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The book that inspired Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning film of the same name
Analyzing Abraham Lincoln's leadership style, his understanding of human behavior, and the alliances he forged during his administration, award-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a detailed biography of one of America's most iconic presidents. A fundamental book for understanding the American Civil War and its key figures.
In addition to examining Abraham Lincoln's character and career, the author also recounts the stories of the extraordinary men who were his rivals for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 1860: New York Senator William H. Seward, Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase, and the learned and distinguished Missouri statesman Edward Bates. Seward would be appointed Secretary of State, Chase Secretary of the Treasury, and Bates Attorney General.
In the turbulent 1850s, each of these men sought the presidency of the United States as the conflict over slavery escalated, inevitably leading to secession and Civil War. Lincoln's victory, as Goodwin shows, was the result of a strength of character forged by experience that set him above his other, more privileged and successful competitors. He won because he possessed the extraordinary ability to put himself in other men's shoes, live their lives, and understand their motivations and desires.
The growth of Lincoln's political genius is revealed in the impressive wealth of documents left by these competitors-turned-collaborators. Their diaries, statements to third parties, and letters exchanged with family, friends, and contemporaries provide countless insights and recollections that make Doris's approach collective, comparative, and therefore entirely original.
The author also shows how Lincoln dealt with the terrible privations of his childhood, the death of his children, and the horror into which the entire nation was plunged during the Civil War that ended slavery in the country.
A complete and original work that follows Lincoln's life and relationships, and how his experiences shaped America's most iconic presidency.
“The richest and most detailed account of the American Civil War.” Los Angeles Times
“An elegant and precise study that brilliantly describes how Lincoln forged a team that preserved the nation and freed the United States from slavery.” The New York Times Book Review
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