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Lincoln

Written by: David Herbert Donald
Narrated by: Dick Estell
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Publisher's Summary

In the best-selling tradition of Truman, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Herbert Donald offers a new classic in American history and biography - a masterly account of how one man's extraordinary political acumen steered the Union to victory in the Civil War, and of how his soaring rhetoric gave meaning to that agonizing struggle for nationhood and equality.

Donald spent 50 years studying Lincoln, tracing his rise from humble origins to the pinnacle of the presidency. He reveals the development of the future president's character and shows how Lincoln's enormous capacity for growth enabled one of the least experienced men ever elected to high office to become a giant in the annals of American politics. And he depicts a man who was basically passive by nature, yet ambitious enough to take enormous risks and overcome repeated defeats.

Much more than a political biography, Lincoln seats us behind the desk of a president who was both a master of ambiguity and expediency and a great moral leader, as he makes the decisions that preserved the Union and shaped modern America.

©2011 David Herbert Donald (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

What the critics say

"A grand work - the Lincoln biography for this generation." (Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.)
" Lincoln immediately takes its place among the best of the genre, and it is unlikely that it will be surpassed in elegance, incisiveness and originality in this century.... A book of investigative tenacity, interpretive boldness and almost acrobatic balance." ( Chicago Tribune)
"Eagerly awaited, Lincoln fulfills expectations. Donald writes with lucidity and elegance." ( The Atlantic)

What listeners say about Lincoln

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Very informative

There are a few instances where they have had to re-record some voice work and it really takes the wind out of the book’s sails, so to speak, but overall it is very well done and a very fair historical record of the mid 19th century told from Lincoln’s perspective.

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Save your money

Sound quality is like it was recorded in a metal box.
Duck Estell is dated and monotonous, unbearably dry and doesn’t give any warmth to this remarkable biography.

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