22 January 2021
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Winner of the Lincoln Prize
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.
| Title | : | Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln |
| Edition Language | : | English |
| ISBN | : | 9780743270755 |
| Format Type | : |
Readers Also Enjoyed Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
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I heard Goodwin talk about this book on NPR, and she sounded like she'd been an eyewitness to the events. Sold me the book.On June 17th--I've been a hundred pages from the end for ten days. I don't wa...
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As a history lover, I'm a bit of a snob. While everyone is rushing to purchase the newest warm-milk entry from David McCullough, I make a show of purchasing turgid, poorly edited treatises put out by ...
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(Please forgive me resorting to a tired trick and leading off with a definition from the dictionary, but there is a point to it.)pol-i-ti-cian1: a person experienced in the art or science of governmen...
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I would have given this book more stars if I could have. I think I loved this book so much because Abraham Lincoln was such an absolutely amazing person. We are all taught that Lincoln was one of Amer...
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Yesssss! I did it y'all! This is an accomplishment. Team of Rivals is dense, not gonna lie, but incredible and so worth it. If you set one reading goal for yourself, in your life, it should be to read...
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When Rod Blagojevich was impeached and hauled off to prison, that made four of the previous seven Illinois governors to have done time. Countless representatives and aldermen have been locked up, too....
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Doris Kearns Goodwin weaves a masterful tale as she follows the lives of Lincoln and his intimate circle of friends and rivals from the early 1800s, through the Civil War until the catastrophe assassi...
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According to Oxford Dictionary: Team=Two or more people working together and Rival=A person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity....
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A Pulitzer Prize winner worthy of the award.All of the superlative adjectives apply to this book.A monumental effort on a monumental book.A remarkable study of Lincoln and the people who surrounded hi...
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Put aside whatever you're reading now--yes, even those compelling vampire/romance books--and pick up this book. It's that good. Even though Goodwin is writing about Lincoln's cabinet, her work is eeri...