"Big" is clearly the operant word here in this true story about the U.S. oil industry. It can be used to describe the vast sums of money generated by oil and the egos of the four oilmen who made Texas the American oil capital: H.L. Hunt, Clint Murchison, Roy Cullen, and Sid Richardson. It describes the size of this book and the credible narration of all this Texas and U.S. history by James Jenner. He aptly depicts billionaire Hunt as a strange loner and Murchison's efforts to cull favor with right-wingers like Hoover, McCarthy, and Nixon. As Burrough writes of the successes, mistakes, and overindulgences of these magnates, Jenner is careful to clearly distinguish between their personalities, placing emphasis on their idiosyncrasies. Their era may have ended, but their import hasn't, and Jenner's narration capably pieces together this slice of twentieth-century history.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 22 hrs, 30 mins
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
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: today
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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