Lincoln cover art

Lincoln

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Lincoln

By: David Herbert Donald
Narrated by: Dick Estell
Try Premium Plus free

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

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

About this listen

 A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, Lincoln is a stunning portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency.

Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln’s character, chronicling his tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possible for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the country out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union—in short, one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen. Americas Art & Literature Authors Elections & Political Process Historical Politics & Activism Politics & Government Presidents & Heads of State Civil War War Military Biography Abraham Lincoln American History Suspenseful
All stars
Most relevant
Truly brilliant way to spend 30 hours! Incredible story of one one of the greatest leaders ever.

Sensational story of a great man

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It is obvious that a lot of serious research has gone into writing this biography, and I have enjoyed getting innumerable little unexpected insights into the person behind the statesman.



The thoroughness, however, also means that the biography contains rather long stretches of information that I did not find interesting or to be contributing much to my understanding of the character of Lincoln.



The parts that I found most interesting concerned his upright moral character, insisting on reimbursing other people's loss without any legal obligation to do so - and then fulfilling his pledge at considerable personal and financial cost. Also, the way he learned from numerous mistakes when trying to conduct the war, often being rather too patient with generals of questionable will or ability to act, is compelling "reading".



Finally, his sense of loyalty to subordinates who tried to carry out his instructions (rather than orders) impressed me - even when they failed dismally. All paint the picture of a man of unusual integrity, of unsurpassed desire to learn from his mistakes, and of a selfless gentleness that should be challenge to every one of us.



The narrator's voice changes considerably (is it the same narrator or were parts recorded in a different studio later on?) in a few places, which I have not noticed in any other audio books. Not a problem, just different!



I do recommend this book, but intricate details of party organisation and hordes of less-than-central politicians could have been omitted, in my opinion.

A very thorough biography

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The definitive work on Lincoln, from birth to assassination, truly inspiring and moving account of the man who much surely be the best president america has ever had. The only downside to the book is the narration is a little dull, and it is a bit obvious where the breaks and edits where. Well worth a listen if you have the time (very long!).

Long but very extensive and amazingly inspiring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The day after seeing 'Lincoln' in the cinema, I bought this audio book. It is superb. An extremely thorough biography from Abraham Lincoln's early life through to his assassination... in a very enjoyable and easy 30 hours. The author spent decades researching his subject and it shows in the detail. It's also clear that he left out a lot of extraneous information, so it is never boring. I thoroughly recommend this insight into one of the great men of the modern world.

The world of Abraham Lincoln opens up beautifully

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this audiobook and would recommend it to anyone.
Even though it is a very long audiobook it keeps you engaged and interested and Lincoln's life story is so completely amazing and inspiring you will be totally addicted to this audiobook I was, I even listened to it again one month later.

David Herberts Lincoln

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews