Nan McNamara has a confident and relaxed tone--just right for narrating this complex, surprising history lesson. She also has the gravitas to convey the author's thesis effectively: Without Stanford University, the federal government, and the military, you probably wouldn't be Googling on your Apple watch. That's because the juggernaut known as Silicon Valley was shaped by federal funding (the Pentagon paid for the first-generation Internet) and government legislation (Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, which freed sites from liability for third-party posting). McNamara serves historian O'Mara well as she argues that "geography is destiny," meticulously tracking the techno-conversion of Palo Alto from punch cards and batch processing to social media and the commodifying of the consumer.
Pub Date: July 9, 2019
Duration: 19 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781984888600
Publisher: Penguin 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
A subtle, powerful performance makes this science memoir heartbreakingly beautiful.
Revolutionary ecologist Simard follows up her 2021 bestseller with an equally mind-altering memoir on the restorative powers of forests. Giving a standout performance as narrator, Simard successfully weaves depictions of her adventures in the wilderness conducting scientific research with reflections on her personal and professional lives. Simard's soft, lyrical, western Canadian lilt adds rich emotional dimensions to her audiobook, in which she grapples with the difficult yet regenerative effects of death. As she witnesses the clear-cutting of nearly every old-growth forest in her beloved province, Simard faces the dispiriting losses of her mother and a brilliant colleague. Importantly, the author inspires action through vivid descriptions of her environmental activism and experiences learning the forestry practices of various Indigenous cultures.
A subtle, powerful performance makes this science memoir heartbreakingly beautiful.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217174287
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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