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    Team of Rivals
    Team of Rivals
    Team of Rivals
    Audiobook41 hours

    Team of Rivals

    Written by Doris Kearns Goodwin

    Narrated by Suzanne Toren

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    One of the most influential books of the past fifty years, Team of Rivals is Pulitzer Prize–winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s modern classic about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political foes.

    Winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize and the inspiration for the Oscar Award winning–film Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Tony Kushner.

    On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.

    Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires.

    It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war.

    We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through.

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 8, 2011
    ISBN9781442342163
    Team of Rivals
    Author

    Doris Kearns Goodwin

    Doris Kearns Goodwin’s work for President Johnson inspired her career as a presidential historian. Her first book was Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Homefront in World War II. She earned the Lincoln Prize for Team of Rivals, in part the basis for Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit, about the friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Her bestselling Leadership: In Turbulent Times was the inspiration for the History Channel docuseries on Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt, which she executive produced. Her most recent book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, provides a front-row seat to the pivotal people—JFK, LBJ, RFK and MLK—and events of this momentous decade.

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    Reviews for Team of Rivals

    4.5/5

    271 ratings145 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Just ? wow! Admit I approached this enormous volume with some trepidation ? could even a subject as vast and fascinating as the life and death of Abraham Lincoln hold my interest for so long? The answer is a resounding yes! This riveting and superbly-told tale of Lincoln?s life and political career not only held my interest: it kept me up nights, pinned me at home on beautiful weekend afternoons, and had me turning down invitations for lunch so that I could bolt down my food while reading. Obviously, Doris Kearns Goodwin is a wonderful storyteller. But it helps that her protagonist is such an extraordinary individual. Over and over again I was amazed by Lincoln?s wisdom, his decency, his patience, and his extraordinary political acumen. Goodwin?s intent here, it?s pretty clear, is to focus on the latter of these attributes. While most Americans know of Lincoln?s moral courage, his social legacy, and (of course) his exemplary oratorical skills, few (I?m betting) fully appreciate his political genius. Over and over again he pulls political miracles out of his hat ? extracting victory from defeat, forging unforgeable compromises ? armed with little more than an unwavering moral compass, an encompassing empathy, humility, patience, and a seemingly endless stock of jokes, puns, and folksy anecdotes. Few anecdotes illustrate his politicla genius as clearly as the fact that he staffed the major posts of his new cabinet with political rivals ?. or that, in time, those same rivals became his most adamant supporters. I thought I had a fairly good background knowledge of Lincoln?s life and his administration, but by the end of the second chapter I jettisoned this misconception. Goodwin?s scholarship is as exceptional as her storytelling skills. Scarcely a page passed without exposing me to some startling new bit of information, constantly enhancing and challenging my preconceived notions. There are so many lessons here that I wish modern politicians would embrace: do the right thing for the right reasons, no matter how unpopular; always allow your political opponents to save face; invite ? don?t avoid (or worse, squash)- dissenting opinions; compromise always trumps conflict; and, above all, always put the good of the nation above your own personal ambitions. Alas, since our politicians seem to be too busy doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, humiliating each other, squashing dissenting opinions, seeking out conflict, and placing their own interests above those of the country, perhaps it?s up to us U.S. citizens to absorb the lessons from this book on their behalf and then let them know the standards against which we intend to hold them accountable!I don?t give out many 5 star ratings, but if I could give this 6 stars, I would. This is one of those rare volumes that has permanently changed the way that I view our country, our political system, our destiny, and ? above all ? the potential of ordinary Americans to accomplish extraordinary things.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Someone gave this to my husband for Christmas and I had no intentions of reading it as I'm a fiction lover at heart. American history has never been especially interesting to me; however, I picked this up just to thumb through but found myself reading the first chapter and then couldn't put it down. I've learned more American History than I did in all my high school or college.The author does a great job in blending the political and personal. After all, political leaders are much of what they are because of personalities and add that to the culture of the times and one begins to get a much more interesting and insightful view of why things happened the way they did. The Civil War was a complicated affair; it wasn't just a case of the good guys fighting the bad guys and it certainly wasn't just about slavery.In short, I would highly recommend this book to anyone especially those fiction lovers who normally don't consider non-fiction.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Once I began reading this book, I didn't want to put it down. The author did an outstanding job weaving stories of the political lives of Lincoln and his rivals together, by crawling into their minds and sometimes their hearts.I believe I have a much better grasp of the national political mood in the few years preceding and during the Civil War because of this wonderful book.This book ought to appeal to a diverse group, from the novice armchair historian to those having great technical expertise in the subject matter.I appreciate the manner in which the notes are documented (by page number) as they do not take away from the reading flow. Photos and illustrations enhance the book. Indexed.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      President Obama said that Team of Rivals would be one book he'd like to have with him if he was stranded on a deserted island. It was also an inspiration for him when composing his cabinet in his first term. For me, I couldn't heap more praise on this one. This book is one of the best Biographies I have ever read. The prose is lucid, clear and engaging. Lincoln besides, this book is actually a multi-biography in one (Bates, Seward, Chase, Stanton and Welles). I found it very interesting to learn more about Lincolns early political career, his time as a lawyer, and his improbable nomination to the nascent Republican Party. The other cabinet members are fleshed out in a similar fashion from their early political years to their time with Lincoln. All of this is fascinating, but the real interesting stuff involves Lincolns deliberations over selecting his cabinet, the dynamic between members as policy is shaped during the war, allegiances being struck and lasting bonds formed. I also enjoyed learning more about the close intimate relationship between Seward and Lincoln, the always conniving Chase, and the stern but loyal and hardworking Stanton. I didnt want it to end. Highly Recommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinThis is one of those books that has been on my TBR pile for a long time having gotten a lot of hype several years ago when Obama was reading the book and supposedly assembling his own team of rivals cabinet. Ultimately, it took an audiobook version for me to really get into the story because it is a very thick non-fiction book.All that being said, I loved Team of Rivals and it has gone to the top of my list for reads this year. Kearns Goodwin uses the lives of several member's of Lincoln's cabinet to illustrate Lincoln's life. The primary comparisons are with William Seward, Edward Bates, and Salmon Chase who all contended with Lincoln for the 1860 Republican nomination although the stories of Edwin Stanton and the Blair family also figure prominently in the story.The book opens with a discussion of just how unlikely a candidate Lincoln was for the 1860 Republican nomination and how, to the outside world, he was the least likely of the four men vying for the nomination to receive it. From there, the book moves backward to explain the formative years of the four men and how they came to the 1860 convention with a better chance of the nomination than Lincoln.Once Lincoln wins the nomination and then the presidency, the book talks about how Lincoln turned each man into an ally and brought them into his cabinet where each served successfully and to the benefit of the country as a whole. Finally, the book accounts, in detail, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and so on all the way up to Lincoln's assassination. However, where the book really shines is in the details of the lesser known struggles that Lincoln faced - whether it was placating warring factions in the Republican party, keeping border states from seceding, defusing international disputes with England, etc. Through it all, Kearns Goodwin portrays Lincoln as having almost supernatural powers of compassion, patience, forgiveness, and humor yet she also humanizes him too. It is a remarkable portrayal of America's greatest president and a fascinating read.
    • 5/5
      Without a doubt, this may be one of my favorite biographies. The genius and ability of Abraham Lincoln is widely recognized, by friend, foe, critic and champion, but his ability to bring together and manage disparate individuals under his leaders--and while prosecuting a civil war--is incredible and almost unbelievable. I could not help but wonder if such would be possible in our day and age, or if such statesmen like him exist any more.
    • 4/5
      I admit that I skimmed through great sections of this but I couldn't abide reading more about the personal lives of Chase, Bates, et al. The actually workings of Lincoln's cabinet I found quite interesting, however, and the book overall gave me a renewed appreciation for our greatest president.
    • 4/5
      No doubt a very good book, and starts out very solid. Thanks for rescuing Bates from the political graveyard. But the interactions of Lincoln and members of his cabinet have been examined and fairly well by David H. Donald and others. No new ground in those interactions. Both before Lincoln's presidency and during. And the major flaw in the work is that the paradigm set up by the author, the team of rivals, frays apart as Lincoln asserts his political will on the group. Only Chase remains a rival but then again he is off the team. Once that focal point for the lens is moved, as one after another the rivals either fall under Lincoln's sway or are eliminated from the team, the work has no central argument. But the author fails to end the tale where the team of rivals succumb. Instead we plod along to Lincoln's death, long after the interpretive frame of the piece is AWOL. Still, I would recommend it to others.
    • 3/5
      Stiring story of the men and women who lived and worked through the most divisive period of US history. Lincoln "moved upon a higher plane" and was "influenced by loftier motives than any man."
    • 4/5
      So much has been written about the events recounted in this book; at this point in time, all the facts, as such, are known. So what else is to be done, what more can be said? One or more of three things, it seems to me. Re-interpretation, for instance; although it's getting hard to come up with something new to say, it's not completely impossible. Or, one could re-combine the facts in a way that might shine a special light on some aspect that, perhaps, has, I say again, perhaps, been underemphasized. Or, one could try to tell the same tale better than anyone else has before, either in terms of literary style or communicative skill, if there is any difference. Goodwin has focused on the second and third of these options, it seems to me. Her theme is Lincoln's skill, genius if you will, in manipulating people, whether friends or enemies. He was extraordinarily successful at this, particularly in the political realm. The consequences in terms of national policy or military accomplishment, however, are debatable, to say the least. The first part of the book is the best, as Goodwin contrasts the early lives of the four leading contenders for the Republican nomination in 1860: Lincoln, William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates. Then, Goodwin settles into a straightforward chronicle of the War, with a spotlight on doings in the cabinet. Finally, and disappointingly, she succumbs to Lincoln hagiography. Never having tried, I guess it's very hard to write anything about Lincoln without ending up on your knees, although at least Gore Vidal only descended to one knee. But, then, he was overtly writing fiction.
    • 5/5
      Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals is panoramic and wonderful. The broad outlines of the story are well-known, but just in case, I'll give a Spoiler Alert, for those who don't want to know more about the book before reading it. And apologies in advance for the length of this - it's a big book!It starts with Lincoln on the lawyer circuit in Illinois, gaining renown as a storyteller and orator. It then takes us through his adolescence and his marriage to Mary, and his astute jockeying for the Republican nomination over more celebrated and well-heeled rivals. After that is his election, and his forming of the cabinet of the best possible men from which the title derives, including those he defeated in the election. His attempts to avoid civil war, his learning to be commander-in-chief and to get the generals he needs to win the war (get out of here, McClellan!), the waging of the Civil War, and his brief time after its conclusion comprise the rest.He famously educated himself, somehow overcoming that log cabin upbringing."Lincoln's book hunger was regarded as odd and indolent. Nor would his community understand the thoughts and emotions stirred by his reading; there were few to talk to about the most important and deeply experienced activities of his mind." He'd have been a great LTer, yes?He even read geometry books, and worked on math problems in his office, to improve himself.He lost loved ones early in life to disease - including his mother, his sister, and the great love of his life, Anne Rutledge. Contemporaries often remarked on his melancholy look that would become animated and sharply intelligent as soon as he began talking to people or telling stories. Seems like it would be hard not to be melancholy with what he experienced throughout his life - including those early losses, and the devastating war that he was responsible for, that killed over 600,000 Americans (out of 31.5 milllion in the country then), more than the rest of our wars put together.The ubiquity of death by disease and in childbirth is staggering to read about. At the same time, families of nine and ten and more children were common - although those numbers would dwindle as family members were struck down by diseases such as tuberculosis. His wife Mary Todd's family had 16 children; her mother died in giving birth to her seventh child, and her stepmother had nine more children.I loved learning that Lincoln was an irrepressible storyteller, constantly illustrating his points with down to earth stories, and Goodwin persuasively conveys his honesty, integrity, and personal charm. He was well aware of his physical deficiencies. When someone called him two-faced, he responded, "If I had two faces, do you really think I would have picked this one?" I read somewhere (not in this book) that he may have had Marfan's disease, a genetic disorder that causes unusual height and long, thin limbs.A surprise for me was how personally vilified he was by rivals and skeptics, especially early in his career. "Ape", "long-armed gorilla", "imbecile", "second-rate Illinois lawyer", the list goes on and on. He came out of "nowhere" to be elected, and there were many who doubted his qualifications. Goodwin's portrayal of the rivals also is compelling - especially Salmon Chase, chock full of his belief in his wonderfulness and his predestination to be president, who instead became Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Seward, a beloved politician who was expected to carry the nomination easily and instead bitterly lost to Lincoln. Seward became Secretary of State and an admiring close friend of Lincoln. He ended up calling Lincoln, this unknown upstart from Illinois, "the best and wisest man he had ever known."Goodwin's extensive research supports that conclusion. Lincoln's ability to keep his eye on the big picture, to defuse animosity and to cause opponents to work productively with him, reluctantly or enthusiastically, and his sense of timing, waiting for the opportune moment for success, all come through vividly. It is fascinating to watch Lincoln inch his way toward emancipation of the slaves and passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. His pragmatic approach, beginning with pushing for a restriction of slavery to those states in which it already existed and not permitting its extension to new states, to publicly proclaiming, to assuage fears, that slaves would not be given rights equal to whites, to advocating full equality, is a much fuller and thought-provoking story than I had known before reading this book. Even after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a carping congressman said, "Strange phenomenon in the world's history when a second-rate Illinois lawyer is the instrument to utter words which shall form an epoch memorable in all future ages."Lincoln's astounding eloquence, as an "instrument to utter words", is heard throughout this book. I was happy that she gave us the Gettysburg address in full, and it is quite moving to read it in context. I can't say enough about what a good book this is. You finish wishing you had a chance to meet this great man, whose kindness to others was perhaps his most fundamental trait.
    • 5/5
      So good- I cried so many tears at the end. Beautiful book about a beautiful human being.
    • 5/5
      Fantastically written and engaging thank you for the good work
    • 5/5
      Great in depth look at the political landscape during Lincoln's time and how he influenced politics and those around him.
    • 5/5
      The standard by which I judge all biographies. There should be a six-star option for books such as this so that other books might have a chance at five stars.
    • 5/5
      Riveted! I loved it. Wonderful to learn so much of this great nation- and the greatest president. Excellently written and narrated.
    • 5/5
      Good but long. One two three four five six seven.
    • 5/5
      Superb. Initially daunted by an 800 page tome on the Civil War, i found itnunputdownable. Reads like a great novel. Taking the 3 rivals in the Republican nomination as enrichment to the Lincoln life gives a broad avenue for the story. Lincoln himself almost comes alive and seems indeed a fine man. I still laugh at some of his jokes as well as weing with him over the wasteful deaths and for him when he dies. And withal a subtle mind for political tactics and grand military strategy. I began to see how he at least thought the Union worth fighting for, and politics meant it could not be presented as a war of liberation. But still I find it hard to grasp how all those fine young men were willing to give their lives for an abstract idea, especially as most of the Northerners were as racist as their slave-driving Southern neighbours.
    • 5/5
      The best role model I can imagine. With all of the progress the world has made...wouldn't it be wonderful to have the opportunity to vote for someone with anything close to this man's political accumen? Patients. Thank you Doris Kearns Goodwin for a wonderful book.
    • 5/5
      An amazing book about an amazing man. I had no idea just how incredible Abraham Lincoln really was. I knew of his major deeds and so on, but I really didn't know him at all. This was an enlightening read. I highly recommend it to students of history, of politics, and of leadership.
    • 5/5
      The story of Lincoln's ability to play off his Cabinet's rivalries to achieve great results is not new -- Gore Vidal's Lincoln, a work of historical fiction, tells the story admirably. But Goodwin's non-fiction account is well-told, well-written.
    • 5/5
      A simply brilliant history of the political rise to power of Abraham Lincoln contrasted against those who were his adversaries, would eventually run against him in the election of 1860, or supported his opponents. All would eventually be part of his cabinet. It concentrates on the four main characters who would were his competitors and adversaries then eventually his allies; Chase, Bates, Seward and Stanton. While normally I'm not a big fan of political histories, the storytelling ability of Doris Kearns Goodwin is so successful that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book. The narrative flow is easy to follow, well paced for the more casual reader but is still insightful and thoughtful in it's evaluation of Lincoln as a great mediator and team builder. Very happily recommended for those with any interest at all in American history.
    • 5/5
      Simply one of the best books I've ever read. I thought "No Ordinary Time" was superb, but this book eclipsed that one. Brings Lincoln and his cabinet to life.
    • 5/5
      And I thought I knew enough about Abraham Lincoln. Doris Kearns Goodwin brings to life Lincoln, the major political figures of his day, and the major issues. She also recaps the history of attempts to deal with slavery through the first half of the nineteenth century. I understand American history much more thoroughly after reading this book.
    • 4/5
      It has been said that more books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other historical figure except Jesus Christ. Given that Jesus was born 1800 years before Lincoln, that's saying a lot about who Lincoln is. The question then becomes, do we really need another Lincoln book? We need this one. This book follows the parallel careers of Lincoln, Salmon Chase, William Seward, and Edward Bates. The first part of the book details all of their lives. The Lincoln material was familiar, but it was fascinating to read about the others. All 4 of them were candidates for the Republican nomination in 1860. The book goes into great detail about the machinations of the convention, arguably one of the most important in US history. I started to wonder how the Civil War would have been fought if anyone besides Lincoln had won the nomination. After the election, the book focuses primarily on Lincoln, as it should. It shows Lincoln's true character in forgiving his enemies, and allowing minor incidents to go without major retribution. It also shows the others' growing realization that, whatever their previous impressions, Lincoln was the right person for the presidency at that time. It's hard to say "Spoiler alert" in a history book, since everyone knows the ending. It also focuses on Lincoln's views on slavery and emancipation, which is what Steven Spielberg focused on in his movie "Lincoln", which is based on this book. The book also details Lincoln's last day. You get the impression that if Lincoln had been president during Reconstruction, some of the acrimony that arose would have been alleviated. All in all, a great book about Lincoln. I can definitely see why Steven Spielberg chose this book to turn into a movie.
    • 4/5
      A fascinating, well-written look at the individuals who comprised Abraham Lincoln's cabinet. Goodwin gives a history of each member, from their young days, through their interactions with each other. The main focus is on William Seward, Salmon Chase, Edward Bates, Edwin Stanton, Gideon Welles, and, of course, Abraham Lincoln. It really does show the "political genius" of Lincoln in combining these disparate (and sometimes hostile) personalities into a team that could work together through a civil war. I'm always nervous about starting a 700-page book, but I had no trouble reading this one. It held my interest from start to finish.
    • 5/5
      One of the most insightful histories I've read, and one of the best books on leadership available. Goodwin's conclusions in rare moments stretch beyond the evidence (e.g., her views on Seward's religious beliefs), but most of the time, the research is solid and the conclusions reasonable.
    • 5/5
      I don?t think I realized how little I actually knew about Lincoln until I read this massive tome, which revolves not only around Lincoln but the key members of his cabinet. It?s not often when the introductory quotes that preface a novel knock me out, but there are three here that set the stage amazingly well.The quotes foreshadow the book?s strength, as we see Lincoln first as a somewhat lucky compromise candidate for the presidency, then as an embattled president who by no means was assured of appreciation let alone fame through much of his tenure, and finally to the defining events that make him arguably the greatest American ever at a time when we desperately needed such a figure.The book takes a little while to get off the ground, as we need to be introduced to four or five key characters in the first 120 pages or so. Unlike Goodwin?s previous classic No Ordinary Time?a book revolving on FDR?s war years?this book is not an immediate page-turner. But patience is ultimately rewarded. We gradually develop an appreciation of Lincoln?s intellect, complexity, and uncanny understanding of what makes people tick. Goodwin lovingly renders even his mistakes, and it?s impossible not to love Lincoln by the end of the book.That said, a great surprise to me was how Secretary of State William H. Seward leaps off the pages and shows he too was a truly great statesman?once he overcame the bitter disappointment of unthinkably losing the nomination to Lincoln. The portraits of Bates and Chase are less compelling, leaving the premise of a book revolving around Lincoln and his cabinet a bit then. But Goodwin is a natural storyteller, and these are petty gripes in the context of a great achievement.
    • 5/5
      I don't want to say much here except that this was an absolutely fantastic book. I usually enjoy history, but I don't think I've ever read a non-fiction book that was so hard to put down. The book reads like an epic novel. Read it now if you love history.
    • 5/5
      At 732 pages (not including acknowledgements and notes), and very small print, this book appears daunting. However, Goodwin has the remarkable ability to turn dry history into a fascinating read. When Lincoln was elected President, he appointed his rivals (both in his law practice and in political campaigns) to his Cabinet. This meant his Cabinet was comprised of both conservatives and radicals with vastly differing opinions on how to run the country. Lincoln proved to be a genius both in his ability to work out compromises within his Cabinet as well as in reading the public mind and know when when and how to introduce controversial issues to the country. I very highly recommend reading this book.