The history of coffee in El Salvador is a mighty dark roast. With energy, precision, and authentic pronunciations, Jason Culp skillfully narrates the story of coffee baron James Hill and his merciless creation of a monoculture in El Salvador. Hill destroys the vegetable gardens of locals to ensure they will need to work on his coffee plantations and then pays them partly in tortillas and beans. Culp conveys the horror of the systematic slaughter of Indians and the determination of leftist activists who advocate for better wages and conditions. COFFEELAND is a complicated saga that gets a bit confusing as the author segues into the origin of workplace coffee breaks, studies of metabolism, and the rise of supermarkets. Culp ensures that listeners stay with it.
Pub Date: April 7, 2020
Duration: 15 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593165195
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
GENERAL HISTORY | GENERAL BUSINESS | BUSINESS | WORLD | ECONOMICS | HISTORY
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Henslee’s warm, unhurried narration makes listeners feel like the next success story could be theirs.
Barbara Henslee narrates with an intimate, upbeat delivery and a sunny Southern warmth that feels like being personally recruited to the Mary Kay empire. Her voice suits the material perfectly, drawing listeners into a bygone era when women built empires through gatherings around kitchen tables and on front porches, long before they could open their own bank accounts. Henslee never oversells, just gently persuades, mirroring the company’s own quiet pitch to millions of women that economic independence and personal transformation were within reach. The balanced treatment of the realities of multilevel marketing, alongside the truly inspirational story of founder Mary Kay Ash, make this a compelling listen for anyone curious about the often mocked world of direct sales.
Henslee’s warm, unhurried narration makes listeners feel like the next success story could be theirs.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 24 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217281879
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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