
Breasts
A Natural and Unnatural History
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.62
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kate Reading
About this listen
Audie Award Winner, Nonfiction, 2013
Did you know that breast milk contains substances similar to cannabis? Or that it's sold on the Internet for 262 times the price of oil? Feted and fetishized, the breast is an evolutionary masterpiece. But in the modern world, the breast is changing. Breasts are getting bigger, arriving earlier, and attracting newfangled chemicals. Increasingly, the odds are stacked against us in the struggle with breast cancer, even among men. What makes breasts so mercurial - and so vulnerable?
In this informative and highly entertaining account, intrepid science reporter Florence Williams sets out to uncover the latest scientific findings from the fields of anthropology, biology, and medicine. Her investigation follows the life cycle of the breast from puberty to pregnancy to menopause, taking her from a plastic surgeon's office, where she learns about the importance of cup size in Texas, to the laboratory, where she discovers the presence of environmental toxins in her own breast milk. The result is a fascinating exploration of where breasts came from, where they have ended up, and what we can do to save them.
©2012 Florence Williams (P)2012 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Nature Fix
- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
- By: Florence Williams
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain.
-
-
Yes!...and No!
- By Paul on 03-18-17
-
Heartbreak
- A Personal and Scientific Journey
- By: Florence Williams
- Narrated by: Florence Williams
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of Wild and Lab Girl, Heartbreak is a uniquely immersive audiobook, merging science and self-discovery to change the way we think about loneliness, health, and what it means to fall in and out of love. Narrated by the author and accompanied by in-the-moment diary recordings and interviews, Heartbreak is an immersive audiobook that taps into one of the most shared experiences in the animal kingdom: heartbreak.
-
-
If you’re a serious person trust me skip this book.
- By The OTHER Barb on 02-06-22
-
The Secret Lives of Color
- By: Kassia St. Clair
- Narrated by: Kassia St. Clair
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of 75 fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from into a unique study of human civilization.
-
-
More about pigments than social history
- By Jason Toon on 12-13-20
By: Kassia St. Clair
-
Butts
- A Backstory
- By: Heather Radke
- Narrated by: Heather Radke, Emily Tremaine
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part deep dive reportage, part personal journey, part cabinet of curiosities, Butts is an entertaining, illuminating, and thoughtful examination of why certain silhouettes come in and out of fashion—and how larger ideas about race, control, liberation, and power affect our most private feelings about ourselves and others.
-
-
Woof.
- By Aaron M Groth on 01-21-23
By: Heather Radke
-
Pandora's Jar
- Women in the Greek Myths
- By: Natalie Haynes
- Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tellers of Greek myths—historically men—have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil—like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world’s suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.
-
-
The Golden Age Continues
- By Stefan Filipovits on 03-29-22
By: Natalie Haynes
-
Wanting
- The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
- By: Luke Burgis
- Narrated by: Luke Burgis, Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there’s a psychological force just as powerful - yet almost nobody has heard of it. It’s responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not to others, and fueling cycles of anxiety and conflict. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies.
-
-
One of the most important books you'll ever read
- By chris boutte on 06-14-21
By: Luke Burgis
-
The Nature Fix
- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
- By: Florence Williams
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain.
-
-
Yes!...and No!
- By Paul on 03-18-17
-
Heartbreak
- A Personal and Scientific Journey
- By: Florence Williams
- Narrated by: Florence Williams
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of Wild and Lab Girl, Heartbreak is a uniquely immersive audiobook, merging science and self-discovery to change the way we think about loneliness, health, and what it means to fall in and out of love. Narrated by the author and accompanied by in-the-moment diary recordings and interviews, Heartbreak is an immersive audiobook that taps into one of the most shared experiences in the animal kingdom: heartbreak.
-
-
If you’re a serious person trust me skip this book.
- By The OTHER Barb on 02-06-22
-
The Secret Lives of Color
- By: Kassia St. Clair
- Narrated by: Kassia St. Clair
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of 75 fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from into a unique study of human civilization.
-
-
More about pigments than social history
- By Jason Toon on 12-13-20
By: Kassia St. Clair
-
Butts
- A Backstory
- By: Heather Radke
- Narrated by: Heather Radke, Emily Tremaine
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part deep dive reportage, part personal journey, part cabinet of curiosities, Butts is an entertaining, illuminating, and thoughtful examination of why certain silhouettes come in and out of fashion—and how larger ideas about race, control, liberation, and power affect our most private feelings about ourselves and others.
-
-
Woof.
- By Aaron M Groth on 01-21-23
By: Heather Radke
-
Pandora's Jar
- Women in the Greek Myths
- By: Natalie Haynes
- Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tellers of Greek myths—historically men—have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil—like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world’s suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.
-
-
The Golden Age Continues
- By Stefan Filipovits on 03-29-22
By: Natalie Haynes
-
Wanting
- The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
- By: Luke Burgis
- Narrated by: Luke Burgis, Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there’s a psychological force just as powerful - yet almost nobody has heard of it. It’s responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not to others, and fueling cycles of anxiety and conflict. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies.
-
-
One of the most important books you'll ever read
- By chris boutte on 06-14-21
By: Luke Burgis
-
The Joy of x
- A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not. In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, and insight.
-
-
Great listen
- By cameron on 08-16-19
By: Steven Strogatz
-
A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
- Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
-
-
I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
-
Fuzz
- When Nature Breaks the Law
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Mary Roach
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
-
-
The footnotes
- By Alex on 09-24-21
By: Mary Roach
-
Symphony in C
- Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything
- By: Robert M. Hazen
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enchanting biography of the most resonant - and most necessary - chemical element on Earth. Carbon. It's in the fibers in your hair, the timbers in your walls, the food that you eat, and the air that you breathe. It's worth billions as a luxury and half a trillion as a necessity, but there are still mysteries yet to be solved about the element that can be both diamond and coal. Where does it come from, what does it do, and why, above all, does life need it?
-
-
There is a Caveat
- By Joseph L Contreras on 06-26-19
By: Robert M. Hazen
-
The Address Book
- What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
- By: Deirdre Mask
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names, houses their numbers, and what it reveals about class, race, power, and identity. When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.
-
-
Simply OK
- By CJFLA on 07-18-20
By: Deirdre Mask
-
Blink
- The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his landmark best seller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant, in the blink of an eye, that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept?
-
-
Interesting read with contradictory messages
- By Danny on 04-21-05
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body - how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, "We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted."
-
-
Must Read for the Sheer Fun of It
- By J.B. on 10-16-19
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Caped Crusade
- Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture
- By: Glen Weldon
- Narrated by: Glen Weldon
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since his creation, Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy pop-art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim and gritty ninja of the urban night. For more than three-quarters of a century, he has cycled from a figure of darkness to one of lightness and back again; he's a bat-shaped Rorschach inkblot who takes on the various meanings our changing culture projects onto him.
-
-
Interesting but performance was frustrating
- By Yasameen on 12-01-16
By: Glen Weldon
-
Estrogeneration
- How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile
- By: Anthony G. Jay
- Narrated by: Anthony G. Jay
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The devastating truth about a class of chemicals called "estrogenics" and how your daily exposures can cause weight gain, depression, infertility and many other exploding health problems.
-
-
BEST Health Book of 2017. Period. NEW insights.
- By Peter on 03-12-17
By: Anthony G. Jay
-
What the Dog Saw
- And Other Adventures
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia focuses on "minor geniuses" and idiosyncratic behavior to illuminate the ways all of us organize experience in this "delightful" (Bloomberg News) collection of writings from The New Yorker. What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard-but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the 20th century?
-
-
Not Gladwell's best - and a recording problem
- By Rudi on 11-26-09
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
If Our Bodies Could Talk
- A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body
- By: James Hamblin
- Narrated by: James Hamblin
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2014, James Hamblin launched a series of videos for The Atlantic called "If Our Bodies Could Talk". With it, the doctor-turned-journalist established himself as a seriously entertaining authority in the field of health. Now, in illuminating and genuinely funny prose, Hamblin explores the human stories behind health questions that never seem to go away - and which tend to be mischaracterized and oversimplified by marketing and news media. He covers topics such as sleep, aging, diet, and much more.
-
-
already planning on listening to it again
- By Anonymous User on 10-09-18
By: James Hamblin
-
Get Well Soon
- History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them
- By: Jennifer Wright
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon 34 more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had been stricken by the mysterious dancing plague. In late-19th-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome - a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis for which there was then no cure.
-
-
Didn't know syphilis could be so fascinating.
- By Kindle Customer on 02-09-17
By: Jennifer Wright
Critic reviews
All the talk about toxins did make me start to doubt the author. The book ended up feeling like her personal crusade to promote her own health-related values, and I wasn't clear how much of it was or wasn't scientific.
This is a useful and educational work, with a very good narrator, but if I had to do it again I would look elsewhere to see if there were better works on the subject.
Interesting insights, but science is unconvincing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Interesting, but a tough listen in the car
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating and well-researched
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What made the experience of listening to Breasts the most enjoyable?
This book is non fiction, scientific and profoundWhat was one of the most memorable moments of Breasts?
The science behind breast cancer, premature puberty and wieght issues are presented with startling clarity throughout this book. I recommend it to everyone I know, everyone I meet and now to strangers. DO NOT HESITATE to read this book. Consider giving as a gift to all of those who ask "why is there so much more breast cancer?" Why didn"t 'they' tell us?What does Kate Reading bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
You can't skim like you might with a print book when the information becomes uncomfortable.If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Breasts, the Canaries in the Coal Mine, a DocumentaryAny additional comments?
Often a title might put someone off, please don't avoid this book because the title isn't catchy.Breasts are the canary in the coal mine...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Do you want to be scared?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Keeping Abreast of the Breast
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
inform inform inform
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Kate Reading is an interesting choice for narrator. While she is one of my favorite female readers, having her read this book is like talking about breasts with a favorite aunt, slightly awkward.
I believe that the information on breast cancer alone makes this book worth reading. The books agenda in promoting awareness of breast cancer is admirable and a great plus. Unfortunately the chaotic and loosely organized structure of the book bring it down from a great book to simply mediocre.
Interesting Book but Overall Unsatisfying
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you consider the audio edition of Breasts to be better than the print version?
The narrator is exceptional. Her voice inflection underscores the narrative and enhances understanding and enjoyment of the text.What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The fact that we live day to day with unregulated chemicals that are affecting not only breasts, but everything around us.Any additional comments?
I recommend this book to anyone interested in health related environmental causes. This is an important and accessible book.Fascinating and Informative
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
All about mammary glands
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.