She provides as dramatic and interesting an account of events between Lincoln’s election and inauguration as I can recall seeing. However, after introducing each of the four main characters, Goodwin’s story begins to shine with Lincoln’s election as president. Where other biographers highlight these debates as the crucial pivot-point in Lincoln’s political progression, Goodwin provides a less enthralling account and seems to underemphasize their significance somewhat. But for a Lincoln aficionado, Goodwin’s description of Lincoln’s early decades of life may seem slightly rushed or flat.Īlso disappointing for me was Goodwin’s too-efficient handling of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Those who have not yet read a more comprehensive account of Lincoln’s early life (by Burlingame, White, Donald, Oates or others) will be largely unaware of the missing color. While benefitting from time spent with Seward, Chase and Bates, it comes at the expense of a richer, more vibrant understanding of Lincoln’s evolution from unskilled laborer to budding lawyer to astute politician and master-of-leader. Lost to the reader due to the need to jump between the early lives of the four main characters is a more comprehensive exploration of Lincoln’s scrappy frontier upbringing and his intense desire for self-improvement. This interesting angle proves to be the book’s raison d’etre as well as one of its minor weaknesses. Goodwin’s focus on Lincoln’s willingness to incorporate rivals into his administration, and on how he dealt with their often enormous egos, sets this book apart from the large roster of Lincoln-focused biographies. How Lincoln harnessed the capabilities of this unique coalition of talented, but fiercely competitive, voices is the subject of much of Goodwin’s analysis. William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Chase each became key members of Lincoln’s cabinet, and each contributed greatly to both the strength and the dissonance which infused his administration. Kennedy, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.Īlthough focused on Abraham Lincoln, this book is a skillfully-crafted multiple biography of Lincoln and his three key rivals for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1860. Goodwin is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author and historian who has also written notable biographies of Lyndon Johnson, John F.

Written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Team of Rivals” has been widely read and revered since its publication in 2005. “ Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” is, by almost any measure, the most popular biography of Abraham Lincoln.

A team of rivals