I thoroughly enjoyed Team of Rivals. It took me a little longer than usual to get into the book, and as a result I almost want to go back and read the first half again as I think I would pick up much more a second time through.

n  n
According to Oxford Dictionary: Team=Two or more people working together and Rival=A person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity.
So this oxymoron title caught my attention when I was in the final semester of my college. I bought this book out of whim with slight consideration what is written inside because I am one of those people who are crazy in love with Great Honest Abe.
Having said that let me come to the commentary on the book what can I say about a book written on the as vast a subject as civil war,slavery, abolition and quest for integrity of greatest nation on Earth!
The book "Team of Rivals" as the title suggests is the story of uneasy alliance of brilliant minds of era forged by the greatest leader of the time. Story begins with the earlier struggles of abolitionists and pro slavery legislators to maintain their position at that time Seward was the apple of eye for the abolitionists and his fiery speeches roused the spirits of the camp, at that time lawyers like Stanton and Lincoln were not that significant in politics and could not imagine at the time their subsequent rise in the ranks of government. A western backwoodsman and rail splitter and prairie lawyer who seemed to enjoy his country side stories more than intricacies of the politics of capital was abruptly convinced and nominated as candidate for presidency; at that time the ambitions of then to-be president Seward were destroyed when he came to know that an obscure Prairie Layers has been nominated as the candidate for presidency by newly formed republican party instead of him(most likely).Also another ambitious man Salmon chase could not find support to be candidate from his own state Ohio which if am not mistaken is considered the state which decides president for every election.
When Lincoln assumed presidency country plunged into war with seceding southern Confederacy, this entire book is dedicated to the saga of managing country during the testing times some historians think that Lincoln was the god sent man for American union I also hold the opinion as in my view there was no any man as astute in running the affairs as Lincoln and as magnanimous as him to allow his crucial cabinet position to his bitter rivals like, Chase and Stanton. In the end chase was to be the one lasting villain with his never ending ambition for presidency and i am equally startled to know he never got much respect outside the sphere of Lincoln by himself as he was regularly snubbed for the candidacy long after the death of Lincoln.
This book is definitely worth reading not only for the purpose of understanding history, politics and government of the era but also for the sake of a lesson in management. I think modern leaders belonging to any region can get valuable lessons reading this book and gaining immense insight on what it means to be statesman and how to manage in crisis situations.
Coming towards some characters in the book, throughout the book Kate Chase appears to be the most charming and sought after lady in the book in her peak years she was the center of attention but when I am finishing the book I have found that her last years were pure testing times as she cheated her husband and due to alleged affair she ultimately divorced her husband and lived her last years in abject poverty Alas! this reminds me Bob Dylan song Like a Rolling Stone. Secretary Seward(Abraham Lincoln lovingly called him Governor) was one of the most faithful member of cabinet and he was intellectually most towering personality among cabinet members due to his unfortunate accident during the last days of Lincoln which made him bedridden for many days he could not celebrate the success of Union victory or could see and mourn his best friend death this made me cry! this whole drama perhaps has shadowed the greatness of a lady who inspired me in the book was Frances Seward a lady of love of Great Seward she was the architect behind her husband's firm views against slavery and she served as ideological guide to cement the support for the cause today African Americans should pay tribute to this great lady for her unwavering support for the cause of their liberty. Her demise and immediate death of daughter Fanny was perhaps most tragic events following the death of his beloved leader, Seward has another feather in his crown he purchase Alaska for US too as mentioned in book. In my opinion after Lincoln, the true heir and ablest man in US at that time was Seward he should have been the US president but fate gave Johnson to American people. Stanton as always was to be the most stiff of the persons in the cabinet he could not get along with Johnson. Welles continued to be loyal to next president. At the conclusion of my review i would like to mention the most important person in the life of Honest Abe, his love and wife Marry, It strikes me she was a bit out of mind always, my this proposition is supported by argument that his own son admitted her in mental hospital. Mary was westerner and not suitable for high life of Washington but she managed nonetheless good time at capital,Finally i would say Lincoln was a center of gravity of government who held many distinct elements like capricious, ambitious and intriguing Chase, always skeptical and gruff Stanton, suspicious and indecisive Welles and intellectual and gregarious Seward all of them were in one way or other rivals but this great man turned them into team and rallied their strength for the cause of Union. If history do not exhaust to count the great achievements of Honest Abe in Managing country, Abolition of slavery,Emancipation Proclamation, Magnanimous behavior to enemies one last thing to credit Lincoln is his befriending his enemies and thus destroying them.

really makes you wonder what Abraham Lincoln would say if he saw the US today. probably "what is wifi? and why are there asian people?"

If you're looking to read a book about our 16th President, Wikipedia tells us: "There have been 16,000 books and articles published on Lincoln—125 on the assassination alone—more than any other American." 

I haven't read nearly that many. I've only read this one. If you're going to read only one book about this amazing person, it may be safe to say this is the one to read. 

I came to it in a roundabout way. I'd been reading Philip K. Dick's novel 'We Can Build You' - in which android versions of Lincoln and his U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, appear as characters. Silly, yes - but the thought popped into my head that I wanted to know more about Lincoln in particular. (As Howard ZInn's 'People's History of the United States' showed me, my high school history education was kind of pathetic. That included Abe Info.) 

This exhaustive work is 916 pp., about 150 of which are notes / index. To say the least, the text itself is remarkable; the experience of learning about Lincoln unfolds as stunning storytelling. 

Part of that impression rests with the unique structure of Lincoln's political trajectory: election, then bang!: four years of a Civil War, then continued hope, then tragedy. It all seems like a bizarrely compact predestination, set for the purpose of one of those rare but genuinely spiritual shake-ups in humanity. 

There simply hadn't been anyone at all like Lincoln in the White House. With his passing, there wouldn't be again. Goodwin's biographical tribute makes repeatedly clear that Lincoln was practically preternatural as the guiding political spirit of his day. He reads as an almost other-worldly manifestation of divine wisdom. (Odd, considering that, early in his administration, he didn't necessarily cling to spiritual matters... though later in life he would.)

It's kind of freaky to read about it, actually - and it's not like it went unnoticed by those on the perimeter of his impact. Many were those who were continuously reassessing their underestimation of the man. He was often suspected of 'not being up to the task', only to prove himself capable of surpassing expectations. (Along the way, he could often, as a result, attract the loyalty of those who might be loath to give it.)

This document seems to progressively increase its momentum with each successive chapter. There's a 'dramatic' feel to much of the work, even though it's simply that there's a lot going on almost all the time... leading ultimately, of course, to triumph mixed inexorably with unthinkable sorrow. 

To Goodwin's immense credit, all of this comes strikingly, vividly alive. Her writing is evocative, unfussy and smooth. She takes an extremely large canvas of characters and depicts them in ways that mark them indelibly as individuals; there's little mistaking who's who. 

I don't often read historical works like this; if I read something of historical value, it will usually relate to a more-recent history. But 'Team of Rivals' appears to be a work apart; a uniquely captured time capsule that honors its subject much more than admirably.