by David Finkel ; read by Rob Shapiro ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2024
Rob Shapiro captures the viewpoint of Brent Cummings, an Iraq War veteran who leads cadets with his moral conviction. Shapiro emphasizes the shock Cummings feels at Donald Trump's election and his worry that his country is falling apart because of the president's divisiveness. Brent's neighbor, Michael, is a man with politically polar opposite views. Shapiro excels at dialogue that makes listeners feel present for each scene. Similarly, he is gifted at describing the interiority of both men. His narration emphasizes the tension between the two characters, and within the nation, an aspect of this work that makes it timely and compelling. For so many who are confused and puzzled about how "the other side " thinks, this is a clarifying listen.
Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593790601
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
by Jonathan Kozol ; read by Jack Winston ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
by Patrick Wyman ; read by Patrick Wyman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2026
This highly informative history of prehistory tells a new story of how Homo sapiens settled down and started civilizing.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
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This is historian and popular podcaster Wyman’s second audiobook, after The Verge (2021), which spanned the years 1490-1530 during the European Renaissance. Here his focus is 10,000 years earlier, at the end of the Ice Age, and the spread of what could now be called humans. The story of how, all over the globe, they gave up the migratory life, settled, and started building is wonderfully, richly told in this outstanding history. Wyman doesn’t have the smoothest or most melodic of voices, but he easily wins over the ear and the imagination with his solid research and his adept storytelling.
This highly informative history of prehistory tells a new story of how Homo sapiens settled down and started civilizing.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 55 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063256514
Publisher: Harper 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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