This was a beautiful book, and although it was fictionalized, I feel that it provided a very realistic, sticks-to-the-truth depiction of Lincoln's life during this time period. I think Cribb really nailed Lincoln's attitude, thoughts, manner, and disposition. The "important dialogue" was, of course, taken from historical records, so it was hard not to get those bits right, but even in the fictionalized private moments... he did an excellent job of portraying how I feel Lincoln was probably feeling at certain moments.

I wasn't there when Lincoln was president (obviously. Ha.), but I've dedicated countless hours on end reading and researching the man, his policies, and everything I can get my hands on surrounding him. Some of the moments seemed so real, it's hard not to think Cribb was pulling them straight from Lincoln's diary.

The heartbreaking scenes between Lincoln and his wife, Mary, whenever she showed early symptoms of her declining mental health were incredibly poignant, and it was hard not to feel Lincoln's pain for the woman he obviously loved very much but didn't know how to help.

The scenes with Tad and Willie in them were also wonderfully done, and while the source material was great, I have to give major kudos to the audiobook's narrator for making me absolutely adore sweet Tad. His character was well-written, but the narrator knocked it out of the park with his portrayal of the youngest Lincoln child, who was born with a cleft lip that contributed to an embarrassing (for him) speech impediment.

I really enjoyed every bit of this book, from beginning to end. I have no complaints with it at all.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book for them! I’m an Abraham Lincoln fan so I knew I’d enjoy this story - it did not disappoint. This is a historical novel about Abe Lincoln that retells the last five years before his heartbreaking assassination. More than half of this book was about the civil war, but how could it not be. This story showed how President Lincoln always put others first, whether it be his sons, wife, friends, or country. It told of his struggles during his presidency too. The narration was good and easy to follow along with. I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect Memorial Day weekend read!

In the forward by William J. Bennett (former US Secretary of Education and author of The Book of Virtues), more than 15,000 books have been written about Lincoln; with one exception (Jesus Christ) more books have been written about Lincoln than any other person. Bennett goes on to say "But you must read this book. This is the best book about Lincoln that I've ever read. ... This book makes you love Lincoln."

Don't you hate it when someone tells you what you must do? And that you will love something? So my immediate thought was, "Nope! Not me! I'm NOT going to love this book." Ok. I admit it. I was wrong; I was wrong. I was dead-set against it, but I fell in love with this book.

This book was written in a way so that you feel so near to Lincoln, with his thoughts and feelings during Lincoln's last 5 years of his presidency. Things you've always "known" are put into a completely different perspective when you are "sitting on Lincoln's shoulders". I knew that Lincoln was president during the Civil War, but I didn't know that six states seceded from the union and that Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy Feb 18, 1861 ... BEFORE Lincoln's inauguration in March 1861.

Lincoln was so compassionate. Usually when an army is ultimately victorious, they want to ruin the losers. Lincoln had the band belt out Dixie; more than anything he wanted to join the country and patch the wounds. He went out of his way to pardon folks and probably saw more visitors than any other president. Who doesn't like Lincoln? But with this book, I fell in love with Lincoln!

The audiobook was outstanding and narrated by Gary Bennett.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. Also many thanks to the publisher OrangeSky Audio and to the author John Cribb. Nicely done! Publication date for the book is Sept 2020; bummed that I had missed this book in 2020. Publication date for the audio is 1 June 2021.