Team of Rivals

The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

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 hepossessed 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.

©2006 Doris Kearns Goodwin (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"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)

"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)

"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." (John Rhodehamel, Los Angeles Times)

A Team of Rivals

An interesting behind the scenes look at the Lincoln presidency. It is not about the military conflict, but about the political, and domestic, conflicts managed in reaching a satisfactory conclusion to the war.

The Perfect Lincoln Story

I was a high school history teacher for 10 years and remain an avid junior Lincoln and Civil War historian. This is the greatest book about Lincoln I have ever read/listens to!

A must read

This book is filled with so much heart beauty and history that it will stay with you always

Spellbinding

An amazing journey through the early and final years of Lincoln and those with whom he sojourned. His genius shone brightly in this engaging recount. Goodwin is an author who keeps you fully engaged through half a century.

Excellent representation of true history

It is obvious when an author does the subject matter justice by doing in-depth research. This book is obviously the result of just such a work.

As for the performance in the reading of the book for Audible, the pace was too slow, requiring me to listen to it at 1.25 speed. This said, however, the enunciation and pronouncing of the text is superb, and it is not likely that any other narrative reader could have done better.

great book about one of the greatest human being

great book about one of the greatest human being Abraham Lincoln, must read, a lot of things to learn

Lincoln as you have never known him

masterful portrayal of Lincoln through the eyes of his colleagues and rivals. tour de force

One of the best books I've ever read!

Truly a remarkable work that illuminates both a dark period in our history as well as the most outstanding statesman our nation has ever known!

A joy for history buffs

If you could sum up Team of Rivals in three words, what would they be?

Nothing ever changes

What was one of the most memorable moments of Team of Rivals?

Many moments were memorable but what impressed me were the letters, no one writes like that any more! Without such great letters we would have missed a vary important part of history.

Which scene was your favorite?

The right word is scenes. Every time Lincoln had to deal with a problem he somehow made the right ones. Although I would have got rid of McClellan much earlier.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way to long

Any additional comments?

I was not a fan of Obama until I listened to this book and I see a lot of the way Obama weights his decisions (slow and methodically) yet willing to act no matter the risk when he thinks he is right just like Lincoln did. The book gave me a good feeling that even though our government today seems so divided it is no different then the government Lincoln had to deal with and we still made out alright.

Incredibly well-performed

I can't imagine how exceedingly difficult it much be to animate historical material with such a density of quoted text as this book contains, but Toren does a masterful job. I will admit that I was not engaged by the first chapter and so shelved this book for nearly a year--- but now I've plowed through its immense length in the last week or so. What as masterpiece of research and performance. Highest praise to Kerns Goodwin and to Toren.