Like a beachcomber with a metal detector, statistician Nate Silver combs the sands of data in various disciplines—baseball, weather, earthquakes, politics, and more—and identifies the obstacles to predicting their outcomes. Mike Chamberlain narrates this audiobook with a youthful energy that matches Silver’s friendly approach to applied statistics. Faced with a blizzard of unimportant data (the noise), Silver (the bête noire of conservative pollsters) describes how to pick out the meaningful events (the signals). Fortunately, for audiobook listeners, there are no statistical minutiae to track. Instead, Silver sticks to big-picture concepts and instructive explanations—for example, the spurious world of “retro-dictions” (predictions of an event issued after the event has occurred). It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that this audiobook will attract fans of MONEYBALL, FREAKONOMICS, and THE TIPPING POINT.
Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2012
Duration: 15 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101590072
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Buckley offers a reasonable proposal for a national service program without jail or criminal penalties. Narrator Lawrence reads with a slow and careful announcer's voice; one wishes Buckley were reading this one himself. Books on Tape does its usual quality job with formatting, packaging and tape-turning instructions. The reader repeats the last sentence at such times, so you're sure you haven't missed anything. Popular nonfiction collections will appreciate Gratitude, and the topic is likely to prove timely in the years ahead.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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