Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley investment/seed money firm, funds just established technology startups on a very selective basis. Author Stross was granted access to its Summer 2011 series of young companies, and this work provides a living chronicle. Rene Ruiz offers a precise and perfectly enunciated narration of the stresses and strains that Y Combinator founder Paul Graham applies in guiding the new entrepreneurs. It’s all here, the 24-hour workdays, the risk taking, the fund-raising, and the stress of getting the product into immediate production. The Dropbox Company is a former participant. Stross perhaps provides too much detail to be helpful—even for business geeks. Obviously, Ruiz, despite his professional effectiveness, cannot give the reading the focus the book lacks. This potentially fascinating story is not well presented.
Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780449807873
Publisher: Random House 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
The more we know about the universe, the less certain it all seems.
In just under seven hours, this engaging and instructive audiobook answers, as best as anyone can, all the questions listeners might have about particles and dark matter and the fate of the universe. Beginning with the Babylonians, Genevieve Swallow offers a well-paced narration of this history of scientific advances through the centuries. Much of this is familiar, but the narrative excels in scope and clarity, and Swallow’s performance brings ease and precision. From subatomic paradoxes to the first probes into space, Swallow is a steadying presence for a heady tour of the awesome and the strange, the inconceivable and the barely imaginable.
The more we know about the universe, the less certain it all seems.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063476486
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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