Team of Rivals

The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin

Narrated by: Doris Kearns Goodwin (introduction), Richard Thomas

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.

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.

Listen to an interview with Doris Kearns Goodwin on The Bob Edwards Show.

©2005 Blithedale Productions, Inc. (P)2005 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

• 2006 Quill Award Nominee
• National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, Biography or Autobiography, 2005

"The knowledge gained here about these three significant figures who well attended Lincoln gain for the reader an even keener appreciation of the rare individual that he was." (Publishers Weekly)
"An elegant, incisive study of Lincoln and leading members of his cabinet that will appeal to experts as well as to those whose knowledge of Lincoln is an amalgam of high-school history and popular mythology." (The New York Times)

Richard Thomas is tops

Not only is this a marvelous book, easy to read, succinct and thorough, it is read beautifully by Richard Thomas.

Best Lincoln Book Ever

Best book on Lincoln I have read (listened to). Easy to listen to. Enlightening. The historical as well as personal sides of the Lincoln family successes, struggles, characters, hopes and dreams are portrayed nicely. This is not a dry documentary. It reads more like a novel.

Well done.

An extraordinary President.

The story was excellent and is a good model for today…if only we had country-focused leaders and not corrupt narcissistic politicians who are too old.

I did tire of the reader, who tried to “be” the voice in a haughty way. In so doing he had tbe annoying habit of pronouncing his “u’s” like “you.” Resolution was resol-you-shun. Constitution became constit-you-shun. And so on. Ugh. Just read the words. DonT put on airs.

An amazingly engaging set of portraits.

Other biographical portraits are limited by the attempt to follow a rigid structure of time and events. This book lets the characters of the men it portrays emerge, without being a slave to the calandar. Although it leans towards hagiography, it is solidly based in reality. The portraits of Seward, Chase, McClellan, Grant, and Mrs. Lincoln are richer than I have encountered before. I could not wait to get back to book. I learned things about Lincoln I will never forget. The narrator was engaging, if a trifle excessive. I felt at times he was singing, when the book could have spoken for itself. But I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves biography, Lincoln, or the Civil War. I wish it had been unabridged, as I hated to come to the end.

A very enjoyable listen

Team of Rivals is wonderfully written by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It flows so well that it almost like hearing a great story - which of course it is. Goodwin also does a great job of communicating Lincoln's great character, as well as getting across Seward and Chase's natures.

I thought Richard Thomas did a great job reading. The inflections in his voice bring life to the text without being showy or overpowering the text itself.

Great book!

This blook is well written and well researched. Although one knows the outcome before starting, it is quite suspenseful! After listening to it, I have a much clearer picture of Lincoln, his contemporaries and the Civil War itself. I would recommend this book highly.

Good Historical Insight

This book looks at the personal strengths of our greatest President. We need another like him. Would have enjoyed the book more with a differant reader, however. Richard Thomas's bland voice often seems strained and does not inspire.

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful

I saw this book laying on someone desk and became interested. I had a long overseas flight and needed a good book. I made the mistake to starting to listen before I left. I could not stop. Thankfully I had some of the 32 hours left for the flight. You will not be disappointed.

Our Untaught History

I had tried to read this book several times but found it emotionally distressful. Listening to this book on Audible had me wondering: “How could I not know this history.” Sadly, I conclude that it is a history that’s isn’t taught in our schools.
I’m glad that I was able to listen and hear the story of Abraham Lincoln as one that did not simply idolize him but rather one that showed that his initial cause was to prevent the spread of slavery instead of abolishing slavery...in his belief that slavery would die a slow, but eventual death in the South. My understanding of this era was expanded to come to understand that he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, with motives that were more a a practical military consideration rather than a moral proclamation of the inhumanity of slavery. This is no way diminishes his greatness. He was indeed a man for the era and “now belongs to the ages.”
We should endeavor to teach our children our history so as to prevent repeating the lesson of the past.

Good historical book

The author does a great job of researching in-depth detail into Lincoln and those who he surrounded himself with. While strong with new information in the first half of the book, the second half contains information that an avid Lincoln fan already has read several times. A good "listen" nonetheless.