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
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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