Books › Team of Rivals
Team of Rivals
First published 2005 · 1308 pages
A sweeping, deeply human portrait of political genius that makes the monumental figures of history feel like complex, breathing people in a room together.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like pulling up a chair in the corner of a smoke-filled, nineteenth-century cabinet room. Despite its intimidating length, the narrative unfolds with a steady, magnetic pull, transforming marble statues of history into flawed, brilliant, and deeply human men. The mood is both monumental and surprisingly intimate, balancing the crushing weight of a fractured nation with the quiet, interpersonal chess matches of political rivals learning to trust one another. The prose is rich and accessible, seamlessly weaving letters and diaries into a sweeping narrative that never feels dry. It is a masterclass in empathy and leadership that will completely absorb readers who love immersive, character-driven history, leaving them with a profound, lingering ache when the inevitable tragedy strikes.
- Mood
- immersive
- high-stakes
- contemplative
- monumental
- Tone
- authoritative
- empathetic
- analytical
- reverent
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- leadership under pressure · the burden of power · political maneuvering · humanizing greatness · reconciliation
- The writing
- Accessible yet deeply researched, weaving primary sources into a sweeping, narrative-driven tapestry.
- The arc
- Moves from the tense uncertainty of a fractured nation to a profound, bittersweet reverence for a leader's hard-won triumphs and tragic end.
- Who it's for
- History buffs and leadership enthusiasts who love getting lost in the intricate, human details of monumental historical events.
Content notes
- war
- assassination
- slavery
- racism
- grief
About the book
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln is a 2005 book by American historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, published by Simon & Schuster. The book is a biographical portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and some of the men who served with him in his cabinet from 1861 to 1865. Three of his Cabinet members had previously run against Lincoln in the 1860 election: Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and Secretary of State William H. Seward. The book focuses on Lincoln's mostly successful attempts to reconcile conflicting personalities and political factions on the path to abolition and victory in the American Civil War.
Goodwin's sixth book, Team of Rivals was well received by critics and won the 2006 Lincoln Prize and the inaugural Book Prize for American History of the New-York Historical Society. US President Barack Obama cited it as one of his favorite books and was said to have used it as a model for constructing his own cabinet, although he later wrote this was not the reason he chose Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. In 2012, a Steven Spielberg film based on the book was released to critical acclaim.
Description from Open Library.
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