LINCOLN

Gore Vidal focuses on the Civil War years in this well-researched, non-sentimentalized, yet ultimately positive, fictionalized biography. In perfect harmony with Vidal's text, Grover Gardner gives Lincoln a high-pitched tone and folksy manner below which lurk shrewd intelligence, profound sadness over the tragedy of war, and a wonderful sense of humor. Gardner reads as though he's visualizing the people and events of his story, bringing profound immediacy to his narration. In particular his ability to portray such complexity and to delineate a large cast of characters make him one of the best narrators in the business. This program, while expensive, shows just how great an audiobook can be: entertaining, thoughtful, good literature, good storytelling, good history. S.K. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 93]