1861 cover art

1861

The Lost Peace

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

1861

By: Jay Winik
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

From an award-winning historian and New York Times bestselling author, a gripping, fly-on-the-wall account of the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln's decision to go to war against the Confederacy.

1861: The Lost Peace is the story of President Lincoln’s difficult and courageous decision at a time when the country wrestled with deep moral questions of epic proportions.

Through Jay Winik’s singular reporting and storytelling, readers will learn about the extraordinary Washington Peace Conference at the Willard Hotel to avert cataclysmic war. They will observe the irascible and farsighted Senator JJ Crittenden, the tireless moderate seeking a middle way to peace. Lincoln himself called Crittenden “a great man” even as Lincoln jousted with him. Readers will glimpse inside Lincoln’s cabinet—the finest in history—which rivaled the executive in its authority, a fact too often forgotten, and witness a parade of statesmen frenetically grasping for peace rather than the spectacle of a young nation slowly choking itself to death. A perfect read for history buffs, with timely overtones to our current political climate.
Elections & Political Process Military Politics & Government Abraham Lincoln War

Critic reviews

“A portrait of two sides talking past each other, rather than with each other... [Jay Winik] traces the efforts of those who genuinely wanted to prevent war and the trauma of secession—and shows how Abraham Lincoln tried at first to listen and then at last refused.”—The New Yorker
"[S]urprisingly timely and sure to give even the most avid Civil War buffs new material to think about."—Huffpost
“This engaging volume has impeccable research and is recommended for anyone who enjoys U.S. history, notably the Civil War, and American politics.” - Starred Review
Library Journal
"A fascinating look at some of the less familiar history in the days leading up to the Civil War."—Kirkus Reviews
"Winik presents a vivid, tragic narrative of a nation coming to pieces...Along the way, he weaves in evocative profiles of leading figures and their drift toward extremism. The result is a dramatic and insightful retelling of a fateful turn in America’s saga."—Publishers Weekly
"Winik has a taut yet dramatic writing style that makes the book a compelling read even for those well-versed on the history leading up to the Civil War's outbreak."—Associated Press
No reviews yet