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Title details for Lincoln by David Herbert Donald - Available

Lincoln

by David Herbert Donald
Norman Dietz
Audiobook
1 of 2 copies available
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1 of 2 copies available
This fully rounded biography of America's sixteenth President is the product of Donald's half-century of study of Lincoln and his times. In preparing it, Donald has drawn more extensively than any previous writer on Lincoln's personal papers and those of his contemporaries, and he has taken full advantage of the voluminous newly discovered records of Lincoln's legal practice. He presents his findings with the same literary skill and psychological understanding exhibited in his previous biographies, which have received two Pulitzer Prizes. Much more than a political biography, Donald's Lincoln reveals the development of the future President's character and shows how his private life helped to shape his public career. In Donald's skillful hands, Lincoln emerges as a youthful, vigorous President. One of the youngest men ever to occupy the White House, he was also the husband of an even younger wife and the father of boisterous children. We witness how Lincoln's absorption with politics disrupted his family life, and how his often tumultuous marriage affected his political career. And we see a man renowned for his storytelling and his often sidesplitting humor lapse into the periods of deep melancholy to which he was prone, not only during the dark days of the Civil War but throughout his life. Donald's strikingly original portrait of Lincoln depicts a man who was basically passive by nature, who confessed that he did not control events but events had controlled him. Yet coupled with that fatalism was an unbounded ambition that drove him to take enormous political risks and enabled him to overcome repeated defeats. Donald shows that Lincoln was a master of ambiguity and expediency - but he also stresses that Lincoln was a great moral leader, inflexibly opposed to slavery and absolutely committed to preserving the Union.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 1, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781470348694
      • File size: 1133283 KB
      • Duration: 39:21:00

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer makes an exhaustive study of the sixteenth president, informed by primary sources unavailable to previous investigators and concentrating on the man rather than the times and supporting cast. The author reveals his facts and analysis of Lincoln's personality and ideas in clear, everyday, albeit somewhat long-winded, language. The rustic subject is given a cracker-barrel reading by Norman Dietz. He conjures up images of an old Springfield lawyer regaling visitors with recollections of a distinguished acquaintance. Throughout this tome he remains expressive, focused, and folksy, though sometimes his overworked voice betrays fatigue. Except for frequent annoying mouth noises, his is an admirable performance in every way. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 4, 1996
      Pulitzer prize winner Donald's biography was a PW bestseller for 11 weeks.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      James Naughton traces Lincoln's fated footsteps from humble beginnings to his presidency and assassination. His frank and forthright delivery combines well with Donald's portrayal of a straightforward, candid and droll Lincoln. Naughton effectively reveals the innermost Lincoln by imparting anecdotes from his childhood, early adulthood and political years. His narrative expertise is evident as he reports historical events without monotony. From time to time, he employs a documentary style when reporting political milestones. Overall, this is an excellent portrayal of a noble man. B.J.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 2, 1995
      Donald, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished scholar of the Civil War era (Charles Sumner), offers here a provocative reinterpretation of Abraham Lincoln's career and character. Donald presents Lincoln's nature as essentially passive. Throughout his life, according to Donald, Lincoln believed his destiny was controlled by some larger force or ``higher power.'' This conviction generated both an underlying fatalism and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. If one approach--or one general--failed, another could be tried. Although the information available to Lincoln was often significantly limited by modern standards, bold plans based on a priori reasoning were foreign to his thought process. Instead, it was Lincoln's ability to respond to events and actions that brought the U.S. through its greatest crisis and established the matrix for successful, if imperfect, reunification. BOMC split main selection; History Book Club main selection.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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