Lincoln's Greatest Journey

Sixteen Days That Changed a Presidency, March 24-April 8, 1865

By: Noah Andre Trudeau

Narrated by: Barry Press

March 1865: The United States was at a crossroads, and, truth be told, Abraham Lincoln was a sick man. "I am very unwell," he confided to a close acquaintance. A vast and terrible civil war was winding down, leaving momentous questions for a war-weary president to address. A timely invitation from General Ulysses S. Grant provided the impetus for an escape to City Point, Virginia, a journey from which Abraham Lincoln drew much more than he ever expected.

Lincoln's Greatest Journey: Sixteen Days That Changed a Presidency, March 24-April 8, 1865 offers the first comprehensive account of a momentous time.

Lincoln traveled to City Point, Virginia, in late March 1865 to escape the constant interruptions in the nation's capital that were carrying off a portion of his "vitality" and to make his personal amends for having presided over the most destructive war in American history in order to save the nation. Lincoln returned to Washington 16 days later with a renewed sense of purpose, urgency, and direction that would fundamentally shape his second-term agenda.

©2016 Noah Andre Trudeau (P)2016 Tantor

Fascinating little known details.

Loved it! It really kept my interest. An intriguing look at the last couple weeks of Lincoln's presidency and the Civil War. Narration was also top notch!

Content does not live up to the title - hyperbole

What did you love best about Lincoln's Greatest Journey?

though very excited to start this book, I was disappointed overall. The author went down too many tangents and the core theme was lost.

If you’ve listened to books by Noah Andre Trudeau before, how does this one compare?

About the same.

What about Barry Press’s performance did you like?

He did a nice job on the voices for the various characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I wouldn't bother with a film.

Any additional comments?

Unless you do not know much about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, I would recommend passing on this one.

Well researched and well presented in great detail

I have read Shelby Foote's 3 volumes, I have listened to "American Ulysses" and Catton's "Grant Takes Command", but this short book covers a very short period of time at the point when Grant and his army forced the surrender of Lee and ultimately ended the Civil War. Catton's book is well done and researched, but this book because it covers a 16 day period is very detailed. I am not familiar with the author, but he seems to have a wealth of references to support his text and if he does not have the textual support he suggests that for some activity Lincoln might have done this or that given the circumstances. There appear to be many messages sent to Grant and Lincoln and from them to Washington to members of Lincoln's Cabinet. It seems as though all of those telegrams were preserved somewhere and the author searched them out. There is wealth of detail in this book that almost makes the reader/listener feel as though he was on the spot at the time. This is probably the best Civil War historical document I have come across. it is worth the reading or the listen.