Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

This is a special book. There is no other way to say it. I cannot imagine the hours, the years, the research, the extensive compiling and organization it must have taken Goodwin to write this masterpiece. Over the last two months I have been plodding through this Pulitzer prize winning book, enjoying every detail, savoring every character—in what has to be one of my favorite periods of American history. Goodwin is a very good writer and because the book is so laden with direct source material, I feel assured that she is giving nothing more than the full flavor of Lincoln and the figures that composed his cabinet.

Team of Rivals traces the story of Lincoln (primarily), Bates, Seward, and Chase—all political figures running for the 1860 Republican Presidential nomination. After Lincoln shockingly won the nomination, he assembled these three “rivals” as the primary cogs of his cabinet, key players who would prove indispensable throughout the most turbulent period in our nation’s history. Goodwin also brings us up to speed on other key players of the times: Secretary of Navy Welles, Secretary of War Stanton (my personal favorite), General McClellan, General Grant, Senator Sumner, Mary Lincoln, Republican Operative Thurlow Weed…etc.

Goodwin does a biographical sketch of each key figure and, most importantly, the unlikely rise to power of the “rail splitter,” Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln peaked politically at the right time, and though he was less accomplished than his opponents for the nomination he was active in the build up to the election. With only one congressional term under his belt, his highly publicized debates with Stephen Douglas over the divisive issue of slavery were paramount to his quick rise. Furthermore, Lincoln’s patience and delayed gratification in years prior were foundational to him gaining allies necessary for the 1860 upset.

There are many, many leadership gems throughout this book. I actually cannot imagine a better way to learn leadership than through well-written history of great leaders of the past. Here are some qualities we can learn from Abraham Lincoln:

We can learn from Lincoln’s caution: not impulsively making a decision or taking a public stance before we are sure it is the correct approach. Though often criticized for being late to the party on the progressive issue of slavery, once Lincoln made up his mind there was no looking back. This resolution and determination to “see it to the end” once a decision had been made was key to Lincoln’s success throughout the war.

We can learn from Lincoln’s magnanimity. Lincoln had an overwhelming ability to overlook offense and personal slights, to the point where I was frustrated with his longsuffering treatment of General McClellan. I found his handling of the gifted yet difficult Secretary Chase humorous. The ambitious Chase was not-so-subtly trying to undermine Lincoln in order that he would be able to take the Presidency in the next term. While Lincoln was well aware of this, he recognized Chase to be indispensable to the war effort as Secretary of Treasury. Three times Lincoln denied Chase’s resignation and continually pandered to his easily wounded and offended ego. Lincoln even nominated Chase to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after he eventually accepted his resignation from the office of the treasury, which showed a practically inhuman ability to overlook personal animosity.

We can learn from Lincoln’s love for people and his empathy. Lincoln had a profound capability to connect with people, to share in the sorrows of others, to form a bond with constituents. His speeches, while loaded with precise logic our modern times may struggle to keep pace with, had a unique ability to connect with the common, everyday man through his frequent illustrations, idioms, and stories. People were attracted to Lincoln; they were assured of his goodwill. Suffice it to say, the guy was likeable.

We can learn from Lincoln’s ways of coping with stress. While the war weighed heavily on him and took a shocking emotional toll (not to mention it overlapping with the death of his beloved son), Lincoln found healthy ways to deal with the inner turmoil. He went to plays at the local theaters frequently. He had close friendships with other men (Seward, Hay), which consisted of plenty of late night conversations and light hearted debates. These relationships allowed him to frequently share his stories and good natured humor, which helped check the internal anguish he was experiencing.

We can learn from Lincoln’s welcome of opposing viewpoints. Lincoln loved debate. He relished the iron sharpening experience brought by opposition. Instead of being daunted by a cabinet full of politically ambitious, superiorly educated and experienced men than he, Lincoln welcomed the often lively pushback. Yet, he was never intimidated by them, nor did his will repeatedly bend to the wishes of such celebrated politicians. Lincoln was his own man, and he had a deep confidence in his own aptitude for the job as well as his own ideas. While many expected key figures in the cabinet to perhaps control the Presidency by proxy, Lincoln would remain the President through and through—a fact his cabinet came to recognize rather quickly.

The Civil War era captivates me. I cannot quite place my finger on it: the times are romantic and desperate, filled with immense tragedy and yet bold triumph. There is the issue of profound morality at stake, and yet the War remains drastically convoluted and nuanced. While I have read books on some generals and battles—I had not yet received an exclusively political perspective. Team of Rivals took me there, placed me in that time among these larger than life statesmen, in the greatest upheaval in our nation’s history. For that I am thankful.

This is the best biography I've read to date. My colleague J Forrest told me this is the top book on leadership. My words that follow are more a report on Lincoln the leader than a critique of Doris Kearns Goodwin the author. That said, Goodwin has written a volume with the texture of a novel, filled with scenic details and perceptive insights into the complex interrelationships among Lincoln's family, friends, cabinet and generals. The 757 pages passed with ease. This is a great book.

Lincoln seems an improbable president. Born in poverty and confronted with multiple miseries, setbacks and failures, he came to reunite a divided nation. Using stealth and skill to engineer an upset Republican nomination, Lincoln persuaded the emotionally bruised rivals he bested (William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates) to take key cabinet positions after he won the election of 1860. He later placed Edwin Stanton, a man who humiliated Lincoln when he was an Illinois lawyer, into the key position of Secretary of War. These actions were misinterpreted by some Easterners as the folly of an inept Western rube, but in time the nation and his fractious cabinet came to see that Lincoln was the indispensable person.

Critics point out that Lincoln made political and military mistakes and openly displayed prejudice and racism during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in the 1850s. These counts are true. Lincoln also bent the truth at times. The author clearly idealizes Lincoln and gives short shrift to his faults. At the same time, a skilled historical biographer looks at a person within the context of their times and does not judge them through the lens of the current age. Additionally, all leaders make mistakes, particularly in times of crisis.

From what I read in this book, Lincoln seems to be a proto-pragmatists, the distinctive American philosophy that is well rendered in "The Metaphysical Club." Lincoln was able to balance Idealism with what could be done and what he knew at the time. As facts and conditions changed, Lincoln changed. His signature talent seemed to be an ability to learn, create and grow. His virtues were many, including: integrity, wisdom, empathy, forgiveness, friendliness, storytelling, logic and the long view.

The question of why Lincoln became such a great leader is the most intriguing issue in my mind. Team of Rivals gives hints. Overcoming traumatic early life can give some people the skills to deal with great difficulties later on, and Goodwin paints a bleak early life for Lincoln. He transformed himself through books, contemplation of higher ideals, work, friendship and humor. Lincoln's time as a lawyer riding the circuit seems important as well, providing experiences that displayed a full range of human nature. Lincoln's circuit riding days also put him in daily contact with the best and brightest in Illinois, attorneys he would argue against during the day and share stories, jokes and philosophies with at night. Lincoln abstained from tobacco and alcohol, indicating self control and independence of mind. The most interesting clue to his leadership ability was Lincoln's belief, contrary to the popular opinion of the times, that there is no afterlife, and that the only way a person can live on is through great deeds that earn the respect and memory of future generations. Lincoln sought a great struggle to give meaning and purpose to his life. The Civil War provided the great act he was seeking and it also ended his life. But Lincoln's memory lives on.

When I visited the Hart Senate Building in DC, a painting of Lincoln hung in then Senator Obama's reception area. History connects these two men. Team of Rivals also gives new meaning to my visits to Springfield, The Lincoln Memorial, Gettysburg, Jefferson's Monticello and the Southern White House in Richmond. The legacy of the Civil War still reverberates in American society and this book helps explain why.

Team Of Rivals is instructive and inspiring. It provides insight into America, democracy, politics, military strategy and the Civil War. Most of all Team Of Rivals illuminates the amazing leadership of Abraham Lincoln.

Here are some other biographical works I've enjoyed . . .

Below are key excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:

1- "This, then, is a story of Lincoln's political genius revealed through his extraordinary array of personal qualities that enabled him to form friendships with men who had previously opposed him; to repair injured feelings that, left untended, might have escalated into permanent hostility; to assume responsibility for the failures of subordinates; to share credit with ease; and to learn from mistakes. He possessed an acute understanding of the sources of power inherent in the presidency, an unparalleled ability to keep his governing coalition intact, a tough-minded appreciation of the need to protect his presidential prerogatives, and a masterful sense of timing. His success in dealing with the strong egos of the men in his cabinet suggests that in the hands of a truly great politician the qualities we generally associate with we generally associate with decency and morality—kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy—can also be impressive political resources...To be sure, he had a melancholy temperament, most likely imprinted on him from birth. But melancholy differs from depression. It is not an illness; it does not proceed from a specific cause; it is an aspect of one's nature. It has been recognized by artists and writers for centuries as a potential source of creativity and achievement. Moreover, Lincoln possessed an uncanny understanding of his shifting moods, a profound self-awareness that enabled him to find constructive ways to alleviate sadness and stress. Indeed, when he is compared with his colleagues, it is clear that he possessed the most even-tempered disposition of them all. Time and again, he was the one who dispelled his colleagues' anxiety and sustained their spirits with his gift for storytelling and his life-affirming sense of humor. When resentment and contention threatened destroy his administration, he refused to be provoked by petty grievances, to submit to jealousy, or to brood over perceived slights. Through the appalling pressures he faced day after day, he retained an unflagging faith in his country's cause."

2- "In these convivial settings, Lincoln was invariably the center of attention. No one could equal his never-ending stream of stories nor his ability to reproduce them with such contagious mirth. As his winding tales became more famous, crowds of villagers awaited his arrival at every stop for the chance to hear a master storyteller."

3- "It was a country for young men. "We find ourselves," the twenty-eight year-old Lincoln told the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, "in the peaceful possession, of the fairest portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate." The founding fathers had crafted a government more favorable to liberty "than any of which the history of former times tells us." Now it was up to their children to serve and expand the great experiment."

4- "Lincoln's early intimacy with traffic loss reinforced a melancholy temperament. Yet his familiarity with pain and personal disappointment imbued him with a strength and understanding of human frailty unavailable to a man of Seward's buoyant disposition. Moreover, Lincoln, unlike the brooding Chase, possessed a life-affirming humor and a profound resilience that lightened his despair and fortified his will."

5- "Books became his academy, his college. The printed word united his mind with the great minds of generations past. Relatives and neighbors recalled that he scoured the countryside for books and read every volume "he could lay his hands on." At a time when ownership of books remained "a luxury for those Americans living outside the purview of the middle class," gaining access to reading material proved difficult. When Lincoln obtained copies of the King James Bible, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Aesop's Fables, and William Scott's Lessons in Elocution, he could not contain his excitement. Holding Pilmm's Process in his hands, "his eyes sparkled. and that day he could not eat, and that night he could not sleep." When printing was first invented, Lincoln would later write, "the great mass of men ... were utterly unconscious, that their conditions, or their minds were capable of improvement." To liberate "the mind from this false and under-estimate of itself, is the great task which printing came into the world to perform." He was, of course, also speaking of himself, of the transforming liberation of a young boy unlocking the miraculous mysteries of language, discovering a world of possibilities in the small log cabin on the frontier that he later called "as unpoetical as any spot of the earth."...He read and reread the Bible and Aesop's Fables so many times that years later he could recite whole passages and entire stories from memory. Through Scott's Lessons in Elocution, he first encountered selections from Shakespeare's plays, inspiring a love for the great dramatist's writings long before he ever saw a play. He borrowed a volume of the Revised Statutes of Indiana from the local constable, a work that contained the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787— documents that would become foundation stones of his philosophical and political thought."

6- "What Lincoln lacked in preparation and guidance, he made up for v^itl his daunting concentration, phenomenal memory, acute reasoning faculties, and interpretive penetration. Though untutored in the sciences and the classics, he was able to read and reread his books until he understood the classics, he was able to read and reread his books until he understood them fully. "Get the books, and read and study them," he told a law student seeking advice in 1855. It did not matter, he continued, whether the reading be done in a small town or a large city, by oneself or in the company of Others. "The books, and your capacity for understanding them, are just the same in all places— Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing."

7- "Though Lincoln's empathy was at the root of his melancholy it would prove an enormous asset to his political career. "His crowning gift of political diagnosis," suggested Nicolay, "was due to his sympathy... which gave him the power to forecast with uncanny accuracy what his opponents were likely to do." She described how, after listening to his colleagues talk were likely to do." She described how, after listening to his colleagues talk at a Whig Party caucus, Lincoln would cast off his shawl, rise from his at a Whig Party caucus, Lincoln would cast off his shawl, rise from his chair, and say: "From your talk, I gather the Democrats will do so and so ... I should do so and so to checkmate them." He proceeded to outline all "the moves for days ahead; making them all so plain that his listeners wondered why they had not seen it that way themselves." Such capacity to intuit the inward feelings and intentions of others would be manifest throughout his career."

8- "Lincoln's ability to win the respect of others, to earn their trust and even devotion, would prove essential in his rise to power. There was something mysterious m his persona that led countless men, even old adversaries, to feel bound to him in admiration."

9- "Chance, positioning, and managerial s strategy—all played a role in Lincoln's victory. Still, if we consider the comparative resources each contender brought to the race—-their range of political skills, their emotional. intellectual, and moral qualities, their rhetorical abilities, and their determination and willingness to work hard—it is clear that when opportunity beckoned. Lincoln was the best prepared to answer the call. His nomination, finally, was the result of his character and his life experiences—these separated him from his rivals and provided him with advantages unrecognized at the time. Having risen to power with fewer privileges than any of his rivals, Lincoln was more accustomed to rely upon himself to shape events. From beginning to end, he took the greatest control of the process leading up to the nomination."

10- "At the same time, his native caution and precision with language—he rarely said more than he was sure about, rarely pandered to his various audiences—gave Lincoln great advantages over his rivals, each of whom tried to reposition himself in the months before the convention...Though Lincoln desired success as fiercely as any of his i rivals, he did not allow his quest for office to consume the kindness and openheartedness with which he treated supporters and rivals alike, nor alter his steady commitment to the antislavery cause."

11- "Later, Joseph Medill of the Chicago Tribune asked Lincoln why he had chosen a cabinet comprised of enemies and opponents. He particularly questioned the president's selection of the three men who had been his chief rivals for the Republican nomination, each of whom was still smarting from the loss. Lincoln's answer was simple, straightforward, and shrewd. "We needed the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services.""

12- "To Lincoln's mind, the battle to save the Union contained an even larger purpose than ending slavery, which was after all sanctioned by the very Constitution he was sworn to uphold. "I consider the central idea pervading this struggle," he told Hay in early May, "is the necessity that is upon us, of proving that popular government is not an absurdity. We must settle this question now, whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose. If we fail it win go far to prove the incapability of the people to govern themselves.""

13- "Lincoln had long believed, as we have seen, that "with public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed." He understood that one of the principal stumbling blocks in the way of emancipation was the pervasive fear shared by whites in both the North and the South that the two races could never coexist peacefully in a free society. He thought that a plan for the voluntary emigration of freed slaves would allay some of these fears, fostering wider acceptance of his proclamation."

14- ""Abraham Lincoln, will take no step backward." Intuitively grasping Lincoln's character. though they were not yet personally acquainted, Douglass explained that "Abraham Lincoln may be slow... but Abraham Lincoln is not the man to reconsider, retract and contradict words and purposes solemnly proclaimed over his official signature...If he has taught us to confide in nothing else, he has taught us to confide in his word." Lincoln confirmed this assessment when he told Massachusetts congressman George Boutwell, "My word is out to these people, and I can't take it back.""

15- ""I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper," he said. "If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it." His arm was "stiff and numb" from shaking hands for three hours, however. "If my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation," Lincoln said, "all who examine the document hereafter will say, 'He hesitated.' " So the president waited a moment and then took up the pen once more, "slowly and carefully" writing his name. "The signature proved to be unusually bold, clear, and firm, even for him," Fred Seward recalled, "and a laugh followed, at his apprehensions." The secretary of state added his own name and carried it back to the State Department, where the great seal of the United States was affixed before copies were sent out to the press."

16- "Asked months later by a radical to "suppress the infamous 'Chicago Times,' " Lincoln told her, "I fear you do not fully comprehend the danger of abridging the liberties of the people. Nothing but the very sternest necessity can ever justify it. A government had better go to the very extreme of toleration, than to do aught that could be construed into an interference with, or to jeopardize in any degree, the common rights of its citizens.""

17- "Herein, Swett concluded, lay the secret to Lincoln's gifted leadership. "It was by ignoring men, and ignoring all small causes, but by closely calculating the tendencies of events and the great forces which were producing logical results." John Forney of the Washington Daily Chronicle observed the same judgment and timing, arguing that Lincoln was "the most truly progressive man of the age, because he always moves in conjunction with propitious circumstances, not waiting to be dragged by the force of events or wasting strength in premature struggles with them."

18- "Four score and seven years ago," he began, our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are sated equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living i and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor Dower to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced, d. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that, government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

19- "Discipline and keen insight had once again served Lincoln most effectively. By regulating his emotions and resisting the impulse to strike back at Chase when the circular first became known, he gained time for his friends to mobilize the massive latent support for his candidacy. Chase's aspirations were crushed without Lincoln's direct intrusion."

20- "He gave voice to these ideals in late August with an emotional address to the men of an Ohio regiment returning home to their families. "I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House," he said. "I am a living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has. It is in order that each of you may have through tills free government which we have enjoyed, an open field and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise and intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations. It is for this the struggle should be maintained, that we may not lose our birthright.... The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel.""

21- "Drawing upon the rare wisdom of a temperament that consistently displayed uncommon magnanimity toward those who opposed him, he then issued his historic plea to his fellow countrymen: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shah have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just. and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.""

22- "The editors of the Mercury would have been even more astonished if they had an inkling of the truth recognized by those closer to Lincoln: his political genius was not simply his ability to gather the best men of the country around him, but to impress upon them his own purpose, perception, and resolution at every juncture. With respect to Lincoln's cabinet. Charles Dana observed, "it was always plain that he was the master and they were the subordinates. They constantly had to yield to his will, and if he ever yielded to them it was because they convinced him that the course they advised was judicious and appropriate.""

23- "At 7:22 a.m., April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was pronounced dead. Stanton's concise tribute from his deathbed still echoes. "Now he belongs to the ages.""

24- ""Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his country—bigger than all the Presidents together. We are still too near to his greatness," Tolstoy concluded, "but after a few centuries more our posterity will find him considerably bigger than we do. His genius is still too strong and too powerful for the common understanding, just as the sun is too hot when its light beams directly on us."

25- "The ambition to establish a reputation worthy of the esteem of his fellows so that his story could be told after his death had carried Lincoln through his bleak childhood, his laborious efforts to educate himself, his string of political failures, and a depression so profound that he declared himself more than willing to die, except that "he had done nothing to make any human being remember that he had lived." An indomitable sense of purpose had sustained him through the disintegration of the Union and through the darkest months of the war, when he was called upon again and again to rally his disheartened countrymen. soothe the animosity of his generals, and mediate among members of his often contentious administration. His conviction that we are one nation, indivisible, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," led to the rebirth of a union free of slavery. And he expressed this conviction in a language of enduring clarity and beauty, exhibiting a literary genius to match his political genius. With his death, Abraham Lincoln had come to seem the embodiment of his own words—"With malice toward none; with charity for all" voiced in his second inaugural to lay out the visionary pathway to a reconstructed union. The deathless name he sought from the start had grown far beyond Sangamon County and Illinois, reached across the truly United States, until his legacy, as Stanton had surmised at the moment of his death, belonged not only to America but to the ages—to be revered and sung throughout all time."

The more I study American history, the more I realize how little I really know. I just completed Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals in which she explores the inter-workings, personalities and politics of the Lincoln administration. Every American schoolboy or schoolgirl knows that Lincoln presided over the most difficult period in American history save the George Washington era. Most know that he struggled with a series of second rate generals until Grant emerged. And that he was tragically assassinated just as the War Between the States ended. But how many of us know that many of the cabinet members opposed Lincoln in the primary? That many of those thought he was unqualified for the office? That one of them - Salmon Chase - actually tried to build support to oppose Lincoln in the 1864 election? Or that Lincoln's opponent in 1864 was former General McClelland, who so famously failed to take advantage of his superior numbers early in the war. Or that the Democratic Party had a substantial "peace wing" that was prepared to negotiate an end to the war in 1864 that would not have required the freeing of slaves? Or that his first love was one Ann Rutledge, who he undoubtedly would have asked to marry, however, she died very young, sending young Lincoln into a deep lasting depression. He was in such despair that friends feared for his life. The book summarizes his early life, but really begins with Lincoln as a young lawyer in Illinois, and tracks his career, which had numerous, severe setbacks, through his very clever strategy to win the 1860 nomination, up to his assassination. My admiration at Lincoln's talents only grew as I read this work. I had no understanding of his deep political skills but Goodwin brings out his knowledge of human nature, ability to connect to people, and his careful analysis of the landscape that let him out-maneuver rivals. The book is appropriately subtitled The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, with his plain appearance, lack of a formal education (he was almost entirely self-taught, quite literally reading with candlelight after long hard days of farm labor), from the humblest of situations, was consistently underestimated by the press, rivals and even foreign governments. To a certain extent he probably used that to his advantage. Widely disparaged in the press and by political opponents as "that rail splitter from Illinois" as the Presidential election unfolded, and even more in the early days of his administration, by the end of the war, "rail splitter" was a term of admiration and endearment. Of course, as the title suggests, he was also able to overlook, not just slights, but harsh, demeaning rhetoric from rivals to recruit the best possible Cabinet ministers. (As an aside, one forgets how the Cabinet has exploded in membership - his consisted only of a handful, including War, Interior, Treasury, Attorney General, State and Postmaster General. It is probably time to downsize our current Cabinet). Many were reluctant recruits, believing that they were far more qualified to be President than Lincoln. Over the next five years however, he earned their respect, trust, and confidence and to a man they came to the realization that he was one of the greatest Presidents. One of the interesting facets of Abraham Lincoln was his spirituality. He was clearly a Bible scholar. His mother provided most of his early education, in part by reading scripture. He was seen on numerous occasions, including during his Presidency, studying his Bible, and could quote scripture - including some fairly obscure passages, at will. We can assume that he believed in God, however, it isn't nearly so clear that he believed in an afterlife. To her credit, Ms. Goodwin does not speculate on what would have happened in a Lincoln second term. He made it crystal clear that he was completely opposed to a vindictive approach to the conquered South. His death put (only barely qualified) Andrew Johnson into the office. One can question whether there was anyone who could have stepped in to follow the brilliant and immensely capable Lincoln and succeeded, but it certainly was not Johnson. Lincoln's death was a tragedy for the country, quite possibly for two generations, as the incredibly corrupt Reconstruction, rise of segregation and the Ku Klux Klan ensued. When I read this kind of wide-ranging history, with references to hundreds of diary entries, letters, speeches, etc. I marvel at the time it must take to write such a work. Ms. Goodwin, in her notes, mentions 10 years of research. But she is not just a great researcher, she is a great story teller. This could have been dry and dull but it is the opposite - great history and a great read.

Highly recommended.

The study of American History, particularly in political biographies like those written by Ms. Kerns Goodwin, enables one to understand (1) what a great nation we have created and (2) what made us so great. Lincoln actually believed in the promise of the Declaration of Independence. He believed in the United States of America.

Ms. Kerns Goodwin's new biography of our country's greatest president demonstrates how Lincoln used his intellectual and political skills, as well as his moral strength, to preserve the union and the idea of a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Reading Team of Rivals makes one proud to be an American. We are Americans today because of Abraham Lincoln.

Kerns Goodwin's scholarship in this book is impeccable. The 120 pages of endnotes of primary and secondary material will be treasured by historians for many years to come. But she also writes a very readable story, accessible to the general public. This book on the political genius of Lincoln answers in the positive the question of "Do we really need another book on Lincoln?"

Goodwin gives us a fresh view of Mr. Lincoln's incredible self-confidence, political acumen and self-sacrifice. Most importantly, she defines him with all his faults and mistakes by his greatest asset -- his leadership. Lincoln could absorb a tremendous amount of criticism, some just some unjust, without taking it personally. After reading this book one comes away with an even greater admiration of Mr. Lincoln.

The literary device of telling the same story (Lincoln's life) through the eyes of four of his "rivals" is quite clever. It allows a more comprehensive analysis of his presidency by opening up historical resources previously unavailable, such as the letters and journals of these rivals and their friends and families.

Kerns Goodwin's Lincoln is not a marble man. She fully exposes his weaknesses and mistakes. She addresses how a man who loved liberty violated the constitution under the stress of war and how his views on racial equality were not only deficient by today's standards but fell far short of those of many in his own Republican party, including one of his rivals Salmon Chase.

This book will not please contemporary confederate apologists or those who feel that Lincoln's racial views makes him unworthy of his high esteem in American History. Ms. Kerns Goodwin's Lincoln is worthy of our admiration today because while he was not perfect, he was right in his essential core belief that the promise of the founders of our country could survive only under one united nation.

"Team of Rivals" contains a very good book, as its subtitle explains, on the political genius of Lincoln. The only problem is that within its nearly 750 pages is a not so good book, an unsuccessful attempt to write mini-biographies of William Seward, Salmon Chase, Edwin Stanton and Edward Bates-a/k/a "the rivals."

The problem, and this is more than just a minor flaw, is that Goodwin's attempt to flesh-out the supporting cast of Seward, Chase, Stanton and Bates causes this political biography to sometimes go off course. It makes the thread hard to follow. Sort of like New Years Day trying to watch 3 or 4 football games at the same time. No matter how hard you try, you sometimes get confused and wonder what the heck is going on.

At times it seems Goodwin simply wrote the wrong book. The good book about the political genius of Lincoln sometimes gets lost in this meandering work that includes too much about Chase's beautiful daughter or why Frances Stewart wanted to stay home instead of spending time in Washington. I mean-why did I really have to know that Kate Chase's actions as a sixteen year old caused her boyfriend the governor of Rhode Island to back-off marriage. What the heck was Ms. Kerns Goodwin thinking?

Nonetheless, if you stay the course in reading this book, and I suggest you just skip through the E! Network stuff, it is a very enjoyable read.