Life in the Undergrowth - Hardcover

David Attenborough

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0563522089 ISBN 13: 9780563522089

Publisher: BBC Books, 2005

Synopsis

David Attenborough reveals a secret universe it is teeming with life and is all around us, yet we never see it. It is the world of the very small, and it is a world of sex, drugs and violence. Here David shows us not just bugs, beetles and creepy-crawlies, but scorpions and centipedes, mites and mantids, spiders and dragonflies. And not just life in the undergrowth, but the dramatic battles between predator and prey that are happening in the corner of your living room and in your larder. See magnificent spectacles: swarming antler moths; millions of desert locusts; a mountain of locusts. For every pound of humans on Earth, there are 300 pounds of insects.

About this title

Review:

"With its superb synthesis of the majority of living species, Life in the Undergrowth is a high point in David Attenborough's career, but it is also an elegant restatement of something he has spent a lifetime trying to teach: we are simply one species among a multitude, all of which are worthy of our interest and respect." (Tim Flannery New York Review of Books)

"A companion to a new television program on Animal Planet, this wonderful exploration of invertebrates exceeds the requirements for a great nature book through the strength of its photographs and the quality of its prose." (Publisher's Weekly)

"Attenborough is at it again, exploring the natural world with his team of cinematographers and clearly explaining what they've found to a lay audience... The text is always lively." (Booklist)

"The stories told in this book are astonishing, and Attenborough knows just what wonder buttons to push... This is a beautifully written book--a worthwhile addition to any family library and a fitting companion for anyone's lap while watching Life in the the Undergrowth." (Biology Digest)

"Well-known naturalist Attenborough has written this book in a most engaging manner. Illustrated with stunning photographs, it serves both to inspire and inform." (Choice)

From the Back Cover:

"In Life in the Undergrowth, Sir David Attenborough again makes the difficult seem effortless--he delivers with characteristic grace and informality intimate details of the lives of creatures that often pass without notice, and yet on whom the functioning of this biological planet rests. I believe this to be the very best in his series--the sense of breathless wonder in his subject is palpable--and it joins the classic collections of nature essays by E. O. Wilson, Thomas Eisner, and Rachel Carson."--Brian D. Farrell, Professor of Biology and Curator in Entomology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

About this edition

• Publisher: BBC Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0563522089
• ISBN 13: 9780563522089
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288