Team of Rivals: Book summary and reviews of Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Team of Rivals Summary

On May 18, 1860, in the midst of the nominating battle at the Republican National Convention, four contenders – Lincoln, Seward, Chase and Bates – wait in their hometowns for the results of the balloting in Chicago. Seward, Chase and Bates were political visionaries whose national reputations towered over Lincoln's. When they vied with Lincoln for the presidential nomination and lost, each was astonished at his defeat to this relatively obscure and inexperienced prairie lawyer. Through the 1850s, the four had intertwined with the creation of a sectional Republican party. Each positioned himself to lead the nation. That Lincoln emerges to win the race is the result of character traits forged by life experiences that separated him from his rivals and provided him with advantages that were unrecognized at the time and would prove his political adroitness and eventual greatness.

Team of Rivals Reviews

'Starred & boxed review. Goodwin supplies capable biographies of the gentlemen on whom she has chosen to focus, and ably highlights the sometimes tangled dynamics of their "team" within the larger assemblage of Lincoln's full war cabinet.' - PW
'Starred Review. Lincoln redux. Nevertheless, popular historian Goodwin offers fresh ground by which to judge the almost overdone sixteenth president.' - Booklist.
'Illuminating and well-written, as are all of Goodwin's presidential studies; a welcome addition to Lincolniana.' - Kirkus Reviews.

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