Narrator Bruce Mann uses an appropriately professorial tone for this exciting scientific adventure involving network systems, fractals, and the odd coherence of many large systems. Listeners will hear, for example, how a shrew scales up to a blue whale and subatomic particles to galaxies. Mann's experience narrating hard science makes even the most difficult concepts accessible. The author interjects humor from his youth growing up in England in his analysis of how cities scale. In response, Mann switches smoothly from university don to smart-aleck teen as he discusses the development of the garden city movement in London in the 1950s. This is a serious and insightful work in science brought down to a level of accessibility rarely seen in an undertaking so vast or important.
Pub Date: May 16, 2017
Duration: 19 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781524734978
Publisher: Penguin 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
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.
Pollan is a favorite with listeners, and rightly so. He may not possess a silken or practiced voice, and he’d be nobody’s first choice to narrate Proust, but few author-narrators are as engaging or as effectively bonded to their narrative. Pollan here explores one of the most fundamental of questions: What is consciousness? This leads him to other questions. Where exactly is consciousness located? What other species possess it? Pollan takes his listener on a journey through theories and research sites, each rendered with his signature economy and precision. Some sections may require relistening, but the difficulties lie in the subject matter, not the prose. That couldn’t be clearer or more illuminating.
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282159
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
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