Simon Schama's historical authority--demonstrated by his confident vocal performance--foregrounds his account of humanity's ongoing fight to protect itself against deadly disease. Schama takes listeners on a journey from inoculation to vaccination, starting with the battle against smallpox, moving through cholera and tuberculosis research, and ultimately landing on recent developments around COVID-19. He expertly wraps his deep-rooted historical research in engrossing storytelling to unravel the past fact by fact. His performance underscores the prejudice, particularly anti-Asian discrimination and anti-Semitism, that has run rampant in epidemiological endeavors throughout time. As it turns out, Schama reveals, medical innovation in fighting disease and infection isn't about the health of humans at all. It's about the political health--and power--of nations themselves.
Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
Duration: 16 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063337855
Publisher: Harper 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
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.
Pollan is a favorite with listeners, and rightly so. He may not possess a silken or practiced voice, and he’d be nobody’s first choice to narrate Proust, but few author-narrators are as engaging or as effectively bonded to their narrative. Pollan here explores one of the most fundamental of questions: What is consciousness? This leads him to other questions. Where exactly is consciousness located? What other species possess it? Pollan takes his listener on a journey through theories and research sites, each rendered with his signature economy and precision. Some sections may require relistening, but the difficulties lie in the subject matter, not the prose. That couldn’t be clearer or more illuminating.
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282159
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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