Category: History: U.S.: 19th Century

Copyright/published Year: 2005 by Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 0743270754

Binding: Trade Pap

Description: Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's ì political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term ì congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail ì over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become ì president.

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward ì Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the ì results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When ì Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and ì angry.

Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the ì presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to ì secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin ì demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged ì by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and ì accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ì ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience ì what they were feeling, to understand their motives and ì desires.

It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring ì his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual ì cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of ì preserving the Union and winning the war.

We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the ì White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile ì congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these ì obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and ì in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see ì him through.

This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln's ì mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency ì in the nation's history.

Condition Information

This is a used book and is in Good condition.

Additional condition description

Text is clean and unmarked. Sound binding. Some "shelf dusting" to page bottoms.