HONOR'S VOICE: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln

How can Edward Asner narrate so badly but still sound interesting? On this tape, for instance, he mumbles listlessly, produces some inexplicable line readings and mispronounces words such as "impracticable." Reciting Robert Burns, he lays on a terrible Scottish accent, and when quoting from Lincoln's friends and neighbors, he gives them characterizations out of a B Western. Nonetheless, he magically keeps one listening. The well-written text helps. It's a neatly abridged exploration of President Lincoln's youth, dredging up nothing new to scholars, but informing non-specialists of details they probably don't know. Y.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 99]