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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Series: Simon & Schuster Lincoln library

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It must be hard to sell yet another biography of Lincoln to your publishers. Doris Goodwin tries to distinguish her works from her predecessors by looking at Lincoln through the eyes of his rivals for the Republican nomination - Seward, Chase and Bates.

This doesn't quite work. Once the nomination is secured, Bates is pretty much ignored and while there is plenty of focus on Abe's excellent relationship with Seward and his more fractious one with Chase, the book does not live up to its premise.

Fortunately, it doesn't need to. This is a first-rate biography. If there is a suspicion that Goodwin has rather fallen in love with her subject this can be forgiven becasue of the quality of the prose and sensitive and insightful exploration of key relationships.

What really comes across in this book is Lincoln's extraordinary magnamity. He seems to have an almost superhuman ability to forgive others their trespasses against him. To give just one example, Chase intrigues against him constantly but still gets appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Rarely does a political biography prompt one to consder one's own relations with others as this does.

Obama is apparently a great fan of this book. Let's hope he is able to take its lessons to heart. ( )
  jintster | Oct 15, 2009 |
This was one of the best biographies I have ever read. It was very well written, especially for those looking for more than just the cold hard facts. Ms. Goodwin does an excellent job of providing the surrounding details that help the reader understand why Lincoln acted the way he did. A previous reviewer mentioned that he/she did not why Lincoln was considered such a great person or president. I would say it was his capacity for compassion and growth. His evolution of thought regarding the emacipation of the slaves was extraordinary. It is very infrequent that you find a leader willing to consider that his or her beliefs may be incorrect or in needed of adjustment. His willingness to listen to all sides of an issue was unmatched and makes his loss that much more tragic. ( )
  Readermom68 | Oct 6, 2009 |
Written a full five years before Obama ran for the Presidency, this book is a prescription for getting the best people into the organization.
  oaechief | Sep 21, 2009 |
Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a history of Abraham Lincoln that is unique in its approach to the subject. With a focus on Lincoln's "political genius" in her book Team of Rivals she tells the story not only of his ascendancy to the Presidency and various trials of office, but also the story of his rivals for the Presidency and the strategy he used for dealing with them once he was elected President. After his surprising nomination as a "dark horse" candidate and somewhat less surprising election he shocked the political establishment by naming his former rivals to his cabinet. It is this story and the background stories of each of these politicians that make Team of Rivals an essential addition to the massive library of books about Abraham Lincoln.

I found the narratives about the lives of William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates fascinating and a rewarding read. While the story of Lincoln held my interest more due to the beautiful prose style of the author Goodwin than to any revelations about his well-documented life (for anyone who has not read a biography of Lincoln I would recommend that written by David Herbert Donald). With additional information about Edwin M. Stanton the quartet of major politicos was complete. Both the quotidian details of political life and the intrigue, including the nuance of the various shades of abolitionist behavior, were fascinating. The story of how they complemented each other, often helped along by Lincoln's astute decisions, combined with the background of secession and civil war turmoil makes this a great work of history. ( )
  jwhenderson | Sep 7, 2009 |
May 2009 selection- Just about everyone in the group enjoyed this book about Lincoln's competitors and then cabinet members. We liked learning about the things that aren't readily covered- like the politics behind the civil war instead of another book about the battles. Also, how little some things have changed- that there were petty complaints behind many of the issues then, as well as today. It is interesting, as well, to read about how things were run then without benefit of modern communication. This book will tell you all you ever wanted to know about Lincoln and his cabinet.
Pros: Interesting look at the men behind the man and one of the most important times in US history
Cons: Long and sometimes easy to get lost in the cast of characters ( )
  bedfordbookworms | Aug 28, 2009 |
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Epigraph
"The conduct of the republican party in this nomination is a remarkable indication of small intellect, growing smaller. They pass over ... statesmen and able men, and they take up a fourth rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar." —The New York Herald (May 19, 1860), commenting on Abraham Lincoln's nomination for president at the Republican National Convention.
"Why, if the old Greeks had had this man, what trilogies of plays—what epics—would have been made out of him! How the rhapsodes would have recited him! How quickly that quaint tall form would have enter'd into the region where men vitalize gods, and gods devinify men! But Lincoln, his times, his death—great as any, any age—being altogether to our own." —Walt Whitman, "Death of Abraham Lincoln," 1879.
"The greatness of Napoleon, Caesar or Washington is only moonlight by the sun of Lincoln. His example is universal and will last thousands of years. ... He was bigger than his country—bigger than all the Presidents together ... and as a great character he will live as long as the world lives." —Leo Tolstoy, The World, New York, 1909.
Dedication
For Richard M. Goodwin, my husband of thirty years
First words
On May 18, 1860, the day when the Republican Party would nominate its candidate for president, Abraham Lincoln was up early.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0684824906, Hardcover)

Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates 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.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:17 -0400)

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