It was a sacrifice no small town should have to make, but Bedford, Virginia, did. It lost 21 of its sons storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Journalist Alex Kershaw follows each one's story, piecing them together from survivor memoirs and extensive interviews. Like Saving Private Ryan, it is a sad, gruesome tale that Kershaw tells, but ultimately both tragic and heroic. William Dufris's reading is harsh, factual, and forceful. It carries the deep pathos that must accompany seeing the boys we have watched at play being mown down on distant beaches. Though Dufris's reading rings with tribute to that town and those boys, Kershaw's more subtle message--that senseless slaughter in war, maybe war itself, is madness--resounds even more clearly.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Sound Library
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
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.
Pollan is a favorite with listeners, and rightly so. He may not possess a silken or practiced voice, and he’d be nobody’s first choice to narrate Proust, but few author-narrators are as engaging or as effectively bonded to their narrative. Pollan here explores one of the most fundamental of questions: What is consciousness? This leads him to other questions. Where exactly is consciousness located? What other species possess it? Pollan takes his listener on a journey through theories and research sites, each rendered with his signature economy and precision. Some sections may require relistening, but the difficulties lie in the subject matter, not the prose. That couldn’t be clearer or more illuminating.
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.Pub Date: yesterday
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282159
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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