The Life of Mammals

by David Attenborough

Book Overview

From the under-snow tunnels of Arctic lemmings to the egg nests of the bizarre Australian echidna, from the Pacific waters inhabited by sea otters and whales to the subways of major cities, this extraordinary and attractive book brings us into the homes and lives of some of earth's most fascinating animals.

Published in conjunction with a ten-part television series that will air on the Discovery Channel, The Life of Mammals brings us nose-to-nose with mammals in all of their beauty and immense variety. Renowned naturalist, writer, and filmmaker David Attenborough treks across every continent and kind of terrain to introduce us to such unusual and evolutionarily successful creatures as the Patagonian opossum, the Canadian pygmy shrew, the Alpine marmot, and the Malaysian sun bear. We meet slow-moving algae-covered sloths. We enter a pack of African wild dogs, seeing how their division of labor enables them to provide protection and food to pups, mothers, and old dogs. We learn about the navigation systems of bats and find out why Borneo's colugo is a superior glider to a flying squirrel. Along the way, Attenborough considers how evolution has shaped mammalian habits, leading herbivorous sea cows to take to the water and humans to commence agriculture.

Containing more than 200 spectacular color photographs, this is a book that will gratify anyone intrigued by the natural world and the animals that inhabit it. Informative, utterly absorbing, and classic Attenborough, it represents natural history at its finest.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691113246
• ISBN13: 9780691113241
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 2.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.7" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Nature Programming at Its Best!

Sir David Attenborough delivers (again)! If meaningful/concise/informative nature programing is your thing, this is the set to buy. You will not be dissapointed. I strongly recommend this series (or any series where Sir Attenborough has played a part in for that matter)!

Attenborough is fantastic!

A very well written basic introduction into mammalia. Attenborough never fails to write great books. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in biology/animals or any student thinking of pursuing zoology or a similar course.

Beautiful Photos, Engaging Read

I read this book cover-to-cover in about 6 hours. The text is easy to read, though I do admit I had to make a short list of words to look up in the dictionary (and I'm an English major and a professional editor. Gasp!). The text is also extremely engaging. As I read "Life of Mammals," I found myself stopping to share bits and pieces of what Attenborough wrote with various family members, usually starting the conversation with, "This is amazing! Did you know...?" Attenborough devotes a lot of rich detail to the descriptions and histories of animals he choses to cover, all fascinating. There were times when I yearned for more, though I realize you can't devote too many pages to one animal when you're trying to discuss 50 or so different species in one 200+ page book. He also tried to incorporate at least one photograph of each animal he discussed, which I appreciated so much. The photos, by the way, are gorgeous. My boyfriend's 10-year old sister and I spent one hour simply looking at the photographs and discussing each, which was fun for us both. I enjoyed this book so much that I just bought "Life of Birds," also by Attenborough, and am looking forward to reading it, too.

One Fine Book.

Written in transparent prose which also happens to be very engaging, this book provides you with lots and lots of detailed information about all kinds of mammals, of whose lives will astound many a reader. In case you're too tired to read the text, there's always the abundance (more than 200) of top-class "spectacular color photographs," as the book description above says/claims. This happens to be true.I can only speak from my own experience, and so I can say I'm an admirer of this man's television series. David Attenborough's enthusiasms about the natural world (be they rocks, plants, or animals) are very apparent on the screen, and definitely in this book too.Be sure to give 'The Life of Mammals' a try.