March
2009
AUDIO BOOK REVIEWS
by Jonathan Lowe
Looking for a true story of adventure,
mystery, and horror (in the form of malaria-laden
mosquitos, poisonous snakes, and a lost
city of gold)? If so, you're in for an
exciting destination that's best read
(or heard) about rather than visited.
When New Yorker magazine staff writer
David Grann stumbled upon the diaries
of British explorer Percy Fawcett, he
had in his hands the framework needed
for a book on the subject of what's been
called "the greatest exploration mystery
of the twentieth century." The date was
1925 when Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett
set out to find the site of a legendary
Amazonian civilization reputed to hide
the golden kingdom of El Dorado. Fawcett
dubbed it THE LOST CITY OF Z, and from
the start the expedition was a descent
into hell. He writes of "days of toil,
nights of torture" in his diaries, which
are filled with notes about the various
insects which plagued him. Not only did
the pack animals suffer, but colleagues
succumbed to strange tropical diseases
that manifested as festering sores that
attracted leeches and vampire bats. What
will men do to discover gold? Fawcett's
obsession offers a vivid example, although
he himself seems to have been blessed
with an extraordinary physical constitution.
As the author takes up the mantle to explore
the Amazon himself, seeking the truth
about what happened to Fawcett, he becomes
involved in an adventure of all his own.
Actor Mark Deakins narrates this fascinating
tale, maintaining the air of fresh discovery
throughout. (Random House Audio; 10
hours unabridged) |
In NO SURVIVORS, a book that rivals—even
surpasses—the Jason Bourne series
by Robert Ludlum, novelist Tom Cain continues
to develop the character of Samuel Carver,
a hired assassin who makes accidents happen,
and who, like Jason, lies—at the
beginning—a broken man unsure of
his past. When his Russian spy girlfriend
is forced to leave him, Carver escapes
the sanitarium in which he's imprisoned
only to be hired by a man who wants to
get his hands on some deadly missing Russian
suitcase nukes. Add a Texas billionaire
who hopes to finance Armageddon by blowing
up Jerusalem, and what you have is a 007ish
take on nuclear terror circa today. Is
Cain the new Clancy? Time will tell, but
in the meantime John Lee is definitely
a great choice as narrator for a suspense
set mainly in Europe, and whose accent
is no accident. Lee won an award reading
Cain's previous novel, The Accident
Man, while Tom Cain is the pseudonym
of British journalist David Thomas (a
name that perhaps sounds more appropriate
for someone reading poetry on Walton's
mountain). Now let's just hope that there
isn't as much missing nuclear material
out there as Cain postulates, Because
if there is, we are all in deep, deep
trouble. (Penguin Audio; 11 hours
unabridged) |
Next, Erica Bauermeister's first novel,
THE SCHOOL OF ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS, is
not merely about the pleasures of culinary
indulgence. Like scientist Jonah Lehrer,
her character Lillian has been exploring
the mysteries of taste for a long time,
and also looking beyond recipes or menus
to discover the hidden truths which arise
from those mysteries. Her weekly restaurant
cooking classes provide her with an audience
on which to crystalize her thoughts on
food, life, and love. But this is only
a springboard from which the lives of
her students add spice to the mix. Their
stories within Lillian's main story serve
as poignant taste variations added to
a subtle base stock. As narrated by actor
Cassandra Campbell, this short yet delicious
novel becomes a delicacy to be savored
as sentence by sentence the hope of those
yearning to learn the truths of their
lives play out on the chopping block.
(Penguin Audio; 6 hours unabridged)
|
While there are many things you should
say "no way" to, when it comes to persuasion
what you want is for your clients or potential
employers to say YES! Getting them to
overcome any reluctance is a matter of
psychology, as authors Noah J. Goldstein,
Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini
emphasize in their new audiobook, subtitled
50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be
Persuasive. Goldstein is on the faculty
of UCLA's Anderson School of Management,
Martin is managing director of Influence
at Work in the UK, and Cialdini is president
of that organization, a professor of psychology
and marketing, and the most cited social
psychologist in the field. What is most
interesting about their research is how
seemingly subtle variations in the wording
of advertising or interpersonal dialogue
can affect outcomes. For example, if you
are talking to someone whose background
is more collectivist than individualistic
(like the culture of Japan), you will
receive much more favorable results if
you point to what others of their group
have chosen in the past, rather than what
their own choice should be. Also covered
are why hiring someone to tout your merits
is better than touting them yourself (even
if that person is known to be paid by
you!), how mirroring a person's gestures
or style creates a bond with them, and
why placement of mirrors to reduce theft
or littering actually works. Some of these
findings have been outlined in other business
psychology books, but there's a appeal
to the wide ranging and entertaining aspect
here, with an attention to not getting
too bogged down in lecture. This is primarily
a book for sales people, but the useful
psychological tips cross over into all
aspects of daily life. The conclusion
you come to after listening is that we
are not always the rational beings we
imagine ourselves to be, and are instead
influenced by what our peers are doing
(watching sports on TV), how scarce something
is claimed to be (making us want it more,
as in "only available for a limited time!"),
or just the relentless breaking down of
our wills through repetition. You are
even more likely to buy this audiobook
because I listed the qualifications of
the authors above, as one of their case
studies involves a doctor who had little
success advising his patients to choose
healthier diets until he posted his academic
credentials in plain view. (Simon
& Schuster Audio; 5 1/2 hours unabridged)
|
Finally, Frank Herbert's last epic novel
gets a new production in CHAPTERHOUSE
DUNE, as narrated by Euan Morton, Katherine
Kellgren, Scott Brick, and Simon Vance.
In this final installment written by Herbert
(Sr.) before his death, Dune (Arrakis)
has been destroyed, and its heirs to power
(the Bene Gesserit) have colonized another
world, and are slowly turning it into
a desert planet. With fine performances
by a talented cast, (including the "Making
Of" video included on the final disk),
the audiobook is a must-have for all Dune
fans, although those unfamiliar with the
series should start with the original
Dune audiobook, or else they will quickly
become as clueless to what's happening
as new viewers to the TV show LOST.
(MacMillan Audio; 16 1/2 hours unabridged)
|
Also recommended: One of the greatest
novels of all time, MOBY DICK, now gets
a stunning new interpretation by actor
Anthony Heald, and is available on Mp3
disk too for quick download to iPod. Join
Ishmael and Captain Ahab as narrated by
one of our favorite readers, who was nominated
for several Tony awards and won an Obie
for his theater work. (Blackstone
Audio; 24 hours unabridged) |
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