Anyone who can make Adam Smith funny has a rare and precious gift. Smith's 1776 economic opus, ON THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, is a book that changed the world and is "also recognized as being really long." The satirist P.J. O'Rourke has slogged through all 900 pages "so you don't have to" and shares the important points with his listeners. O'Rourke discusses the book's ideas and Smith's biographical details intelligently and articulately, concluding almost every paragraph with a wry and insightful one-liner. Michael Prichard has a good feel for O'Rourke's dry sense of humor. His narration is suitably unadorned, though he mixes in just enough accents and voicings to make sure the listener doesn't take it all too seriously.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2007
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The audiobook illuminates the misdeeds of malevolent marketers, sleazy lawyers, and unethical doctors.
Cassandra Campbell’s narration is a model of a nonfiction performance. Her reading of exposition is careful and convincing. She knows where to pause and how to move the action forward. Law professor Burch’s investigative report of the con men, grifters, and profiteers who took advantage of women who were harmed by vaginal mesh implant removal is deeply researched. The revelations of how these “professionals” colluded to scam these vulnerable women who experienced incontinence, pain, and emotional distress after their procedures is horrific. The patients whose mesh implants were removed often had no medical workups prior to surgeries and were charged egregious hidden fees. The text also exposes the legal system’s glacial pace.
The audiobook illuminates the misdeeds of malevolent marketers, sleazy lawyers, and unethical doctors.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668115107
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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