Team of Rivals

Team of Rivals

 by Doris Kearns Goodwin
(based on 392 customer reviews)

Team of Rivals (Hardcover)
Edition: 1st
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster


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Most useful review as voted by customers:
231 out of 245 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 12/2/05


The Lincoln Cabinet: A Character Study

Ms. Goodwin has created a gem of a masterpiece with her most recent book on Lincoln. In the millions of pages already written on the subject, there are no books that I know of that do in essence, a character study on Lincoln and his cabinet members. The 754 page text is one of the best ever written regarding the true and underlying nature of those men who served with Lincoln in his cabinet.

While events and persons such as Antietam, Jefferson Davis, Fort Sumter, Maryland's secession attempt and many other events receive short shrift from Ms. Goodwin, this treatment is as it should be for her book concentrates on the personality and character of Lincoln and his cabinet.

While Lincoln never committed himself during the convention to any of his rivals in terms of cabinet positions, to gain votes for his eventual nomination; he voluntarily chose most of his cabinet from men who were his greatest rivals for the Presidency. He did this with clear and present knowledge that they were the best men for the jobs and the country at the time. The incredibly impressive exposition of the character of these men and especially that of Abraham Lincoln and his political and personal acumen in holding them together is given new life in this book.

Through careful reading and perusal of literally thousands of personal letters from cabinet members and from President Lincoln, Goodwin is able to put together a wonderfully clear and unique picture of the character of these men. In addition, she is able to paint a picture of each in words, and point out how their true character differed often from the public perception that abounded.

Ms. Goodwin should be noted for her fine and excruciating work in creating this book which will remain as a must read classic for Lincoln scholars of the present and the future. All of us who track the Lincoln Presidency, 140 years after its termination are grateful for her assiduous work in creating this wonderful book.


151 out of 154 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/3/07


It's like hanging out with Lincoln

I feel I'm being somewhat presumptuous adding this, the 246th review to date of Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals" but I have my two cents and aim to chuck it in. My perspective is not only that of an avid reader and student of US History, but as a teacher of it. From any standpoint I can most unequivocally add my endorsement of this masterful work.
I did not feel so much as I read about Abraham Lincoln as hung out with him and to a slightly lesser extent his cabinet. For one thing the book is long ( I was glad for every page and could have gladly read several dozen more) and for another it is rich with details of the time, events and mostly the people -- particularly, of course old Honest Abe himself.
I recently heard a professor of U.S. history with 20 years of service at a leading university and several books to her credit, assert that it is a misnomer to credit Lincoln with freeing the slaves. Granted, Lincoln did not walk unto plantations and swing open the gates, but his contributions to full emancipation are second to no other single person. Likewise it is he to whom the overwhelming credit must be granted for keeping the country whole in the face of secession and civil war.
And while there is little argument in my mind as to Lincoln's accomplishments as 16th president, there is absolutely no arguing about the manner in which he went about his duties. Finding a president who was more thoughtful or articulate a writer, more persuasive or eloquent a speaker or more compassionate a human being would be a futile task.
Rising from humble origins with nothing much to speak of in the way of a formal education, Lincoln managed to become a successful lawyer and a passionate well-regarded opponent of slavery. That he parlayed his speaking talents and a single brief term in public office to become the first successful Republican president is a remarkable story best told by Goodwin. Speaking of stories...Lincoln was a master at regaling audiences both large and small and Goodwin herself is superb at relating to the reader Lincoln's gift. This is a crucial gift in understanding Lincoln and his talent at governing.
In addition to a thorough Lincoln introduction, Goodwin presents for our consideration his rivals for the presidency who would, not coincidentally, later form his cabinet. William Seward of New York who became Lincoln's Secretary of State, was my personal favorite, while Ohio's Salmon Chase, Treasury Secretary, was someone I never warmed up to as he continued machinations against Lincoln until the end of his term. Readers will also become acquainted with secretaries Edwin Stanton and Edward Bates, along with other important government officials, various generals, Lincoln's family and friends.
The hook on which Goodwin hangs her account of the Lincoln presidency is his eager use of those rivals and how shrewd politically he was to make them the center of his governing circle. But this was not merely politically adroit, Lincoln also recognized he had brought in the most able minds of the time to serve him and thus the country at its most vulnerable point I (a far cry from recent political leaders who surround themselves with like-minded loyalists).
Readers can expect to have their understanding of Lincoln greatly enriched whether they agree or not with all aspects of Goodwin's interpretation of the man. They will also develop a keener appreciation for the era prior to the Civil War and the war itself. Mostly they will have the great pleasure of spending time in Lincoln's Springfield home and the White House of his tenure.
As a history teacher reading "Team of Rivals" has left me feeling better equipped to tell my students Lincoln's story and thus the story of our country at it's most decisive moments.

140 out of 158 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 11/28/05


Terrific read on Lincoln's handling of people, politics and the prosecution of war

Doris Kearns Goodwin delivers and delivers well with "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln". The scope of her work is Lincoln's inner circle of Seward, Stanton, Chase and Bates but, more broadly, his ability to handle people and politics. Goodwin vividedly demonstrates Lincoln's uncanny timing regarding the implementation of emancipation and gives a fair assessment of his views regarding the "peculiar institution". This book is about Lincoln as a leader, a manager and a politician. It is also about his evolving vision about certain topics (i.e, how to handle slaves once freed) and his steadfast desire to hold the Union together, literally at all costs. His belief in the precepts of the Founding Fathers is at all times present.

For those wishing an expansive biography on Lincoln, try Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. For those wishing a broader view on the period and the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. For those who would like a good but accurate piece of historical fiction, Lincoln by Gore Vidal or Freedom by William Safire.

This book is for those who want to see how Abe Lincoln led, managed, formulated stategy, handled very conflicting opinions, this is the book. A great read, if a bit choppy (perhaps a given with the nature of the subject matter).

42 out of 54 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/26/05


"Team of Rivals" is A WINNER!

As an open, unabashed admirer of Abraham Lincoln, the man and the legend, I initially cringed when I heard about this book. Not that Doris Kearns Goodwin was writing it,as her biography of LBJ was an exceptionally good political biography, but that: 1.) I had heard she would be writing a biography of Lincoln that would support Lerone Bennett's ignorant allegations and assertions that Lincoln was a "Racist" and ; 2.) Stephen Spielberg would be making hay out of it for another Hollyweird Boremunster.

Well, Spielberg is still considering making that film, using Liam Neeson to play Lincoln which is just totally absurd when Sam Waterston has done the role before and would be the absolute best man to play the role of Abraham Lincoln. So in that regard I am still cringing. As for "Team of Rivals" however, it is a brilliant book not only concentrating on Lincoln the political person (leave the great biographies of our 16th President to Carl Sandburg and David Herbert Donald), but how he managed to forge a brilliant team of people who haughtily considered themselves above and beyond Lincoln's acumen, namely William Seward, considered to be the political fox of his time; the devious Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates. How they were transformed into "Lincoln's Men" - to paraphase the titles of books by both William C. Davis and Donald, is the foci of Ms. Goodwin's lengthy work.

As for the fear that this book would describe Lincoln as a Racist, well, gentle reader, please check this out on page 207.

"There is no way to penetrate Lincoln's personal feelings about race.There is, however the fact that armies of scholars, meticulously investigating every aspect of his life, have failed to find a single act of racial bigotry on his part. Even more telling is the observation of Frederick Douglass, who would become a frequent public critic of Lincoln's during his Presidency; that of all the men he had met, Lincoln was "the first great man that I had talked with in the United States freely, who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself, of the difference of color".

I hope Lerone Bennett gets beyond his hangups and reads this book.

Goodwin must have poured through every ancedote, every quip. every commentary, journal or book on Lincoln, but also on these men who thought they were better than Honest Abe, but gradually not only yielded to his leadership, but, especially in the cases of Stanton (who called Lincoln an "ape") and Seward, became open admirers of him.

Although much briefer than I had hoped, Ms. Goodwin manages to convey how Lincoln, following John Pope's bad beating at Second Manassas, could reinstate the extremely discredited George McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Those who initially supported McClellan, and that was practically the entire cabinet with the exception of Lincoln wanted to hang the man. Lincoln, knowing how useless McClellan was, but also knowing the army was still loyal to him, saw that he was the only hope at that point to save Washington,D.C. from Confederate occupation. Accordingly he overcame administration opposition, got a controversal victory at Antietam that led directly to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, and when McClellan got the "slows" again - dismissed him once and for all - and had the entire cabinet behind him.

I am still getting into the book, so this review may be edited in the future, but my initial reaction is that not only is this book a winner and a remarkably readable look at Lincoln's political life, but it belongs alongside the Sandburg volumes; the Donald Biography, and Davis' "Lincoln's Men" in any Lincoln admirer's bookshelf. Make No Mistake - This is solid, well-crafted, well-researched, but extremely readable history. I only wish that Ms. Goodwin listed a full bibliography of her sources, as I did recognize some names of authors that she cited(including that of my friend Dr. Harry Jaffa) but hoped to see a list.

30 out of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/28/05


Another Politcal Study Of Our Civil War President

This is a banner year for presidential biographies : two of Theodore Roosevelt's retirement years ("The River of Doubt" by Candice Millard and "When Trumpets Call" by Patricia O'Toole), one of Andrew Jackson ("His Life and Times" by H.W. Brands) plus Joshua Shenk's study of depression in our 16th President ("Lincoln's Melancholy"). Now Doris Goodwin leaps back a century from her Kennedy and Johnson books with a view of the politics of the Civil War.

Though it is a long narrative (it is over 900+ with the footnotes), she is less interested in his role as commander-in-chief and more interested in Lincoln the master politician in a nation torn apart by seccession and slavery. His decision to keep his friends close and his political enemies closer by putting his rivals in his Cabinet was a crucial move in coopting his Republican rivals and keeping the party firmly in his control. Ms. Goodwin is a master storyteller, an excellent researcher who knows what to omit and her narrative is fun to read on a cold winter's night.

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