A Lincoln Log

Both Abraham Lincoln and the phrase "team of rivals" have been getting a lot of mention in news and politics lately. You can thank author Doris Kearns Goodwin for coining the phrase in her now rather well-known book with that title, Team of Rivals.

The book was first published a few years back, and I came very close to reading it at that time. But rather that be on the cutting edge, "before it was popular," I only recently got around to reading this much talked-about biography. And it took me a few weeks to do it, too. It's a mammoth tome, thoroughly researched. This is no light read.

The book is actually a multiple biography based on this premise: to best understand and appreciate the political mind of Abraham Lincoln, you should also get a more clear picture of the members of his Cabinet, in particular three men who were competitors against him for the presidential nomination in 1860. And within the first chapters, the author totally sells that premise.

Her writing style is very entertaining and easy to read. While not quite presented in the narrative style of most works of fiction, there is a much more personal and personable approach to this book than the few biographies I've sampled here and there. You get a clear sense of the life of the times, and believe that you're getting inside the heads and private thoughts of many of these people.

But even though most of the book remains compelling for its 750+ pages, I feel Goodwin could still have used some more editing. Her clear passion for the subject gets in the way on a handful of occasions, when she brings in truly mundane or even irrelevant material likely because it simply fascinated her in her research.

Does it matter that Mary Todd Lincoln went vastly over budget when decorating the White House? Or that the young daughter of Salmon Chase (one of Lincoln's rivals/Cabinet members) may have married for money to secure her father funds for a future presidential candidacy? Set in their own book, some other book about say, the role of women in politics throughout American history, I believe this information would have its place, and could even be compelling. In the context of exploring the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, I believe it a superfluous distraction.

Still, Doris Kearns Goodwin stays on her subject more often than not, and displays both a vast understanding of it and a gift to relate her knowledge well. As I said, it's no easy read, but if politics holds any interest for you, or if you simply want to read about one of the great Americans, you may very well want to check out this book. I rate it a B+.