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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
David Attenborough is one of those beloved Brits equally at home on the small screen or on the page, and Life in the Undergrowth is a companion volume to a television series of the same name. On the cover, a damselfly with the biggest, bluest eyes you ever saw peers out, inviting the reader in for one of Attenborough's trademark forays into the lives--social, sexual and gustatory, if not psychological--of creatures that comprise some 80 percent, says Stephen Marshall [author of Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity] of all identified animal species, with doubtless many more to come. -- Martin Levin, Globe and Mail
[A] beautifully produced study of fossil invertebrates. -- John Wilson, First Things --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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
David Attenborough is one of those beloved Brits equally at home on the small screen or on the page, and Life in the Undergrowth is a companion volume to a television series of the same name. On the cover, a damselfly with the biggest, bluest eyes you ever saw peers out, inviting the reader in for one of Attenborough's trademark forays into the lives--social, sexual and gustatory, if not psychological--of creatures that comprise some 80 percent, says Stephen Marshall [author of Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity] of all identified animal species, with doubtless many more to come. -- Martin Levin, Globe and Mail
[A] beautifully produced study of fossil invertebrates. -- John Wilson, First Things --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The book to accompany Attenborough's exploration of the tiny world of the insects. An excellent, well packaged, highly informative and profusely illustrated little tome, this is great value and an exciting and stimulating introduction to the subject. The material presented is accessible - you will not be baffled by academic or scientific jargon - and, far from being simply a reference book, this is a very readable volume. It will stimulate your interest in the subject.
However, this is not the television series - the photographs are excellent, the writing clear, but the book cannot capture the excitement and wonder which the moving image achieves. BBC television has an extraordinary record in presenting wildlife programmes, and the filming of this series is of the highest quality. The book, therefore, is a little disappointing purely and simply because it cannot offer the momentum and dynamic of the moving image and 'live' sound.
I comment on the difference between book and programme not as a criticism, but as a warning - I have often heard people complain that a book didn't live up to the series. They're different animals. If you don't get the same sense of immediacy and presence from the book, what you do get is a lasting sense of wonder. Books like this inspire people to look further into the subject. You will find yourself reading this and stopping to watch insects differently. Beware - there are pictures of spiders; while these are misunderstood little creatures, they do scare the …. out of many people, so be wary who you sit next to when reading it. Of course, if you have a malicious sense of humour, I recommend leaving the book open at page … .
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I thought this book was very good, since it gave a very general aspect of many insects, in their own habitat. The pictures are of very high quality and there is some material in the book which is not available in the DVD. Of course there are some things which are only shown in the DVD, such as the area where it shows the development of a bumblebee nest.
I do think that it is probably his best book so far out of all his nature books. I would recommend this book to everyone who is starting to study nature.
I do think that it is probably his best book so far out of all his nature books. I would recommend this book to everyone who is starting to study nature.
15 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I cant help thinking cynically after reading the book that its a bit of a con, making you buy the book as the series is so good but the book is not closely related enough to the series, the chapters are the same and it features many of the same anecdotes of invertebrate behaviour but the pictures were not taken as part of the filming of the show, if only they were! They are stock photos and while some are of a very high standard (one page showing 4 photos of a dragonfly emerging from his chrysalis) some are not so impressive which is not something you really expect from a book accompanying a david attenborough series.
The dvd is worth owning but the book is not.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
High quality pictures and a splendid read
As a collector of David Attenborough books I have found this a great addition to my book shelf. It completes my 'life in' selection, and deserves its pride of place. Read more
Published 21 hours ago by Christine Smith
Fantastic book
This book, as expected, is based upon the TV series, and as with the series, is an excellent introduction to those creatures that are easily ignored or dismissed. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Clare Topping
insects
This is one of the authors better books mainly due to the improved photography which is quite outstanding in some areas. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2009 by G. I. Forbes
Read alone or with the series
'Life in the undergrowth' can be read either as an accompaniment to the TV series or as a standalone book. Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2007 by Wildlife Bookworm
Watch your step!
They're there in their swarming multitudes. Millions upon millions of tiny creatures which we rarely observe and even more rarely consider. In large part we ignore them. Read more
Published on 8 April 2007 by Stephen A. Haines
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