What's New

• Added compatibility for iOS 5
• Miscellaneous bug fixes
• Updated user interface and experience

App Description

THE TREE WHERE MAN WAS BORN BY PETER MATTHIESSEN (unabridged) is presented by Blackstone Audio and comes with what is perhaps the best audiobook app available (see FEATURES, below).

“Stunning….The Africa [Matthiessen] evokes is finally timeless, majestic, throbbing with life, indivisible.” (Saturday Review)

In this classic volume, Peter Matthiessen combines nature and travel writing to skillfully and magically bring East Africa to vivid life: the daily lives of herdsmen and hunter-gatherers, the exotic animals and breathtaking landscapes, and the area’s turbulent natural, political, and social histories.

Self-contained, this audiobook app is perfect for your commute, on a trip, or while relaxing. Based on a library-quality recording, this app was built especially for your iPhone and iPod Touch. No unreadable text, no endless scrolling on a tiny screen. The audio is of higher-than-normal quality, making for a great listening experience that will not tire your ears or grate on your nerves.

NOTICE: This app includes the exact same 5-star recording offered elsewhere at much higher prices. It was professionally recorded by Blackstone Audio’s Earphones®-winning narrator Dion Graham. You are not buying yet another amateur or volunteer narration. No clicks, background noises, throat clearing, mispronunciations, tinny voices or monotones will be found here.

“The lush prose casts its own spell on a landscape observed with awe and inexplicable sadness….[Matthiessen’s] narrative powers are considerable…” (Kirkus Reviews)

•EXPERIENCE. About 10 hours of narration. Created as a Folium enhancedAudio™ edition, this book includes extra functions and features not found on lesser players.

•PLAYER CONTROLS. Includes listen (play), pause, multi-speed fast forward/reverse, jump ahead/back, chapter skip, volume control, one-touch chapter- and bookmark browser. There is also a “scrub” bar that finds any point inside the chapter with just a tap.

•SLEEP TIMER. Have you ever fallen asleep watching TV or listening to a book? If so, you'll love this feature. Once set, the book will stop, place a bookmark, and allow you to jump back to where you probably began dozing.

•CLEAR & ELEGANT DESIGN. Simple, clean, intuitive, and smarter than average.

•CHAPTER TIMINGS. Always know how much time it will take to finish a chapter. Plus, the progress bar at the top of the screen shows how far into the book you’ve come.

•OFFLINE LISTENING. You are airplane-ready! Once downloaded, listen uninterrupted without threat from a lost network connection. Downloads are usually just 5-10 minutes, but depend upon your network speed.

•AUTO-BOOKMARKING. The player remembers where you stopped listening and returns to that exact spot when you open the book again.

•TELL-A-FRIEND. An easy way to recommend the book to your friends or Twitter feed.

•FEEDBACK. Share your ideas for books, functions, and features. We are very responsive to our listeners and appreciate all feedback and ideas.


RATING: Best suited for adults/young adults who enjoy vivid scenes of lush landscapes, exotic peoples, and majestic creatures.

___________________
Matthiessen skillfully and magically portrays the sights, scenes, and people he observed firsthand in several trips to East Africa: the daily lives of herdsmen and hunter-gatherers; the drama of the predator kills; the hundreds of exotic animals; the breathtaking landscapes; the area's turbulent natural, political, and social histories; the adventures of the field biologists who pursue and investigate the habits of wild creatures; the anthropologists seeking man’s origins throughout the Rift Valley; and the lonely African, poised between the traditional ways and the conflicting demands of Western culture.

iPhone Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 1 The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 2 The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 3 The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 4 The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 5

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 6 The Tree Where Man Was Born (by Peter Matthiessen) screenshot 7

App Changes

  • December 01, 2011 New version 2.4.2