the globe. He has chosen beautiful, completely new photography, helping to illustrate the book in a much greater way than was possible forty years ago. This special anniversary edition provides a fitting tribute to an enduring wildlife classic, destined to enthral the generation who saw it when first published and bring it alive for a whole new generation.