With a velvety British voice, Adetomiwa Edun describes ecosystems as they may have been hundreds of millions of years ago. Listeners have the chance to get up close and personal with the Terrible Moon-Rat, the Akokan knobblehead, and other prehistoric animals and plants and learn how they may have interacted with their environments. Edun glides smoothly over the many scientific names and terms, never letting them disrupt the evocative pictures paleobiologist Halliday paints of ancient swamps, oceans, and grassy plains and their denizens. The final chapter addresses the climate changes we're facing now and how knowledge of the planet's past shifts between greenhouse world and "icehouse" world inform our situation today, and our future.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593556078
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 beautiful performance of a fascinating and moving story.
Narrator Sean Pratt is masterful in expressing the bravery, selflessness, and deep sense of humanity that underlie and accompany this tragic true story. Kolker relates the history of a family blasted by a rare form of inherited dementia called frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Five of nine siblings, along with their mother, have the genetic mutation that strikes while they are only in their 40s and slowly changes their personalities. It’s a cruel fate, but Pratt’s narration brings empathy, suspense, and even hope. As the next generation faces the same challenges in their own future, listeners will hope that scientific research, pharmaceutical development, and genetic modification may provide some relief from FTD and other forms of dementia.
A beautiful performance of a fascinating and moving story.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 57 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217406425
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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