Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

David Attenborough

The Private Life of Plants: A Natural History of Plant Behaviour Hardcover – 1 August 1995

by David Attenborough (Author)

78 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$156.00

$96.69

—

Hardcover, 1 August 1995

—

$150.74

—

Hardcover
from $150.74

3 New from $150.74

Based on the immensely popular six-part BBC program that aired in the United States during the fall of 1995, this book offers what writer/filmmaker David Attenborough is best known for delivering: an intimate view of the natural world wherein a multitude of miniature dramas unfold. In the program and book, both titled The Private Life of Plants, Attenborough treks through rainforests, mountain ranges, deserts, beaches, and home gardens to show us things we might never have suspected about the vegetation that surrounds us. With their extraordinary sensibility, plants compete endlessly for survival and interact with animals and insects: they can see, count, communicate, adjust position, strike, and capture. Attenborough makes the plant world a vivid place for readers, who in this book can enjoy the tour at their own pace, taking in the lively descriptions and nearly 300 full-color photos showing plants in close detail.

The author reveals to us the aspects of plants' lives that seem hidden from view, such as fighting, avoiding or exploiting predators or neighbors, and struggling to find food, increase their territories, reproduce themselves, and establish their place in the sun. Among the most amazing examples, the acacia can communicate with other acacias and repel enemies that might eat their leaves, the orchid can impersonate female wasps to attract males and ensure the spreading of its pollen, the Venus's flytrap can take other organisms captive and consume them. Covering this remarkable range of information with enthusiasm and clarity, Attenborough helps us to look anew at the vegetation on which all life depends and which has an intriguing life of its own. He has created a book sure to please the plant lover and any other reader interested in exploring the natural world.

Special offers and product promotions

Buy this item and get 90 days Free Amazon Music Unlimited. After purchase you will receive an email with further information. Offer valid for a limited time only. Terms and Conditions apply.” Learn more here.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Sir David Attenborough
78
Hardcover
$55.20
David Attenborough
99
Hardcover
$45.80
David Attenborough
4,443
Hardcover
in Zoology
$22.00
David Attenborough
132
Hardcover
$59.21
David Attenborough
71
Hardcover
$37.01
Ken Thompson
32
Paperback
$22.99

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Peter Wohlleben
5,604
Paperback
$21.99
David Attenborough
327
Hardcover
$30.79
Daniel Chamovitz
597
Paperback
$21.75
David Attenborough
924
Paperback
18 offers from $24.35
Thomas J. Elpel
1,164
Paperback
$45.80
David Attenborough
82
Paperback
$31.75

Product details

Publisher : Princeton Univ Dept of Art & (1 August 1995)
Language : English
Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0691006393
ISBN-13 : 978-0691006390
Dimensions : 17.78 x 2.54 x 25.4 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 276,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 447 in Natural History
- 337,459 in Textbooks & Study Guides

Customer Reviews:
78 ratings

Product description

Review

"The Private Life of Plants has already been viewed by 60 million Britons....And they stayed riveted for...five weeks to watch plants digest mice alive, strangle their hosts, trick male bees into copulating with their flowers, or ignite forest fires with chemicals to give their seedlings a better start in life. Vivid lives of hectic, electrifying action emerged, and even the hundreds of botanists consulted for the series found themselves gaining new insights into plant behavior.

Customer reviews

5 star		80%
4 star		11%
3 star		3%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

How are ratings calculated?

Review this product

Write a customer review

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Darren

The private life of plants

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 August 2020

Verified Purchase

Book to accompany the tv series of the same name by David Attenborough. Lovely pictures and a good read.

Amazon Customer

Recommend this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2020

Verified Purchase

Arrived quickly, very good quality book as advertised. Very informative but easy to understand.

cassandra

comprehensive text but,

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2016

Verified Purchase

wanted high definition plans for inspiration in my art but disappointed

One person found this helpful

Informative, Insightful, Beautifully-Written...

Reviewed in Canada on 15 August 2020

Verified Purchase

Very readable, exceptionally informative, beautifully illustrated. Every page a delight! David Attenborough is a gift to us all. My only problem with the book was that wherever this used copy came from, although it was in good readable condition, we had to wait to look at it -- as it smelled frustrating, and we had to put mint leaves in almost every page, then stand it up, open, in front of our floor air vents with some mint oil to help take away the offensive odor.

I maggioni

Bellissimi libri e anche autografati!!

Reviewed in Italy on 7 August 2017

Verified Purchase

Dopo il primo invio andato perso ci sono arrivati i libri e sorpresa sorpresa, sono addirittura firmati dell'autore, sicuramente semplice fortuna, ma di sicuro questa notizia ci ha reso molto felici

Translate review to English

See all reviews

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

The Private Life of Plants: A Natural History of Plant Behaviour Hardcover – 1 August 1995

Special offers and product promotions

Customers who bought this item also bought

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product details

Product description

Review

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from Australia

Top reviews from other countries