Team of Rivals

Lincoln appointed the men who had competed against him for the presidential nomination to his own cabinet, and Doris Kearns Goodwin treats that decision as the key to his political skill. The narrative follows Seward, Chase and Bates alongside Lincoln from their early careers through the nomination contest and into the strains of the Civil War, drawing on letters, diaries and contemporary reporting. Goodwin is as interested in temperament and rivalry as in policy, so the history doubles as a study of how a leader manages ambitious subordinates without losing them. Points of interest: • Parallel biographies of Lincoln and three cabinet rivals • Research drawn from letters, diaries and period sources • Civil War politics examined through personal relationships • Accessibility features including text-to-speech and screen reader support Suited to readers of American history, political biography and leadership studies, published by Penguin and sold at Boipoka.