Team of rivals
Subtitle: the political genius of Abraham Lincoln
By: Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2005
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 916
ISBN-13: 9780684824901
Subjects: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.; Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Friends and associates.; Political leadership -- United States -- Case studies.; Genius -- Case studies.; Presidents -- United States -- Biography.; United States -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865.
Genres: Case studies.; Biography.
Description: This multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation's history. Historian Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius, as the one-term congressman rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals to become president. When Lincoln emerged as the victor at the Republican National Convention, his rivals were dismayed. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery led inexorably to civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was because of his 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 that enabled Lincoln to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.