A Macat Analysis of The Better Angels of Our Nature

Steven Pinker's exploration of what he argues is a decrease in human violence over the ages is long, learned, and occasionally difficult, though well written and often fascinating. Arthur Morey delivers it as if in easy conversation with the listener, a learned man fluidly discoursing on a favorite topic. He clearly thought out sentences in advance, giving them just the right pacing, accentuation, and intonation patterns to match their meaning and make it clear; some are like well-executed musical figures. In occasional nonacademic quotations his voice acting can seem awkward, but those are brief and seldom. Such a gracefully modulated, carefully paced and emphasized reading, at this length, is a bravura performance. Morey makes this important book accessible and engaging for listeners, who are in his debt. W.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine