Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.55 You Save: $8.45 (40%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Book Review: Terrific Book about a Terrific President
Summary: 5 Stars
To read this book is to befriend Abraham Lincoln. It is a very interesting and refreshing look at the leaders of our country in the mid 19th century. I so enjoy the ability to look back 150 years and see the vision and inspiration of another group of Executive Office leaders. The difference between today's and Lincoln's Cabinet seems to be night and day. It is not that they didn't have philosophical differences, and it's not that they didn't try to submarine one another, but they each believed in something. They were passionate about things. The wishy-washy vote this way today and that way tomorrow was not the norm. Lincoln did have his "feelers" out for public opinion, but Lincoln had a plan before the "feelers" went out, not just after he knew the direction of the wind.
This book by Goodwin is superb. I rarely give 5 stars to a book, but this one has earned it. Sure, much of this can be found in various other works, but putting the focus on the Cabinet gives so much more flavor of the times, the philosophy and a wider view of the decision making. Unlike "No Ordinary Time", Goodwin delves into the reasoning behind the decisions of Lincoln. This is the best part of the story to me: The "How" of the decision process. What was everyone thinking? What went into the decisions? How did it move from idea to history?
The early part of the book is devoted to the years leading up the election of Lincoln in 1860. This is extremely well told. It takes the reader through the minds and actions of the four most significant candidates for that election and traces their steps - fascinating.
The actual Republican Convention in Chicago is vividly told and shows how the Presidents were selected as the best compromise and the most likely to stick with the Party's platform. The Party's actually had platforms and debated the merits of those proposals. This book was a re-education in the National Process the way it was meant to be. Not the mind numbing commercialization of the process today. Stumping was really a way to hear the candidates. Can you imagine any of the candidates in this year's election being able to say anything remotely meaningful for 2 hours? That was normal for Lincoln, Chase and Seward. And this book makes you a part of it.
The writings and speeches of Lincoln were classic and this book while describing them, doesn't give much of the detail of them. I did not find that this detracted from the story, I just wanted to mention it.
Bringing together of his political enemies only makes perfect sense after reading the way in which Lincoln is able to make it work. I would give anything to see it done today. How else can you get the best of the best and listen to the arguments for and against. It was brilliant and brilliantly told.
The final chapter depressed me for the entire day after reading it. I knew he was assassinated, and I knew when he died and I knew that it was 150 years ago. But after reading this book and getting to know the characters like I was never able to in the past, I really felt the loss of one of the greatest Presidents and even more importantly, one of the greatest Americans.
Book Review: Exceptional Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Doris Goodwin's Book, "Team of Rivals" was my 5th book on Abraham Lincoln. I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed information about Lincoln's Cabinet, albeit dysfunctional and confrontational. However, in the midst of hostility, frustration and seemingly unbelievable odds --it worked! Lincoln, with his cool demeanor, withstood insurbordination, family tragedies and untold negative press reviews, and yet he managed to prosecute the war and provide the management and confidence needed to preserve the Union. He was definitely the man-for-the-times; no one else could have pulled it off with such tenacity. As much as he was scorned and ridiculed by Southerners, he never harbored a vindictive nor revengeful attitude as the Confederates were defeated. There are so many points made in the book that bear repeating. For instance, at the close of the war, Jefferson Davis agreed to send Peace Commissioners to Washington "with a view to secure peace to the two Countries." Lincoln rejected this view and said "tell Davis that if you treat for peace, it will be for this one country". A wonderful book and truly representative of a great man whose ideas and spirit lives on!Book Review: Great book
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book. The reader was very easy to listen to and I really enjoyed every chapter. The way Goodwin organized the story and the level of detail is great. The story of Lincoln is one of the best in American history and the way it's told here makes it even better. Lots of insights into the man, how he thought, how he dealt w/ friend and foe, how he dealt w/ his personal struggles and the nation's stuggles.Book Review: Thanks for the great book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a unique book about one of the most popular personalities in American history. I thank Doris Kearns Goodwin for writing it and showing Lincol as a caring humanbeing with a lot of understanding and compassion for other people... This isn't just another Lincoln biography. The focus of this work is on the president's relationships with rivals-turned-colleagues. This book is for those who want to see how Lincoln led, managed, formulated strategies, and handled very conflicting opinions. It is stunningly beautiful. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about Lincoln, the Civil War or about US history in general. Another great title that I enjoed reading recently is The Success Principles(TM): How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
Book Review: Doris Kearns Goodwin puts a human face on the giant Lincoln figure
Summary: 5 Stars
Team of Rivals is not a light, fluffy popcorn portrait of Abe Lincoln. It is serious, scholarly and comprehensive examination of his relations with the cabinet before, during and immediately following the U.S. Civil War. In 750 pages, noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin does an admirable job covering Lincoln, William Seward (Sec. of State), Salmon Chase (Sec. of Treasury), Edwin Stanton (Sec. of War) and Edward Bates (Attorney General). Except for Stanton; who was a Democrat, each was a political rival of Lincoln's for the Republican nomination of 1860. Seward and Chase were both heavily favored over the one-term former congressman from Illinois. Bates was also a dark horse, but more experienced and better known. Somehow this uneducated prarie lawyer found a way to maximize his fantastic political skill to engineer a victory on the third ballot. This alone makes for a remarkable story.
Kearns Goodwin begins Team of Rivals comparing the early lives of each rival. Seward from New York. Chase from Ohio. Bates from Missouri. And Lincoln moving from Kentucky to Illinois. She vividly paints the family tragedies, personal sorrows, failures and successes of each. It is my best part of the book and the historian is at her grandest in the first hundred or so pages. Once the narrative moves on to the Civil War, she treads on more familiar historical ground. Major battles on the field and with the Congress and press are highlighted only briefly and intermittently. All the big names of the age get their due. Lincoln and Seward were closest and their relationship gets more ink than any of the others.
My sole criticism of Kearns Goodwin is that she presents the assasination of Lincoln and attempt on Seward as almost an afterthought, rather than a compelling beginning of the post-civil war era. It is almost as though her editor explained at the last minute that she could go no longer than 750 pages, and chopped out 30+ from the fascinating assasination plot. Aside from this, there is a master work of history in Team of Rivals. Readers will get a good sense of Lincoln's humor, fairness, passion and genius. Civil war history buffs may not like her skimpy treatment of the battles, guns and Generals--but that's not the story this author is choosing to tell. The rarely discussed, crucial bond between Lincoln and his oft-contentious team of rivals is what the talented historian is interested in. Each cabinet officer came to love and respect a personality that everyone counted out in 1860. The legend of Lincoln is well-deserved, we have had no greater president before or since.