Doris Kearns Goodwin

This brilliant, multi-million-selling biography is now the inspiration for a major Steven Spielberg film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. 

Team of Rivals shows how Abraham Lincoln saved Civil War-torn America by appointing his fiercest rivals to key cabinet positions. 

As well as a thrilling piece of narrative history, it's an inspiring study of one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen.
--back cover

the political genius of Abraham Lincoln

Team of Rivals

Winner of the Lincoln Prize Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Abraham Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president. On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires. It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war. We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through. This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history.

The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Dan Magee

He tried to impart some of the measured outlook that had served him so well: "No man resolved to make the most of himself, can spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take all the consequences, including the vitiating of his temper, and the loss of self-control. Yield larger things to which you can show no more than equal right; and yield lesser ones, though clearly your own. Better give your path to a dog, than be bitten by him in contesting for the right. Even killing the dog would not cure the bite."

Lincoln was "the most truly progressive man of the age, because he always moves in conjunction with propitious circumstances, not waiting to be dragged by the force of events or wasting strength in premature struggles with them."

"Having hope," writes Daniel Goleman in his study of emotional intelligence, "means that one will not give in to overwhelm- ing anxiety, a defeatist attitude, or depression in the face of difficult chal- lenges or setbacks." Hope is "more than the sunny view that everything will turn out all right"; it is "believing you have the will and the accomplish your goals."

No praise must have been more welcome to Lincoln than that of his old critic, the fiery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. "And to whom is the country more immediately indebted for this vital and saving amendment of the Constitution than, perhaps, to any other man?" Garrison asked a cheering crowd at the Boston Music Hall. "I believe I may confidently answer-to the humble railsplitter of Illinois-to the Presidential chain- breaker for millions of the oppressed-to Abraham Lincoln!"

charisa

can you believe i used to read nonfiction

Matthew Royal

Fascinating historical portrait of Lincoln I hadn't heard before. Starting this book, I expected to learn more about how keeping his former rivals in his presidential cabinet helped him make a stronger presidency, but really, it was simply stated that conversation among the cabinet was contentious, occasionally someone had to be replaced, and at the end of his life Lincoln and Seward had developed a strong mutual love for each other. No larger lessons or principals, but a good historical exception that rather than being a Pollyanna philosophy of life, was actually a shrewd political calculation that modern politicians such as Hillary Clinton in her defeat of Sanders could have duplicated.

The bestselling and prize-winning study of one of the most legendary American Presidents in history, Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin is the book that inspired Barack Obama in his presidency.When Barack Obama was asked which book he could not live without in the White House, his answer was instant: Team of Rivals. This monumental and brilliant work has given Obama the model for his presidency, showing how Abraham Lincoln saved America by appointing his fiercest rival to key cabinet positions. As well as a thrilling piece of narrative history, it's an inspiring study of one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen.'A wonderful book . . . a remarkable study in leadership' Barack Obama'A portrait of Lincoln as a virtuosic politician and managerial genius' The New York Times'I have not enjoyed a history book as much for years' Robert HarrisDoris Kearns Goodwin is the doyenne of US presidential historians, and one of the most acclaimed non-fiction authors in the world. Her works include Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga, and No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1995.

krisha mathur

When the 1860 Republican National Convention chose Abraham Lincoln over three seasoned politicians, his rivals were shocked and humilated. Lincoln immediately went about mending fences by inviting them to join his cabinet. Historian Doris Kearns Godwin reveals how Lincoln brilliantly converted former political foes and used them to strengthen his presidency.

Melody Izard

I never knew how many times Lincoln came up in everyday conversations until I read this book! 

I thought I knew what I needed to know about Lincoln, but apparently not. Surrounding himself by his rivals and in some cases people who thought he was a bumbling fool? Yep that's what he did. He said if these guys were the cream of the crop the people deserved to have them help in the governing of this great country of ours. So he just used his quiet little gentle smarts to tame their resentment and to make them help in this difficult time. 

And it was a difficult time. Lincoln didn't even know how he wanted to handle it. He just knew he couldn't let the South spin off and form their own country. 

It's a long book of history. But worth every minute.

Mark Stenberg 

Very good! Made me want to read Shakespeare again. How cool to have a good president. I wonder how much better the country might be today if Lincoln led Reconstruction? Crazy ending too — didn’t know it was a multi-target assassination attempt! Lots of fun. Good writing too!

Omar

Abraham Lincoln was ahead of his time, was a great leader, even though he was racist. For someone who's not a history buff, or rather at the other extreme of never having good history lessons, this book had a lot to teach. 

The book focuses on how Lincoln brilliantly navigated politics to accomplish so much during his tenure as president. It brilliantly covers the tension between the north and the south that lead to the secessionist movement, the civil war, and the role slavery played through it all. It also shows how Lincoln, knowing how difficult it would be to keep the country united, delicately balanced the folks he nominated to his cabinet. He ensured that people within the union felt that they had a representative, that the cabinet wasn't lopsided, and as such was able to keep united the north during a very delicate time. In particular, he focused on border states that were at risk of joining the confederacy. 

There were some things I didn't know about Lincoln. I've only heard before that he's had the best presidency in history, that he was a Republican, and that he was responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all the slaves. As such, I thought of him as someone morally ahead of his time and put him up on a pedestal. However, the reality was much more sobering. Although many of those things are true, and he was a great president with a strong moral compass, Lincoln's perspective around slaves shifted throughout his term as president. A few specifics: 

* Going into the Civil War, Lincoln made it clear that he wasn't going into war to free the slaves, just to keep the whole US united. 
* His initial proposal was to limit slavery to the states were it already existed (the south) and not let it spread to the north. He believed that the Union had no right to abolish slavery in the south and should just let slavery die out naturally over time, not force its abolition. 
* Once he realized that this pesky "slavery thing" wasn't going anywhere, and the huge moral gap between the north and the south wouldn't be resolved without abolishing slavery, he drafted plans to free all slaves and, literally, ship all blacks back to their "homeland" (or wherever they came from). Lincoln's priority was to unite the whites in the north and the south, to keep the union together, and abolishing slavery was a means to that end. 
* Later on, Lincoln also realized that by enlisting blacks in the army of the union they'd have a huge advantage over the south, as he was advised by his general. This was another reason he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation. 
* Oh, I almost forgot, the Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves in the revel states (the confederacy) but not in the border states. That is, border states that had slaves but remained loyal to the union were not forced to free the slaves, although they eventually did on their own accord. They were sort of grandfathered into keeping their right to slavery. Kind of ridiculous. Wikipedia excerpt below (1)
* Lincoln was clear that he was just freeing the slaves but by no means giving them the same civil rights as white men. He had no intentions of giving voting rights to blacks, for example, although he believed they shouldn't be slaves as all men are created (kinda) equal. 

Those are all interesting tidbits that opened my eyes to just how different was the situation back then. 

Lincoln was a genius politician, pretty centrist in how he managed most situations, and the actions he took were usually backed by the popular sentiment (definition of centrist). His genius was mostly in timing. If he knew that he wanted everyone to move a bit left, he didn't just order it, he waited until the tide was pushing left already and then gave it a push so that it didn't revert back right. 

This book was a great listen (audio version).

(1) Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the border states. Of the states that were exempted from the proclamation, Maryland (1864),[10] Missouri (1865),[11][12] Tennessee (1865),[12] and West Virginia (1865)[13] abolished slavery before the war ended. However, Delaware [14] and Kentucky did not abolish slavery until December 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified.[15]

Jeni Enjaian

I absolutely loved this book. I had high hopes for it after watching the magnificent "Lincoln" last year. (Side note: I find interesting the statement that "Lincoln" was based on this book. At most, I'd say that "Lincoln was based on an eighth of the entire work.)

I loved learning more about the individual cabinet members such as Chase, Seward and Bates. Ms. Goodwin wove a complicated and intense story spanning multiple decades and multiple characters to create an epic that is part biography (of multiple people) and part civil war historiography. I also love how she kept the other characters "in the loop" after Lincoln's election to the presidency. This could have easily become just another Lincoln biography but instead she made this book a step above the rest.

She also avoided bias and sweeping generalities, something that has bothered in other works like this. 

I can't say enough good things about this work. I highly recommend it and can't wait to purchase it to make it a permanent part of my library.

Ilia Markov

Great book that follows Lincoln's political legacy not just through his own work, but through the people he picked in his cabinet.

Team of Rivals the political genius of Abraham Lincoln

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