Team of Rivals

Author : Doris Kearns Goodwin

Genre : Historical Fiction

Elegantly written by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals is a biographical portrait of President Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet of former political enemies who served with him from 1861 to 1865. With the nation on the brink of civil war, Lincoln appointed a group of opinionated and powerful Republican rivals to bring diverse skills and perspective: NY Senator William H. Seward as Secretary of State; Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury, Missouri Senator Edward Bates as Attorney General; and former Democrats Gideon Well, Montgomery Blair, and Edwin Stanton. Goodwin fleshes out the characters, their frustrations, jealousies, and finally admiration of Lincoln during this difficult time of national conflict.

The feature film, Lincoln, by Steven Spielberg, was based on the book and received the Academy Award for best picture.