David Attenborough Tv Series Dvd : The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man - Complete Series

The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man - Complete Series

£9.98


Here Attenborough focuses on the cradle of Western civilization, tracing the life of the Mediterranean from salt bed to lush paradise and its ultimate exploitation. History, natural history and archeology come together in a narrative that portrays the changing attitudes of mankind toward the environment. He surveys early plant and animal life, discussing discusses climatic and seasonal changes. The domestication of the horse opened the doors to wars and migration. Attenborough chronicles the movements in both directions from the Huns to the Crusaders and, finally, looks at more recent despoliation and areas of preservation. –Publishers Weekly

Inspirational series - I remember watching this series back in 1987 in my gap year between school and university. It proved inspirational. Within a few weeks I decided to retrace Attenborough s steps by going to Egypt, marvelling at a fair number of the sites he visited. There is much beautiful film from many interesting locations around the Mediterranean. The series is much more anthropological than most of his others which could put some off but for me was one of the principal points of interest. The final episode about the despoilation of the Med is predictably dispiriting.Overall a truly inspirational series which encouraged my fascination with the Mediterranean. The book of the series is also worth having and contains a great bibliography of related subject matter. Also worth reading is Eric Newby s brilliant On the shores of the Mediterranean . The Mediteranean - truly the First Eden.

At last - an old gem - I have been waiting for this series to be released for years, having the original hardback & paperback books. As well as an interesting biogeographical history of the Mediterranean, this series is a foray for Attenborough into anthropology, examining cave art and the changing role of animals in human society, from gods and spirits to objects of domestication.




The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man - Complete Series