This thought-provoking audiobook presents listeners with a curious neuroscientific argument: Free will doesn't exist. The bestselling author, a Stanford neuroendocrinologist, argues that all life is predetermined; it's a product of conditioning and hormones, expressed as unconscious and reflexive neurological responses. With a measured pace and a tone of excitement, Kaleo Griffith keeps the audiobook's information upbeat and engaging. Griffith's joyful performance makes the author's descriptions of animal behavior, from bees to baboons, informative and fun. But the audiobook also veers solidly into academic territory and is too long and detailed to be well absorbed in audio format. Regular references to the included pdfs' visual materials and instructions to see a certain page number, don't create a smooth transition from print to audio.
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
Duration: 16 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593153253
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
The prose and Athavale’s expertly restrained performance meld gracefully in this flawless audiobook.
Narrator Vidish Athavale's voice is softly indelible, like the snow that blankets the Himalayan landscape the author so beautifully describes. An Indian wildlife biologist, Suryawanshi has spent decades studying snow leopards and their ecosystem among the planet's highest mountain peaks. What differentiates the author's scientific work, and his enthralling narrative, is his goal to understand and protect rather than conquer. The author also achieves a near-perfect balance between insightful and entertaining personal observations of remote communities (both animal and human); his own growth as a scientist, husband, and father; and the difficult and dangerous scientific work he and his colleagues have undertaken.
The prose and Athavale’s expertly restrained performance meld gracefully in this flawless audiobook.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 9 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217336845
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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