Book Review by Ross Thrasher
Lessons from a Lifetime: 90 Years of Inspiration and Activism, by David Suzuki with Ian Hanington. Greystone Books, 2026.
In this concise memoir-cum-testimonial, Dr. David Suzuki is variously described as a preacher for the biosphere, a Living National Treasure, a planetary hero, and a ”nonagenarian badass”. The renowned Canadian geneticist, TV personality and environmental activist outlines his life story here in a slim volume (187 pages), interspersed with many photos of his adventures and laudatory remarks from numerous colleagues, friends and relations.
Born in Vancouver with a twin sister in 1936 to Japanese-Canadian parents, Suzuki spent some early years with his family in detention camps during the Second World War. Later they migrated to London, Ontario where David completed high school. He followed a friend to Amherst College in Massachusetts, graduated from there with a B.Sc. in Biology, and by the age of 25 had earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Chicago. Returning to Canada in 1962, Suzuki taught at the University of Alberta and then UBC, moonlighting with science lectures on local television.
Before long his communication skills gained the attention of the CBC. “I thought I might have a knack for translating the arcane jargon of science into the vernacular of the lay public.” Hosting Suzuki on Science for two seasons led to similar roles for Science Magazine on CBC TV and Quirks & Quarks on CBC Radio (four seasons combined). Then in 1979 Suzuki graduated to the long-running CBC program The Nature of Things, and the rest is history. “I never dreamed that it would ultimately occupy most of my life and make me a celebrity in Canada.”
For 44 years The Nature of Things took Suzuki around the globe in search of stories to engage and educate viewers about the beauty and fragility of our natural world. Lessons from a Lifetime relates his interactions with many Indigenous peoples — in Haida Gwaii, the Amazon and Australasia — whose spiritual connection to their environment he claims has complemented and enriched his scientific perspective.
Suzuki was one of the first environmentalists to raise the alarm about climate change. As far back as the 1970s he was giving speeches around the world, sounding the warning that unrestrained industrialization, resource extraction and pollution were despoiling the planet.
In 1990 David and his wife Tara established the David Suzuki Foundation to support Canadian and international projects, such as the survival and restoration of rivers and forests. Later the David Suzuki Institute partnered with Greystone Books to publish a wealth of environmental reports. David himself has authored more than 50 books.
Suzuki and his family attended the Rio Summit (1992), where his 12-year-old daughter Severn gave a speech on behalf of children, and they have been involved with the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) from its inception in 1995. Judging by his own anecdotes in Lessons from a Lifetime and the multifarious comments by his collaborators in this volume, David has been at the centre of the environmental movement for half a century. As one of them says, “David’s legacy is immense”.
A family man, a mentor to many, a master communicator, an indefatigable climate warrior — David Suzuki is indeed a great Canadian and this book provides the endearing evidence.
Ross Thrasher
Ross has enjoyed a 30-year career as a librarian at post-secondary institutions in Canada, the U.C. and the South Pacific. Most recently he served for eight years as Library Director at Mount Royal College in Calgary, leading the library’s transition to university status. In retirement Ross maintains an active interest in literature, travel and the performing arts.
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