Nan McNamara has a confident and relaxed tone--just right for narrating this complex, surprising history lesson. She also has the gravitas to convey the author's thesis effectively: Without Stanford University, the federal government, and the military, you probably wouldn't be Googling on your Apple watch. That's because the juggernaut known as Silicon Valley was shaped by federal funding (the Pentagon paid for the first-generation Internet) and government legislation (Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, which freed sites from liability for third-party posting). McNamara serves historian O'Mara well as she argues that "geography is destiny," meticulously tracking the techno-conversion of Palo Alto from punch cards and batch processing to social media and the commodifying of the consumer.
Pub Date: July 9, 2019
Duration: 19 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781984888600
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dr. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist who recounts his experiences searching for new medications in the Amazon rain forest. He makes an impassioned plea for the world to stop destroying this irreplaceable resource. Since the author reads his own work, we can rely on the pronunciation of some unusual botanical terms; however, his voice (presumably not trained for performance) lacks the enthusiasm and fascination the words suggest. Furthermore, with no chapter references and few pauses between sections, transitions, such as the change of location from Ecuador to Massachusetts, are awkward.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The prose and Athavale’s expertly restrained performance meld gracefully in this flawless audiobook.
Narrator Vidish Athavale's voice is softly indelible, like the snow that blankets the Himalayan landscape the author so beautifully describes. An Indian wildlife biologist, Suryawanshi has spent decades studying snow leopards and their ecosystem among the planet's highest mountain peaks. What differentiates the author's scientific work, and his enthralling narrative, is his goal to understand and protect rather than conquer. The author also achieves a near-perfect balance between insightful and entertaining personal observations of remote communities (both animal and human); his own growth as a scientist, husband, and father; and the difficult and dangerous scientific work he and his colleagues have undertaken.
The prose and Athavale’s expertly restrained performance meld gracefully in this flawless audiobook.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 9 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217336845
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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