Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Book Review: Review of Team Of Rivals
Summary: 5 Stars
Being occasionally an idiot, I find myself with some form of prejudice against female authors. But Doris Kerns Goodwin does a masterful work in portraying the events and characters of Abraham Lincoln's day.
This is a fascinating character study of the people surrounding the American Civil War (an oxymoron if there ever was one). It is made possible by the fact that with no telephones, radio, or TV media; people wrote. They wrote to spouses, family, friends, enemies, rivals, newspapers, dairies, in both personal and public formats. Goodwin's apparent exhaustive study of these writings is obvious from the beginning as she exposes both the true and the two faced characters revealed by their own writings.
This book was fascinating for me in several areas. Lincoln had two qualities that usually do exist in the same person. He was a warm hearted, transparently honest, relational, forthcoming person of character and integrity. And he was a masterful genius of a politician.
I would make this 'required reading' for anyone who wants to hang on to their sanity in a political environment. By political environment I mean places such as the management & supervisor professions, classroom teaching, religious ministry, and certain family situations resembling my own.
But beware, Goodwin's exhaustive character development of Lincoln's contemporaries can get tedious. I occasionally skimmed thru some of it, much to my regret later in the book. Pay attention to all she says, there is an incredible payoff mid way thru.
I saw Barak Obama on the news holding a copy Team Of Rivals and saying something to the effect that it was his favorite book. If you are a fan of Obama, you ought to read it. If you are not, even more must you read it to understand what he might be up too.
Thomas S Boswell
Book Review: Depressing
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading about the deeds of these great men makes me depressed when I think about the trolls we have in Washington today. Reading about Lincoln's visit to battlefield hospitals or about the children of cabinet members who fought in the Civil War...it really makes you think about the current state of our government.Book Review: Team of Rivals
Summary: 5 Stars
Received order as expected in a timely manner...A great book on Araham Lincoln's Presidential lifeBook Review: There's still something interesting to say about Lincoln
Summary: 3 Stars
A wonderful account of the Lincoln presidency and the man himself. Probably because there has been so much written about Lincoln and it would be almost impossible to come up with anything new, the author chose as her primary context the team that Lincoln assembled to help him steer the country through its darkest hours. As a fresh and interesting perspective on his administration it works. If I have a complaint - and it's relatively minor - it is that the book veers into hagiography: it's hard to find any criticism of Lincoln anywhere. Can he really have been that perfect? I doubt it. But what unexpectedly shines through is the man's humanity. The account of his tragic end and the profound sorrow of his colleagues and his country also left this reader with a sense of loss. No mean feat for an author telling such an old and well-knowm story. Book Review: A Different Era
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a terrific book that not only offers a great biography of Lincoln and the Civil War, but does so through the lens of his Cabinet. By using the Cabinet, the author allows herself to make full use of extensive records that would be less applicable to a biography just about Lincoln. The book's thesis, that Lincoln's inclusion of his party rivals for the presidency was key to his success, is certainly well argued in the book. Unfortunately, it is probably representative of a different time despite modern hopes. Recently, Barack Obama cited Lincoln's experience in discussing his own potential Cabinet. But what worked in Lincoln's day would likely not work in ours. Back then, the government was small enough, and the White House staff small enough, that Presidents had to work directly with Cabinet officials. Despite Lincoln's personal feelings about Salmon Chase for example, there was no White House Economic Adviser for Lincoln to look to for economic advice instead of Chase, or to use as a go between. He had to engage with Chase day in and day out by necessity. In modern times, even if a president could get over his initial dislike for a person in appointing them to the Cabinet, as Lincoln did, that person could then be pushed to the sidelines and ignored. Not so for Lincoln.
But as with many biographies, this book suffers a little from the author being too close to the subject. Lincoln does no wrong here, or when he does it pales next to the wrongs committed by others. Hard to believe that anyone, even Honest Abe, could be that perfect.
Having not read anything this in depth about Lincoln, I must admit I did not realize how good a politician he was in terms of his story telling, hand shaking, and recall. Learning about his political skills, which reminded me of Bill Clinton, was of great interest.
Overall, a great way to learn about Lincoln, the Civil War, and an era of American politics.