Book: Team Of Rivals
11:45 AM: I started this book: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. They suggested this at the library, because for one, they had very few other DTB books in stock to choose from. Plus it sounded familiar to me; I think President Obama was reading this book during the early months of his first year as president in an effort to more effectively bring together congressional republicans and democrats. This seems a timely book in lieu of congressional gridlock these days. Finally, it’s quite long (over thirty-eight hours reading time), and I enjoy a “meaty” book. So, we’ll give this one a read.
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March 2nd, 2010 at 8:58 pm
11:00 PM: Read the introduction.
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:53 am
06:15 AM: Read chapter one; titled Four Men Waiting, which formally introduces each member of what eventually would become Lincoln’s “team of rivals.”
March 4th, 2010 at 6:05 am
08:05 AM: Read chapter two; titled The Longing To Rise.
March 5th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
12:10 AM: Read chapter three; titled The Lore of Politics, that describes the motivations and processes by which each of the four members of this team of rivals got into politics. It also provided background of each member, his associations, lovers, closest friends and such. Insightful to be sure; but with so much information presented (very dense reading), I found myself drifting off numerous times, and I had to re read numerous passages in this chapter. Long attention spans when taking in this sort of information have always been difficult for me to muster; though I’m better at it today than when I attended high school.
11:40 PM: Read chapter four; titled Plunder and Conquest.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:53 am
12:45 PM: Read chapter five; titled: The Turbulent Fifties (1850s). In this section, the author talked of Lincoln espousing the idea that his aversion to heavy drinking was not because he was in any way mentally superior. Rather, he didn’t drink simply because he had no appetite for it. With this sort of humble view, Lincoln avoided the appearance of arrogance and condescending I’m-so-better-than-you attitudes that often alienate constituents.
March 7th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
07:50 PM: Read chapter six; titled The Gathering Storm. This covered the mid 1850s, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of slavery in the Dred Scott decision. This ruling denied blacks the rights of freedom.
This chapter also covered the fall of the Whig party and the rise of the Republican party due to division on the slavery issue among northern and southern Whigs.
In these pages, this book recounted various debates Lincoln participated in, during the later half of the 1850s.
10:55 PM: Read chapter seven; titled Countdown to the Nomination.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:59 am
09:00 AM: Read chapter eight; titled Showdown in Chicago.
11:00 AM: Read chapter nine; titled A Man Knows His Own Name.
11:30 PM: Read chapter eleven; titled I Am Now Public Property, referring to Lincoln assuming the presidency.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:28 am
11:30 AM: Read chapter twelve; titled Mystic Chorrds of Memory.
07:00 PM: Read chapter thirteen; titled The Ball Has Opened.
11:30 PM: Read chapter fourteen; titled I Do Not Intend to be Sacrificed.
March 11th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
11:55 PM: Read chapter fifteen; titled My Boy is Gone.
March 12th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
01:00 AM: Read chapter sixteen; titled He Was Simply Out Generaled.
07:15 PM: Read chapter seventeen; titled We Are In The Depths.
09:00 PM: Read chapter eighteen; titled My Word Is Out.
These three chapters covered the evolution of Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation; how it was conceived and why it’s release was timed as it was — immediately after a Union battle victory.
March 13th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
12:00 PM: Read chapter nineteen; titled Fire in the Rear.
09:00 PM: Read chapter twenty; titled The Tycoon is in Fine Wack.
11:30 PM: Read chapter twenty-one; titled I Feel Trouble in the Air.
March 14th, 2010 at 7:00 am
10:00 AM: Reread chapter twenty-one. Sometimes, my mind wonders as it often does when I’m reading history, though I often sustain more complete focus on the second reading, was the case with this chapter and several others throughout this book.
08:00 PM: Completed chapter twenty-two; titled Still in Wild Water.
March 16th, 2010 at 6:37 am
09:30 AM: Read chapter twenty-three; titled There’s a Man in It. This describes the nomination of Lincoln for a second term of the presidency in 1864.
11:59 PM: Read most of chapter twenty-four, but kept drifting off. I’ll try it again tomorrow.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
04:30 PM: Finished chapter twenty-four; titled Atlanta is Ours. Had to start this on over a few times due to the struggle to stay awake.
This section covers Lincoln’s winning of his second term of the presidency in 1864 and, as the title suggests, the fall of Atlanta, as it was taken over by union (Lincoln’s) forces from the confederates.
12:45 AM: Read chapter twenty-five; titled A Sacred Effort. This section covers the passing of the thirteenth amendment to the constitution, that abolished slavery, countrywide (north and south).
March 19th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
11:55 PM: Read the first half of chapter twenty-six.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:22 am
09:20 AM: Read chapter twenty-six; titled The Final Weeks. This describes Lincoln’s assassination and provides much insight as to why people from both north and south revered this, perhaps, greatest leader of all time; for his kindness, generosity, legendary political skills, and his honesty.
12:15 PM: Read the epilogue, that told of what became of the wives, families, and friends of each member of this team of rivals.
12:30 PM: Listened to the acknowledgements as well, for insights on how this author assembled this momentous work. Apparently, it took her ten years. Wow! That’s quite a large project, and I don’t think I could wait that long to start receiving reward for such an endeavor.
But then, I’ve been writing for nine years now, and all my blogs have earned so far is $2.58. So, maybe I could wait as long as Kearns did. in fact, it’s likely that I may have to wait longer. But I’m not complaining, mind you. 
12:35 PM: I’ve now completed this book and will send it back to the library on Monday.