Listen to this if you want to hear a narrator at the top of his game recount a fascinating--and at times disturbing--true story of adventure, disaster, discovery, cannibalism, and more. Will Damron makes Levy's fascinating account of the Greely (Polar) Expedition come to life. The expedition was a late-nineteenth-century attempt to reach the North Pole. Over the course of two years, the crew conducted scientific research, went on rescue missions, and fought to stay alive. Damron captures the essence of life on a ship buffeted by icebergs, the brutal cold of the arctic, the awe of discovery, and the price some will pay for fame. This is a harrowing adventure story and a great listen.
Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 13 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250242792
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Mark Deakins provides appropriately measured enthusiasm for Mark Synnott's account of sailing his 47-foot boat, POLAR SUN, through the Northwest Passage. Synnott funds his plans by selling the idea of searching for nineteenth-century explorer Sir John Franklin's tomb to National Geographic, among others. The author alternates between his own nautical adventure and the Franklin story. Previously ignored Inuit oral history was critical in locating Franklin's two ships a few years ago, but now Synnott experiences disinterest or suspicion from current Inuit residents who question whether his search is as pointless as Franklin's expedition. When the action flags, Deakins maintains his energy to keep the listener involved, and he sounds distinctly careful in his pronunciations of the multiple Inuit names and places.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217019915
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Rick Bass delivers these essays--old and new--at a deliberate pace and a careful tempo. His voice sounds kindly and literary. Reared in Texas, he retains a slight twang and the long vowels of that region ("fi-er", "why l" and "e-quator"). That he is soulful, sincere, and aspirational matters more. A fiction writer and essayist, he is also an environmental activist, and a number of these texts center on the horrific aftermath--asbestosis and mesothelioma--of the mining that took place near his adopted home in the Yak Valley of Montana. His appreciation of friend and fellow environmentalist Barry Lopez, along with Ernest Hemingway and nature itself, plus his decimation of W.R. Grace, the mine owner at the heart of one the biggest lawsuits ever filed, makes this collection memorable.
Pub Date: 2024
Duration: 10 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781696614313
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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