Narrator Ralph Lister is working from an excellent text, and this history of the discovery of antiseptic in the latter 1800s can be recommended to a general audience on a number of points. But the horrors of Victorian surgery haven't dimmed in 200 years, and what Joseph Lister did to a dog in the name of science may stop many listeners cold. Ralph Lister is a capable and experienced narrator, but his style of rendering character voices doesn't carry over well into history and biography. For example, must a letter of support from Joseph Lister's students in Glasgow really be read with a brogue? This is a text that requires steadiness and restraint, a narrator who knows how to hold back rather than to accentuate.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Audible, Inc./ Brilliance
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
First, Simon Winchester, OBE, introduces listeners to the ubiquity of wind and its effects on the world. His careful pronunciation and British accent create an enjoyable backdrop for the conversational style in which stories are integrated with information that demonstrates where and how wind has had a direct influence on all the subjects in the Dewey Decimal System, including culture, arts, science, geography, language, and history. The journalist provides information that is both relatable and educational; topics range from Oz's Dorothy Gale being caught in "America's storm" to examples of how wind has been used for warfare. Winchester's passion for moving air is evident as he reminds listeners that the "wind blows equally for all."
Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
Duration: 13 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063374485
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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