3 Reasons to Read "Team of Rivals" This Summer

It may just be the most important thing you read in this election year.

Note: This email is going out to all Big Readers — free and subscribed alike. If you’re already a paying member, you’ll see a “Subscribed” message where there are normally clickable buttons.

---

Hi there, readers! 

Starting May 12th, The Big Read will dive into Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals. Published in 2005, it’s by far the most modern title we’ve tackled. That doesn’t diminish its impact though; in the last twenty years, Team of Rivals has influenced more world leaders than perhaps any other single book. 

Highlighting the story of Abraham Lincoln’s time as president, as well as his cabinet of enemies-turned-advisors, Doris Kearns Goodwin gives us memorable and moving psychological insights into America’s greatest president during America’s most trying era. 

Join us to read what is truly one of the most influential history books ever published.

3 reasons to read Team of Rivals this summer 

1. It can give us hope for American politics. 

Coming into 2024, we all knew we were headed for a tiresome, frankly depressing election season. This year has lived up to that particular brand of hype, which means we’re in desperate need of hopeful, optimistic examples of the good that politics can bring. 

While the Civil War era no doubt produced the worst of what we’re capable of, Lincoln also showed us what can happen when good people work for the betterment of a nation. We need Team of Rivals now more than ever before. 

2. Lincoln is worth knowing about. 

Between 2016 and 2021, I read a biography of every single president, spending tens of thousands of pages with the people who’ve held the title of Most Powerful Man in the World. There’s no competition for my favorite of those men: Abraham Lincoln wins by a mile.

Other presidents equaled him on a political level (not many, though), and plenty of others eclipsed him tactically, but his humanity outshined all the rest. He was self-taught, humble, funny, empathetic, courageous, and quick to admit his mistakes . . . amidst our nation’s greatest conflict, he maintained his humanity and led us out of the darkness. 

Lincoln is one of the most influential people in world history and he’s worth emulating on a personal level. That combination is rare indeed, making Lincoln eminently worth learning about. 

3. It teaches us how to be human amidst intense disagreement. 

The thrust of Team of Rivals is to show how Lincoln put together a cabinet of the people who ran against him in the 1860 election. Edward Bates, Salmon Chase, and William Seward had some very different ideas about the purpose of the U.S. government and the direction the country should take with regard to the successionist movement. In spite of those intense disagreements, the group came together, under Lincoln’s leadership, to end the war and, ultimately, slavery itself. 

In the modern era, we’ve forgotten how to disagree and remain civil, not to mention staying friendly. Saying things through screens separates us from flesh and blood and makes us more likely to be awful to each other. This book is a great reminder that we can be philosophically opposed and still work together for the greater good.    

The benefits of subscribing

When you subscribe for $5/month (or $50/year), you’ll get the following:

• Weekly recaps with background, contextual material, and highlights from that week’s chapters.

• Access to our robust weekly discussions, where you’ll get invaluable insights from a diverse community of readers.

• A group Zoom call at the end to discuss the book. 

• The motivation and accountability to read an all-time classic. Even a great story sometimes requires a bit of endurance.

Reading schedule

As noted above, our reading schedule starts on May 12. Each Sunday morning, a recap of the previous week’s reading will arrive in your inbox. That said, the schedule is just an unofficial guide — read at your own pace, if you want, and know that the weekly recaps/discussions follow the below schedule.

You can also view the Google sheet here.

Here we go!

-Jeremy