After witnessing the social, historical, and ecological changes wrought on Earth over nearly a century—in a place of unique privilege via his personal background and professional career—Attenborough has a perspective on A Life on Our Planet that few can claim. He has seen trends in technology, communications, and attitudes about the environment evolve, for better and worse, over time. And he has been a keen observer of the natural world, along with its unfortunate degradation. While his early years with the BBC are filled with optimism and wondrous encounters with wildlife and wilderness, Attenborough has observed the slow decline of said natural world—a decline that is now increasing with alarming rapidity. In the background of all of this are some key historical events and social changes. From the impact of World War II to the effects of mass media and the space program, Attenborough’s work reflects the most sweeping trends of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The effects of World War II reverberate to this day. The geopolitical global order is still largely organized based upon the alliances and outcomes of this global war. Attenborough discusses the impact the war had on human societies across the world: “The end of the war provoked the formation of a host of multinational initiatives, including the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union, all designed to unite the world and ensure that global society worked together” (108).