Lincoln

It's a rare pleasure when an actor of the caliber of Frank Langella narrates an audiobook. His solid, sincere performance of LINCOLN adds a level of soberness to the work. There's no shortage of Lincoln biographies this year, and each has a lot to offer. The Kunhardt book puts the listener in Lincoln's head as the man took over the commander in chief's job at a difficult time in the country, a time when the fields rang with the sounds of revolution, of civil war. The book opens with a scence in which Lincoln is dealing with the impending war, then dips back into his past and allows the listener to see what molded the man. The light touches of music, like "Shenandoah," are a nice touch. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine