Collapse

February 7, 2005
In the Pulitzer–Prize–winning Guns, Germs, and Steel
, Diamond chronicled the rise of human civilizations since the Ice Age. This time, he turns over the log and probes the rotted side—the demise of once-productive societies such as the Maya, Easter Islanders and Greenland Norse. He also sounds the alarm on environmental practices undermining modern societies, including China, Russia, Australia and the United States. Narrator Murney has his work cut out for him, even though this audiobook is abridged. The narrative, which spans the globe and the ages, is dense, overwhelmingly so at times. Diamond parses myriad ecological, geographical and biological impacts, from weather patterns to deforestation to sperm count. But Murney rises to the occasion. His engagement never flags, and he strikes all the proper notes of concern and warning. The delivery feels effortless, his tone a blend of newsreel narrator and professor-at-the-lectern. Diamond teaches geography at UCLA, and his prose style, unsurprisingly, contains shades of the lecture hall. In fact, given such abundant and oft-alarming information, listeners may feel the urge to take notes for the final exam. Though grounding materials such as photographs and maps would have made this audiobook easier to follow, their absence is a minor fault in an overall fine production. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover (Forecasts, Nov. 15, 2004).

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL and UCLA Professor Jared Diamond exhibits interests in physiology, evolutionary biology, and biogeography, which uniquely qualify him to write this huge and passionate book. Looking at such diverse phenomena as the extinction of the Easter Islanders and the Rwandan genocides, Diamond traces the impact of environmental damage, hostile neighbors, and other forces in the survival of cultures. Narrator Michael Prichard is efficient enough, but inflectionless, making Diamond's compelling work flat. It's not all doom and gloom, and Diamond offers hope for these thorny issues, though, again, Prichard's reading seems out of step, missing opportunities to engage listeners. The print version may be the better choice. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine