McCommons’ work is both a definitive history of the battle over birds and a warning.
Colin White performs this important work with a thoughtful pace and a clear tone. Far from an elegy for North American avian species, it is a clear-eyed look at wanton slaughter and a celebration of the people who defended pelicans, plovers, and birds of prey. One chapter reveals the “industrial” extermination of the passenger pigeon, and another the birth of Audubon societies and other ornithological organizations. Other chapters focus on lesser-known figures such as Rosalie Edge, whose battle for Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania informed Rachel Carson’s landmark Silent Spring, and cartoonist Ding Darling, whose stint in FDR’s administration garnered funds for preserving bird habitats.
McCommons’ work is both a definitive history of the battle over birds and a warning.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
Duration: 15 hrs, 28 mins
DD ISBN: 9798318571022
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Carol Matthau epitomizes a glamour and lifestyle not associated with the 1990's. Here is a life of privilege, tragedy and worry about what friends would think of her new frock or lover. Matthau possesses a voice and delivery that simply could not be improved on. In her coy whisper, she tells compelling stories involving everyone from William Saroyan (husband #1) and Truman Capote to Carson McCullers, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Walter Matthau (husband #2). This excellent audio presentation will leave you wanting to read the entire book to discover what juicy tidbits were left out.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: The Publishing Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Quite interesting, if ancient history is one’s interest.
Born in Wales, Llewellyn-Jones is professor of ancient history at Cardiff University, and his narration is both heavily accented and professorial. His history of one of the world's first great metropolises is based on hard archeological evidence and is in equal parts a debunking and a rehabilitation. Much of Babylon still remains, in fact. While all those layers of grit are still being sifted and those thousands of mostly mundane cuneiform tablets translated, what Llewellyn-Jones focuses on here is primarily a line of kings and some epics. His research is thorough, scrupulous, and detailed. A particular high point is his retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Quite interesting, if ancient history is one’s interest.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
Duration: 19 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798318569005
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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