Which is more important to you: knowing what causes the flu or being able to predict whether you'll get the flu? If it's the latter, then you're ready to embrace Big Data, a messy collection of mega-information that is filtered by government, business, and healthcare professionals for the purpose of finding correlations, rather than causality. In other words when you deal in Big Data, you give up caring about the why and focus on making predictions--from life-saving medical decisions (DNA analysts discover potential cancer markers) to banal marketing strategies (Wal-Mart learns that shoppers preparing for a hurricane purchase Pop Tarts). Narrator Jonathan Hogan provides a crisp, attentive reading that keeps the material focused and helps to make this a digestible primer for those interested in an important cultural trend.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781470365752
Publisher: Recorded Books 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
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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