Good but suffocating This is a super book. The research is out of the top drawer - very impressive indeed. One is left with the vivid images of what it must have been like to be a politican at this time and the sorts of skills required. From that perspective, it was excellent. However, there is so much information and detail that one has to study the book rather than read the book. It stifles the flow of the attractive story as all details that can be tied into the narrative are introduced. I am not sure that I would like to... more info
Lincoln as a political animal Of all the American Presidents, I admire Abraham Lincoln the most because he stalwartly endured so much: rebellious states, incompetent Federal generals, a fractious Republican Party, near-treasonous Democrats, a financially irresponsible and mentally unstable wife, and the death of a son. Finishing this thick work, my esteem for him is in no way diminished. TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin is, above all, a political biography of Lincoln as he rose through the ranks from country lawyer to... more info
Timely Lessons in Diplomacy This massively delicious work is bound to be lapped up by Lincoln enthusiasts and American Civil War buffs like cats to cream. Richly folding in tantalizing detail and authentic accounts of events, conversations, and attitudes, author Goodwin creates a highly delectable feast of historical pleasures all the while educating us to levels rarely encountered in the public venue. Gentle readers are advised, however, that this is less a biopic of Lincoln than a study of the dynamics of his political life,... more info
Reaffirming Abraham Lincoln as the greatest president In "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," Doris Kearns Goodwin confirms my belief that Abraham Lincoln was literally the only man in America who could have preserved the Union in the face of the Civil War. The book offers parallel biographies of Lincoln and the three men who were his chief rivals for the Republican nomination for president in 1860--Willam Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates--as well as the man who would serve as Secretary of War for most of Lincoln's... more info
