Roman Howell's narration makes the true story of Barnum Brown, the fossil-hunting scientist from Kansas who found the first Tyrannosaurus rex, seem like an adventure novel. Howell sounds excited and fascinated by Brown's ability to uncover fossils in what was becoming a crowded field. As dinosaurs became popular, the paleontologist from New York's American Museum was always competing with rival museums. Howell consistently puts emotion and personality into the historical material, as when he uses a gruff voice to embody the industrial titan Andrew Carnegie, whose philanthropy funded a Pittsburgh museum. As the story of how dinosaurs brought natural history into popular culture unfolds, listeners will hear about the tension between elites and the museums' new mass audiences, and learn about how eugenics supporters interpreted fossil finds.
Pub Date: June 7, 2022
Duration: 9 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781696608411
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 more we know about the universe, the less certain it all seems.
In just under seven hours, this engaging and instructive audiobook answers, as best as anyone can, all the questions listeners might have about particles and dark matter and the fate of the universe. Beginning with the Babylonians, Genevieve Swallow offers a well-paced narration of this history of scientific advances through the centuries. Much of this is familiar, but the narrative excels in scope and clarity, and Swallow’s performance brings ease and precision. From subatomic paradoxes to the first probes into space, Swallow is a steadying presence for a heady tour of the awesome and the strange, the inconceivable and the barely imaginable.
The more we know about the universe, the less certain it all seems.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063476486
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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