Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

I had wanted to read a biography of Lincoln for some time. The inspiration to purchase this came from the Spielberg film, Lincoln. Somewhat ironically, the story of that film is a very short passage in this tome, but no matter. On finishing this book, I feel almost as sad as when I finished the biography of George Washington. Doris Kearns Goodwin has done a masterful job of describing the web of relationships that surrounded Lincoln and that were so vital in making him the man that he was. In her portrayal, he emerges as the altrocentric leader par excellence. Somewhat counterintuitively, but very appropriately, this biography of Lincoln gives as much attention to each of his rivals as it does to him. A profound humanity on the part of this leader is palpable in every description of him. The tracing of his friendship with Seward is particularly moving, and demonstrates how the deepest and most long-lasting of friendships can emerge in the most unexpected of places. There is much to be learned about leadership, about humanity and, truth be told, about yourself from this book. In a time when moral and ethical leadership seems to be in short supply, this story of a man whom nobody really took seriously in the beginning ,and went on to save a nation in its greatest hour of peril since its foundation, is a wonderful tonic for the soul. Please read it.

Doris Kearns Goodwin deserves thanks from her readers twice over. Firstly, in the crowded field of writings on the US Civil War and on Abraham Lincoln, she has found a new and fascinating way of illuminating the man, his life and times. And secondly, having identified that opportunity, she had then written an outstanding book. Her book’s concept is simple enough. Four men (excluding also-rans) contested the Republican nomination in 1860: William Seward, Salmon Chase, Abraham Lincoln and Edward Bates. Unusually, after Lincoln won his party’s endorsement and, subsequently, the presidential election, he invited his former competitors to take seats in the cabinet – hence the book’s title. Goodwin’s is the story of how the four came to be the principle Republican candidates and how they interacted once on the same team after the election. That’s a lot of weight for a book to carry and one of its remarkable features is how lightly it does so. Despite measuring in at a little over 750 pages (or well over 900 if notes and index are included), it never plods. Partly, that’s because Goodwin doesn’t stick rigidly to her mission. The first part, leading up to 1860, is essentially four parallel biographies. The temptation, which she rightly resists, is to over-write their early lives. Instead, she focusses on the key experiences that made them who they became, on what they shared in common and where they differed: the essential building blocks of the post-1860 story. What she does write though is comprehensively researched and packed with relevant anecdote and reference. She not only brings the people to life but also the times they lived in. She also lightens the load by ensuring that it is not a Civil War book, as such. The conflict does, of course, dominate Lincoln’s presidency but she’s interested in how it was managed from DC, not the details of the campaigns themselves, unless they link into the main narrative. The four men also do not get equal billing. Lincoln, of course, is pre-eminent but the index is revealing: against Lincoln’s near-six columns of entries, Seward has three, Chase, a little over two and Bates, just one and a quarter. This, again, is as it should be. Bates’ life, for example, was not as dramatic as the other men’s, nor was he as central to the administration as Seward or Chase. Similarly, the cast extends far beyond these central characters, particularly once Lincoln becomes president and the Civil War breaks out. There is, however, a second narrative theme, revealed in the book’s sub-title. I knew (as surely does virtually everyone) that Lincoln was a great man. I hadn’t realised until I read this just how profoundly good a man he was, nor how great a politician either: two surprisingly interrelated attributes. His skill at man-management was extraordinary, helped in no small pa...

When you think of Lincoln, you think of the Lincoln-Douglass debates, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and his tragic assassination. (Sorry, not a Vampire Hunter). You think of him as an example for leadership. But how many people realize he was one of the best managers in the world by asking three of his political rivals to serve underneath him and get great results? Or how balanced he was in balancing political allies who were each other's political or personal rivals? I enjoyed this book a lot because the author looks at not just Lincoln, but the other persons with their own aspirations - Seward, Stanton, Bates, Chase, and other politically powerful families like the Blairs, and some of them have very big egos. Yet all of them were humbled and realized just how much wiser and stronger Lincoln was. There would be no powers behind the throne. Lincoln alone was the boss, but he depended on rivals turned friends to do their job to run the Union during the Civil War. Former President Barack Obama really liked this book and seemed to have been inspired by Lincoln and this book to form his first presidential cabinet. While Obama and I firmly disagree on his view on religion, the military, healthcare, and domestic policy, liking this book is one thing we have in common. Overall, I can see why Goodwin deserves her accolades and tells a powerful story of a humble, kind, but determined man to rise above his peers and serve his country in its darkest hour.

A wonderful nuanced book that resonates mightily with and informs what is going on today. Read it if you want to understand any kind of historical basis for what is now happening in the U.S. Read it if you love the minutia of history—every conversation ever recorded during the Lincoln period, every permutation and convolution of the Civil War, the complex emotional motivations behind the factions—or if you feel as if you need to learn U.S. history. Regarding Kindle version: Pros: It is lightweight, which is a lot easier than reading a 900 page book. Cons: The search function is not enabled in the Kindle version. The back-of-the-book Index has hyperlinks, but you have to manually page through it to find what you want to search for. This is a real drawback in a book of so many characters that you often want to be reminded about who somebody is.

A must read for anyone who aspires to make an impact in the world and leave a legacy. Lincoln shows us how can be humble, true, kind, and yet politically astute and persuasive. The position of United States in the world and what it stands for is made all that stronger thanks to Lincoln. I learnt a lot from this book, especially about being non-judgmental, patient and thoughtful. The amount of time Lincoln took to write all his speeches, and the care and thought behind each word - yes, they deserve to be enshrined and read over and over by millions of people.