Laura Snyder investigates the fact that two famous Dutchmen living in Delft at the same time just a stone's throw from each other were both using optical devices to see the previously unseen. Narrator Tamara Marston clearly understands the important points of the text and with impeccable pacing and her lovely and accessible voice proves an able and engaging guide through the detailed scientific and artistic narrative. Johannes Vermeer used the camera obscura to look at how colors change under different light conditions, and Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek peered through tiny, complicated microscopes at any organism or substance he could lay his hands on. Snyder doesn't know if there was any relationship between the two but believes their combined efforts changed the way we see the world. Marston's fine performance provides an added sheen.
Pub Date: March 16, 2015
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781622316571
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
Cooper proves a sure guide for Levenson’s argument for the critical importance of vaccines.
Levenson argues that present-day anti-vaxxers like Robert Kennedy Jr. use historical arguments that may have had some validity when vaccines were first developed but have since been debunked and are now being recycled cynically. Mike Cooper’s energy and British accent ensure clear communication of the history and science behind the safe and effective vaccine system we have today. He occasionally employs a snarky tone that strikes just the right note as Levenson discusses Andrew Wakefield’s discredited beliefs about the link between vaccines and autism and Kennedy’s comparison of vaccines to genocide. Levenson takes on the philosophical question of individual rights and vaccine mandates but notes that state power is being used to prevent mandates that would ensure the health of all.
Cooper proves a sure guide for Levenson’s argument for the critical importance of vaccines.Pub Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: 3 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217286645
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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