Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Science & Technology Winner

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough



See the world. Then make it better.

I am 94. 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 to do so.

I love David Attenborough, his attitude towards our planet, the way he educates us and shows us the beauty around us. I've just started a big 500+ pages book, and if I finish it in time, I'll read this one too. If not now, definitely soon.

David Attenborough is a LEGEND!

Lynn wrote: "David Attenborough is a LEGEND!"

Indeed...

I have this on audiobook so I will be listening to it.

Is it read by him? Let us know how the audio version is...

Yes it is read by him! That’s why I bought it from audible. I’ll update once I’ve listened to some of it.

Let us know what you think. :)

I’ve listened to quite a bit of this on audio now. The narration is superb!

Part 1 was kind of depressing. He starts each chapter with stats on the population, amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and amount of wilderness left in the world in that year. It was really sad to see the change every few years.

Later on the book does give more of a sense of hope, but also pairs that really well with a sense of urgency. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough to help out with this global problem and wanted to get up and act right away.