Life Stories & New Life Stories

ATTENBOROUGH, David Life Stories & New Life Stories London: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., 2009 & 2011 8vo, 2 vols; Life Stories in publisher's green boards, lettered in gilt to spine; in the original unclipped dust jacket (PS20), with a photograph of the author holding a frog to the upper panel and W H Smith 'signed edition' sticker; pp [ix], 10-224; pale green endpapers; a proliferation of illustrations and full-colour photographs; a little pushing to spine ends; perhaps one or two almost invisible splash marks to upper edge; else fine; New Life Stories in navy boards lettered in gilt to backstrip; photographic dust jacket with monkey to the lower, and author to the upper, panels; light blue endpapers; pp. [vii], 8-224; full-colour photographs and illustrations throughout; fine, aside from very marginal rubbing to extremities. First editions, both boldly signed by the author in his customary blue ink to the title page. In 2009 Attenborough published Life Stores, the complete first five months of his radio talks of the same name, in which he looked at the wildlife which had captured his imagination over his extensive career. Accompanied by a personal selection of photographs, the work was followed two years later by New Life Stories, in which which Sir David considers the astonishing behaviour of birds, insects, and other animals which have impacted his life, including Cicadas, Chameleons, and the famous Elsa the lioness. 'What would you like to be,' people sometimes ask, 'if you came back to earth as an animal?' The answer I give depends, I suppose, on the company. A clean and attractive set.…