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BREASTS

A NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY

Breasts are a lot of things. They’re sexy. They’re utilitarian. They’re also sponges for the industrial chemicals we so blithely release into our environment. Whether they’re pumped full of silicone, or simply with BPA and flame retardant, the life of the 21st-century female breast is at once fascinating and unsettling. Kate Reading narrates Williams’s thorough research with a singsong intonation that is, oddly, almost too feminine for the material. Her lovely voice is just a shade too gentle to fully capture Williams’s sharp wit. That being said, after hours of hearing about all the brutal ways our environment is poisoning women and girls via their breasts, listeners will be grateful for Reading’s soothing, reassuring tones. A.H.A. 2013 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2012

Duration: 10 hrs

Publisher: Tantor Media

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026

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    TALES OF A SHAMAN'S APPRENTICE

    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

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      HOW FLOWERS MADE OUR WORLD

      THE STORY OF NATURE'S REVOLUTIONARIES

      Haskell’s insights and sensibility are perfectly conveyed by Campbell’s acute narration.

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      Narrator Cassandra Campbell assumes the voice of biologist Haskell, author of The Song of Trees (2017), for an illuminating first-person tour of one of nature’s most common sights: flowers. Campbell provides momentum to a narrative that, though richly informative, could easily have become rambling and slack. “We live on a floral planet,” Haskell says, and he goes on to explain how that fact is key to our existence. Flowering plants first appeared 200 million years ago, and they enabled humans to evolve—and to survive. The narrative is loosely organized into eight illustrative categories, covering magnolias, orchids, grasses, roses, teas, and more.

      Haskell’s insights and sensibility are perfectly conveyed by Campbell’s acute narration.

      Pub Date: March 24, 2026

      Duration: 11 hrs, 5 mins

      DD ISBN: 9798217281794

      Publisher: Penguin Audio

      Review Posted Online: April 1, 2026

      Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026

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