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A review by authorguy
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
5.0
JFK was my favorite president--although on shaky ground--until I read this book. Goodwin does a fascinating job of bringing Lincoln to life--warts and depression and all--to life. The maddening thing when reading this book is that you can the incompetent generals Lincoln chose to manage the North's fighting of The Civil War, and how many unnecessary years it was expanded because of Lincoln's insistence on supporting his choices and using patience beyond all reason to wait for them to start putting victories on the board. It wasn't until both Sherman and Grant were in place that the Union Army finally won.
What was also enlightening to learn was that Lincoln was an admitted racist, that he did think black people where inferior to white people. Meeting and talking with Frederick Douglass changed his thinking but not the inbred racism that he refused to acknowledge after that. it was also the first place where I read The Emancipation Proclamation was very restrictive with who it freed, mainly because Lincoln didn't want to further enrage states with slavery he still needed on his side or Southern states that hadn't yet seceded from the Union.
The book was used as the primary source for Steven Spielberg's movie "Lincoln".
What was also enlightening to learn was that Lincoln was an admitted racist, that he did think black people where inferior to white people. Meeting and talking with Frederick Douglass changed his thinking but not the inbred racism that he refused to acknowledge after that. it was also the first place where I read The Emancipation Proclamation was very restrictive with who it freed, mainly because Lincoln didn't want to further enrage states with slavery he still needed on his side or Southern states that hadn't yet seceded from the Union.
The book was used as the primary source for Steven Spielberg's movie "Lincoln".