Christopher Hurt has an appealing, mildly flinty vocal quality that would sound at home presenting any type of scientific or investigative writing. With his relaxed and kindly delivery providing space for curiosity and engagement, he conveys a reassuring gentleness that softens the facts and abstractions in this neuroscience book. The author (with a cowriter) summarizes research that shows that the brain is best understood as two broad systems that are each connected to many specific brain areas and work in different proportions in different people. To oversimplify, the Top Brain is the system concerned with spatial perception, navigation, and acting, while the Bottom Brain involves perceiving and analyzing information, especially sensory data. Fascinating research snippets and Hurt's excellent reading make this technical book fascinating.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Duration: 5 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
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: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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