Two researchers with interests in synesthesia and atypical strengths (savants) offer a compelling overview of how brain structure allows us to accomplish unusual mental and physical feats. Andrea Gallo's splendid narration, notable for her low-key cheeriness and vocal clarity, keeps the long production from bogging down with the authors' often obscure case studies. There are phrasing glitches, mainly disorienting pauses, but, overall, Gallo makes this material eminently understandable. The audiobook describes the way regions of the brain communicate with other regions when we're learning and performing complex tasks. The work is more informative than prescriptive, but the information is inspiring: The stories and neuroanatomical details provide concrete models of how people can systematically learn such things as a new language, a musical instrument, or any physical skill.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2015
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781490676272
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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
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