The Real Lincoln

A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War

By: Thomas J. Dilorenzo

Narrated by: Charles Constant

Most Americans consider Abraham Lincoln to be the greatest president in history. His legend as the Great Emancipator has grown to mythic proportions as hundreds of books, a national holiday, and a monument in Washington, D.C., extol his heroism and martyrdom.

But what if most everything you knew about Lincoln were false? What if, instead of an American hero who sought to free the slaves, Lincoln were in fact a calculating politician who waged the bloodiest war in American history in order to build an empire that rivaled Great Britain's? In The Real Lincoln, author Thomas J. DiLorenzo uncovers a side of Lincoln not told in many history books and overshadowed by the immense Lincoln legend.

Through extensive research and meticulous documentation, DiLorenzo portrays the 16th president as a man who devoted his political career to revolutionizing the American form of government from one that was very limited in scope and highly decentralized - as the Founding Fathers intended - to a highly centralized, activist state. Standing in his way, however, was the South, with its independent states, its resistance to the national government, and its reliance on unfettered free trade.

©2003 Thomas J. DiLorenzo (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A devastating critique of America's most famous president." (Joseph Sobran, commentator and nationally syndicated columnist)

a welcome change

Thete are countless Lincoln biographies available on audible, and virtually all lionize the man, from Carl Sandburg on. Listen to a different take. Delorenzo documents that Lincoln alwayd admitted to be a proponent of Henry Clay's American System. He then makes a cogent argument that Lincoln was primarily motivated to go to war to promote this policy, characterized by the author as a spoils system. He concludes that none of the other myriad countries with slaves had to go to war to abolish slavery. So why did the US?

A Treasure of Information Alien to U.S. Classrooms

Unfortunately I, it seems that most Americans are content to ingest whatever is handed to them by the powers that be without a second thought as to whether it is true or complete. In "The Real Lincoln", Thomas DiLorenzo draws a clear portrait of the real man, politician, lawyer and, ultimately, dictator who forever changed the course of US government and the concept of liberty in this land.
The narration was perfect.

the eye opening book on Lincoln!

in this well-written book not only citations from other books but from the subjects own words is used to describe the real Lincoln. highly recommended for any true scholar of the life of Lincoln and the true source of the Civil War.

good ... behind the sences about Trump ... good

... a bit choppy at times ... but interesting for sure ... Trump says whatever is on his mind ... REALLY!

sic semper tyrannis

Excellent book I recommend it to everyone. Its a great counter for everything we learn in school about the states war.