Shortly after the three disasters of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown in March 2011, Gretel Ehrlich visited the Tohoku coast in Japan to survey the damage and interview survivors. Sumalee Montano's narration is heartbreaking, understated, and even poetic. It perfectly captures Ehrlich's grave but surprisingly optimistic storytelling. Montano rolls through the many Japanese names of people and places with authenticity. She renders the dignity and tragedy of victims, including an 84-year-old geisha carried to higher ground on the back of a younger man, those who rescued abandoned pets from radioactive towns, fishermen unable to accept government instruction to move away from the coast to grow vegetables, and the Fukushima 50, who remained to decommission the stricken power plant. Ehrlich is most impressed by the Japanese acceptance of impermanence and communal responsibility.
Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2013
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780804193702
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An exciting, inspiring, and provocative audiobook.
This memoir, environmental manifesto, and recounting of adventures in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest is a compelling listen. Rosolie tells the story of the Junglekeepers organization, dedicated to protecting the rainforest, with a heart-stopping pace. Rosolie and his team capture some of the world’s largest anacondas, climb to the top of the jungle canopy, fight for the survival of rare macaws, and meet the Indigenous Mashco Piro tribe. The Junglekeepers bring travelers to this most remote part of the planet where they have built the “world’s tallest treehouse.” Sadly, after overcoming threats of logging and mining and saving more than 100,000 acres of wilderness, the organization now faces drug dealers who want to use the land for their own purposes.
An exciting, inspiring, and provocative audiobook.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 36 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217159543
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
Ranjit Madgavkar narrates these essays on how forces beyond their control--for example, war, imperialism, language, climate change--influence people's lives. His strong but clear Indian accent never lets listeners forget that author Ghosh is a native of West Bengal, a fact that explains Ghosh's strong interest in colonialism, anti-colonialism, and the history of South Asia. The opening essays about the participation of Indian soldiers in the disastrous British Mesopotamian campaign of WWI are particularly fascinating. Madgavkar approximates different accents in the quotations from authors of other nationalities, making clear where they begin and end. Even without knowledge of South Asia, listeners will comprehend these essays because Madgavkar gets across the emotions.
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2026
Duration: 19 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798228648760
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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