I have the greatest respect for David Attenborough. If you have seen his programmes, you will be aware (if you are at all interested by nature) of how fascinating his work is. What you might not know so well is how scientific his approach is; not only does he make science more interesting than most academics do; he also does it better than a lot of them. 'The Trials of Life' is a remarkable book (and video, and set of tapes); I have never seen another with such a wealth of consistently interesting information about animals. The cassettes are marvellous; although you obviously miss out on the amazing visual stuff in the videos, it does have its own appeal, focusing more on the sounds of the animal kingdom.

Click here to buy the set of audio cassettes ($69.95).
Click here to buy the book (£11.99 - about $18).