Epic stories of human survival and triumph over seemingly intractable adversity make for difficult storytelling. The author can easily overreach, achieving only melodrama. Here, however, Caroline Alexander faithfully renders the story of Shackleton's ill-fated Antarctic expedition without high drama or lack of discretion. The reading by Tezla and Rubin creates an immediacy that puts the listener right there on the voyage of the ENDURANCE and in the lifeboats and on the ice floes. Shackleton and his crew were trapped in frozen ice for over a year, only to break free and suffer tremendously at the hands of violent Antarctic weather before a small party braved ferocious seas to find help and salvation. This monument to Shackleton's leadership and the bravery of his crew stands as a testament to another time, and this audiobook also stands apart--not simply as an audio rendering of a fine book, but as a supreme achievement in storytelling by two able, adept readers. Read or listened to, this book shines like a beacon in a gale to anyone who wants the best nonfiction available today.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
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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