Laurence Gonzales’s father, a WWII pilot, was the only one to escape a wartime crash. A 17-year-old girl was the sole survivor of a Peruvian plane crash. What makes one person a victim and another a survivor? Gonzales suggests that in life-and-death situations, unconventional thought patterns and managing fear through dark humor, play, and laughter help ensure survival by tempering negative emotions. Stefan Rudnicki’s reading makes these harrowing anecdotes unfold like fiction. By underplaying the gruesome moments, Rudnicki highlights Gonzales’s excellent research on the neurological, physiological, and psychological strengths needed when people find their lives threatened. This is an exciting listen, filled with amazing stories and helpful tips for everyone.
Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2006
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dramatic encounters with wildlife are, unfortunately, muted footnotes in this memoir.
Few people have spent more hours observing wild wolves than the author of this unique nature memoir. Narrator Ryan Shaefer’s steady performance matches the author’s impactful yet emotionally subtle descriptions of wild spaces and the animals that inhabit them. McIntyre explains his decades-long evolution as a storyteller while teaching the public as a park ranger, naturalist, wolf researcher, and author. The audiobook is vivid and exciting when he talks about individual bears and wolves. However, he struggles to craft a compelling narrative out of his own life story. McIntyre ignores his own salient storytelling advice, describing his life chronologically as a list of facts, accomplishments, and job placements.
Dramatic encounters with wildlife are, unfortunately, muted footnotes in this memoir.Pub Date: June 13, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798228803619
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2026
Moore’s fine work provides hope for rewilding while describing its challenges.
Here are the unlikely stories of how people have worked to return elk to Kentucky, bison to Illinois, and red wolves to coastal North Carolina. Charlie Thurston narrates with a satisfying tone and an appropriate tempo. A fine environmental journalist, Moore captures the sublime—the return of the grand sandhill cranes—and the profane—locals who want to rid their land of red wolves and adopt the slogan, “Shoot, shovel, and shut up.” Moore’s meticulous research takes listeners from pre-colonial times to the present-day environmentalists, wildlife biologists, and organizations committed to the reintroduction of these iconic species. The Nature Conservancy garners high praise, as do those who believe in restoring grasslands, saving wetlands, and recapturing abandoned mines.
Moore’s fine work provides hope for rewilding while describing its challenges.Pub Date: June 2, 2026
Duration: 16 hrs, 5 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063001251
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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