Listening to this audiobook is a little like driving in the dark. Some moments are exhilarating, but a lot of the time you're wondering where you are. Mike Chamberlain's tenor delivery gives the material a "gee-whiz" excitement, but after 11 hours of brain anatomy and clinical studies, even Chamberlain's extensive bag of narrator tricks seems exhausted. That's not to say there aren't a lot of big ideas in this work. Lieberman's thesis that our brains evolved to fulfill social interaction is well documented, often by his own studies. The audiobook also provides plenty of stuff to talk about around the watercooler--things like mirror neurons, mentalizing, verbal grooming, and faux selfishness. But, ultimately, Lieberman's impressive discussion may be better read in print, a medium that allows one to easily revisit its concepts, charts, and imagery.
Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2013
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
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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