A Life on Our Planet

A well-written wake-up call on the loss of our planet's biodiversity and its impact on our climate.

First of all, I'd highly recommend listening to the audiobook. If you love Sir David Attenborough's documentaries, then I think you'll really enjoy hearing him narrate the book. I normally listen to audiobooks at 1.5x speed or higher, but this was one of the only books I listened to at 1.0x speed because 1) it didn't feel right to listen to it any faster than that, and 2) Sir David's voice is so calming!

The book starts out somewhat like an autobiography as Sir David takes his readers through how he became a well-known naturalist. Eventually, through his work showcasing wildlife around the world, he starts learning about the deteriorating biodiversity, and that's where he starts delving more into the topic of climate change.

You can really tell that this book is written by a natural historian because of its focus on animals and biodiversity. I recently read Bill Gates' How to Avoid a Climate Disaster and though both are of the genre “intro to climate change”, it felt like they were approaching the topic from two different angles. Sir David's book talks more about the impact of deforestation, illegal trade of wild animals, etc whereas Bill Gates' book had much more focus on innovation.

5 million stars.

David Attenborough is to me the British version of Piero Angela, the executive producer of the documentary series named Super Quark in Italy.

I urge you all to read this and watch also the same documentary on Netflix for the following reasons:
- it provides a very clear and structured explanation of what's happening to our planet: from what we have done to it, to the consequences of our actions, to what we have to do to make amendments.
- you do not need to have a scientific degree to understand it, although you'll benefit from knowing a few concepts in advance, at least superficially. For example, what the initial and final products of photosynthesis and cellular respiration are: nothing that a quick read on the wiki can't do.
- if you are not sure if the climate disturbances we are experiencing in the last decades are linked to biodiversity loss and our ever-going expansion (i.e. conversion of natural habitats into land for humans), this book will explain to you how and why
- it includes a glossary, which explains specific terminology, like ‘carrying capacity', ‘carbon storage', ‘bioenergy', ‘biochar', etc.

Please note that if you are a person who already cares about the stakes our planet is at and who is already doing small everyday actions to live more sustainably, this book won't soothe your worries.
If you don't care about ‘climate crisis', well, I will recommend you this book, because you should care, since Earth is our home and we are all connected to each other.

Sir David Attenborough uses very graphic and melodic writing that gave me the feeling I was reading his documentary (in more depth) and could picture everything he said in my head. This made the reading experience very smooth and awesome.

“We moved from being a part of nature to being apart from nature, we need to reverse that transition” A Life on Our Planet is very accessible. It's coming from 94-year-old legend Sir David Attenborough who has been a witness to the entire world change in front of his eyes, it's his witness statement.

This book is divided into three parts, the first of which features highlights from Attenborough's filmmaking career. The second part is short, “What Lies Ahead”, but it serves as a bridge to the third part and clarifies several new concepts and the third part is “the vision for the future” which is where he discusses possible changes we need.

Most of the writing here will stick with you long after you have closed the book: “We often talk of saving the planet, but the truth is that we must do these things to save ourselves.”

It's not usual rant about Climate Change, Global Warming, Saving the Planet, etc. but real experiences and things Sir David Attenborough witnessed in his journey. He manages to connect all the dots really well. He is very direct and hits you hard with facts and figures but also gives you possible changes we can make in the end.

This was indeed an eye-opener book for me.