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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

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Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$21.00~~
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Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 944
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 2.1

ISBN: 0743270754
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7092
EAN: 9780743270755
ASIN: 0743270754

Publication Date: September 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Accessories:

•	Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
•	Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
•	Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
The life and times of Abraham Lincoln have been analyzed and dissected in countless books. Do we need another Lincoln biography? In iTeam of Rivals/i, esteemed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin proves that we do. Though she can't help but cover some familiar territory, her perspective is focused enough to offer fresh insights into Lincoln's leadership style and his deep understanding of human behavior and motivation. Goodwin makes the case for Lincoln's political genius by examining his relationships with three men he selected for his cabinet, all of whom were opponents for the Republican nomination in 1860: William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates. These men, all accomplished, nationally known, and presidential, originally disdained Lincoln for his backwoods upbringing and lack of experience, and were shocked and humiliated at losing to this relatively obscure Illinois lawyer. Yet Lincoln not only convinced them to join his administration--Seward as secretary of state, Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Bates as attorney general--he ultimately gained their admiration and respect as well. How he soothed egos, turned rivals into allies, and dealt with many challenges to his leadership, all for the sake of the greater good, is largely what Goodwin's fine book is about. Had he not possessed the wisdom and confidence to select and work with the best people, she argues, he could not have led the nation through one of its darkest periods. p Ten years in the making, this engaging work reveals why "Lincoln's road to success was longer, more tortuous, and far less likely" than the other men, and why, when opportunity beckoned, Lincoln was "the best prepared to answer the call." This multiple biography further provides valuable background and insights into the contributions and talents of Seward, Chase, and Bates. Lincoln may have been "the indispensable ingredient of the Civil War," but these three men were invaluable to Lincoln and they played key roles in keeping the nation intact. --IShawn Carkonen/I p align=left span class="h1"strongThe Team of Rivals/strong/span table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4" tr td align=left iTeam of Rivals/i doesn't just tell the story of Abraham Lincoln. It is a multiple biography of the entire team of personal and political competitors that he put together to lead the country through its greatest crisis. Here, Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles five of the key players in her book, four of whom contended for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and all of whom later worked together in Lincoln's cabinet. /td /tr tr td align=center img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/00/10/00/14/03/70/100014037053.gif" border=0 align=top/td /tr tr td width="100%"strong1. Edwin M. Stanton/strongbr Stanton treated Lincoln with utter contempt at their initial acquaintance when the two men were involved in a celebrated law case in the summer of 1855. Unimaginable as it might seem after Stanton's demeaning behavior, Lincoln offered him "the most powerful civilian post within his gift"--the post of secretary of war--at their next encounter six years later. On his first day in office as Simon Cameron's replacement, the energetic, hardworking Stanton instituted "an entirely new regime" in the War Department. After nearly a year of disappointment with Cameron, Lincoln had found in Stanton the leader the War Department desperately needed. Lincoln's choice of Stanton revealed his singular ability to transcend personal vendetta, humiliation, or bitterness. As for Stanton, despite his initial contempt for the man he once described as a "long armed Ape," he not only accepted the offer but came to respect and love Lincoln more than any person outside of his immediate family. He was beside himself with grief for weeks after the president's death.p strong2. Salmon P. Chase/strongbr Chase, an Ohioan, had been both senator and governor, had played a central role in the formation of the national Republican Party, and had shown an unflagging commitment to the cause of the black man. No individual felt he ideserved/i the presidency as a natural result of his past contributions more than Chase himself, but he refused to engage in the practical methods by which nominations are won. He had virtually no campaign and he failed to conciliate his many enemies in Ohio itself. As a result, he alone among the candidates came to the convention without the united support of his own state. Chase never ceased to underestimate Lincoln, nor to resent the fact that he had lost the presidency to a man he considered his inferior. His frustration with his position as secretary of the treasury was alleviated only by his his dogged hope that he, rather than Lincoln, would be the Republican nominee in 1864, and he steadfastly worked to that end. The president put up with Chase's machinations and haughty yet fundamentally insecure nature because he recognized his superlative accomplishments at treasury. Eventually, however, Chase threatened to split the Republican Party by continuing to fill key positions with partisans who supported his presidential hopes. When Lincoln stepped in, Chase tendered his resignation as he had three times before, but this time Lincoln stunned Chase by calling his bluff and accepting the offer.p strong3. Abraham Lincoln/strongbr When Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860 he seemed to have come from nowhere--a backwoods lawyer who had served one undistinguished term in the House of Representatives and lost two consecutive contests for the U.S. Senate. Contemporaries attributed his surprising nomination to chance, to his moderate position on slavery, and to the fact that he hailed from the battleground state of Illinois. But Lincoln's triumph, particularly when viewed against the efforts of his rivals, owed much to a remarkable, unsuspected political acuity and an emotional strength forged in the crucible of hardship and defeat. That Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet, was evidence of an uncanny self-confidence and an indication of what would prove to others a most unexpected greatness.p strong4. William H. Seward/strongbr A celebrated senator from New York for more than a decade and governor of his state for two terms before going to Washington, Seward was certain he was going to receive his party's nomination for president in 1860. The weekend before the convention in Chicago opened he had already composed a first draft of the valedictory speech he expected to make to the Senate, assuming that he would resign his position as soon as the decision in Chicago was made. His mortification at not having received the nomination never fully abated, and when he was offered his cabinet post as secretary of state he intended to have a major role in choosing the remaining cabinet members, conferring upon himself a position in the new government more commanding than that of Lincoln himself. He quickly realized the futility of his plan to relegate the president to a figurehead role. Though the feisty New Yorker would continue to debate numerous issues with Lincoln in the years ahead, exactly as Lincoln had hoped and needed him to do, Seward would become his closest friend, advisor, and ally in the administration. More than any other cabinet member Seward appreciated Lincoln's peerless skill in balancing factions both within his administration and in the country at large.p strong5. Edward Bates/strongbr A widely respected elder statesman, a delegate to the convention that framed the Missouri Constitution, and a former Missouri congressman whose opinions on national matters were still widely sought, Bates's ambitions for political success were gradually displaced by love for his wife and large family, and he withdrew from public life in the late 1840s. For the next 20 years he was asked repeatedly to run or once again accept high government posts but he consistently declined. However in early 1860, with letters and newspaper editorials advocating his candidacy crowding in upon him, he decided to try for the highest office in the land. After losing to Lincoln he vowed, in his diary, to decline a cabinet position if one were to be offered, but with the country "in trouble and danger" he felt it was his duty to accept when Lincoln asked him to be attorney general. Though Bates initially viewed Lincoln as a well-meaning but incompetent administrator, he eventually concluded that the president was an unmatched leader, "very near being a 'perfect man.'" /td /tr /table p align=left span class="h1"strongThe Essential Doris Kearns Goodwin/strong/span table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="4" tr class="tiny" valign="top" align="center" td width="33%" img border="0" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0684847957.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg"br IWait Till Next Year: A Memoir/I/td td width="33%" img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0684804484.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0"br INo Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II/I/td td width="33%" img border="0" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312060270.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg"br ILyndon Johnson and the American Dream/I/td /tr /table p align=left span class="h1"strongMore New Reading on the Civil War/strong/span table cellpadding="4" border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="4" tr class="tiny" valign="top" align="center" td width="33%" img border="0" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0618551166.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg"br ILincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness/I by Joshua Wolf Shenk/td td width="33%" img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0374166005.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0"br IGrant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War/I by Charles Bracelen Flood/td td width="33%" img border="0" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0375506713.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg"br IThe March: A Novel/I by E.L. Doctorow/td /tr /table p align=left

Product Description
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.

Customer Reviews: Read 95 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A Book for our Times January 6, 2009
Read this book if you know anything at all about Abraham Lincoln, or very little! The author has crafted a rich, detailed perspective of a man for all seasons, an American for all times. Our country longs for the depth and breath of his wisdom as much now as during the slice of history in which he lived. Truly, this is nonfiction at its finest! - Barbara Victoria

5 out of 5 stars

one of my favorites January 6, 2009
Over the past several years, I've been trying to catch up on some of the American history that I should have learned as a youngster. However, in grade-school, these stories never seemed to come to life in the same way that they do while reading them today.br /br /Several reviewers have commented that this book glosses over some of the hard edges and deep divides among Lincoln's team, and that may be true. However, that did not detract from this book for me. I wasn't looking for a deep analysis so-much as I was hoping to just gain a little insight into Lincoln as a man and as president; as I turned the last page of this book, I felt that I had learned a great deal more than I had anticipated, and enjoyed it all the while.br /br /I have to admit to that these old eyes were a little bit more than "misty" while trying to read the closing pages of this book, and the abrupt ending really had me wondering how this story might have ended were not the main character stolen from us so early.

5 out of 5 stars

A leader for All the Ages January 5, 2009
Lincoln is probably the most significant figure in American History not because of his political acumen though it is legend and not because he was a great general though he led us through our greatest historical trial - the Civil War. His greatness lies in the fact that he was big enough to see the American experiment for what is was - an experiment for the whole world and small enough to be able to communicate complex thought in language the average man could understand. Through these characteristics he engendered trust and admiration and yes - even loyalty not only from his supporters from his skeptics and enemies as well. If we are limited to a word to describe this historical giant it must be - Magnanimity. He was truly a leader for all the ages. br /br /Ms Goodwin weaves what could have been a dry recounting of the facts of history into an incredible page turning tapestry revealing the chemistry of the events and historical opportunities of the day as they were catalyzed by personalities of Lincoln and his cabinet, the Team of Rivals.br /br /Whatever you think about Mr Obama, he is our President elect and this book has influenced his political trajectory. He has asked for the Lincoln Bible to be the Bible used when he takes the oath of office. To know his mind this is required reading.

5 out of 5 stars

team of rivals January 5, 2009
This is definately a terrific book. Can't help but think of the Obama campaign linking his unlikely rise to Lincoln. Great book for presidential history and civil war buffs.

5 out of 5 stars

An incredible story January 1, 2009
Even though this is an informative and serious biography, it's a real page turner. Goodwin engages the reader in this story of a pivotal period in our history and a group of unique and talented men. I could not put this book down!

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