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More copies of this ISBN:Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincolnby Doris Kearns Goodwin
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments: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 was the result of a character that had been forged by life 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. This capacity enabled President Lincoln to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to preserve the Union and win the war. Review:"Pulitzer Prize-winner Goodwin (No Ordinary Time) seeks to illuminate what she interprets as a miraculous event: Lincoln's smooth (and, in her view, rather sudden) transition from underwhelming one-term congressman and prairie lawyer to robust chief executive during a time of crisis. Goodwin marvels at Lincoln's ability to co-opt three better-born, better-educated rivals — each of whom had challenged Lincoln for the 1860 Republican nomination. The three were New York senator William H. Seward, who became secretary of state; Ohio senator Salmon P. Chase, who signed on as secretary of the treasury and later was nominated by Lincoln to be chief justice of the Supreme Court; and Missouri's 'distinguished elder statesman' Edward Bates, who served as attorney general. This is the 'team of rivals' Goodwin's title refers to. The problem with this interpretation is that the metamorphosis of Lincoln to Machiavellian master of men that Goodwin presupposes did not in fact occur overnight only as he approached the grim reality of his presidency. The press had labeled candidate Lincoln 'a fourth-rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar.' But East Coast railroad executives, who had long employed Lincoln at huge prices to defend their interests as attorney and lobbyist, knew better. Lincoln was a shrewd political operator and insider long before he entered the White House — a fact Goodwin underplays. On another front, Goodwin's spotlighting of the president's three former rivals tends to undercut that Lincoln's most essential Cabinet-level contacts were not with Seward, Chase and Bates, but rather with secretaries of war Simon Cameron and Edwin Stanton, and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. These criticisms aside, Goodwin supplies capable biographies of the gentlemen on whom she has chosen to focus, and ably highlights the sometimes tangled dynamics of their 'team' within the larger assemblage of Lincoln's full war cabinet. Agent, Amanda Urban. 400,000 first printing; BOMC, History Book Club main selection; film rights to Steven Spielberg/DreamWorld Entertainment. (Nov.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Illuminating and well-written, as are all of Goodwin's presidential studies; a welcome addition to Lincolniana." Kirkus Reviews Review:"[Ms.Goodwin] argues that Lincoln's success in winning the election and in building an exceptionally effective administration lay in his extraordinary ability to empathize with his rivals." Library Journal Review:"An elegant, incisive study....Goodwin has brilliantly described how Lincoln forged a team that preserved a nation and freed America from the curse of slavery." James M. McPherson, The New York Times Book Review Review:"Goodwin's narrative abilities...are on full display here, and she does an enthralling job of dramatizing...crucial moments in Lincoln's life....A portrait of Lincoln as a virtuosic politician and managerial genius." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Review:"Splendid, beautifully written....Goodwin has brilliantly woven scores of contemporary accounts...into a fluid narrative....This is the most richly detailed account of the Civil War presidency to appear in many years." Los Angeles Times Synopsis: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. About the AuthorDoris Kearns Goodwin is an award-winning author and historian. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1995. Table of ContentsMaps and Diagrams Part I THE RIVALS 1 Four Men Waiting 2 The "Longing to Rise" 3 The Lure of Politics 4 "PlunderandConquest" 5 The Turbulent Fifties 6 The Gathering Storm 7 Countdown to the Nomination 8 Showdown in Chicago 9 "A Man Knows His Own Name" 10 "An Intensified Crossword Puzzle" 11 "I Am Now Public Property" Part II MASTER AMONG MEN 12 "Mystic Chords of Memory": Spring 1861 13 "The Ball Has Opened": Summer 1861 14 "I Do Not Intend to Be Sacrificed": Fall 1861 15 "My Boy Is Gone": Winter 1862 16 "He Was Simply Out-Generaled": Spring 1862 17 "We Are in the Depths": Summer 1862 18 "My Word Is Out": Fall 1862 19 "Fire in the Rear": Winter-Spring 1863 20 "The Tycoon Is in Fine Whack": Summer 1863 21 "I Feel Trouble in the Air": Summer-Fall 1863 22 "Still in Wild Water": Fall 1863 23 "There's a Man in It!": Winter-Spring 1864 24 "Atlanta Is Ours": Summer-Fall 1864 25 "A Sacred Effort": Winter 1864-1865 26 The Final Weeks: Spring 1865 Epilogue What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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