Finished Reading “Team of Rivals”

After avoiding the ending for weeks, I finally finished reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln last night, an epic multi-biography on Lincoln and his cabinet. I daresay it’s one of the most exciting US history books I’ve read; the story alone is amazing, the narrative though is outstanding.

Now I can give Ryan a break from hearing me gush about our 16th President’s magnanimity and the relationships he forged within his cabinet. Though I can’t stop thinking about my newfound admiration of William H. Seward (Secretary of State) and Edwin M. Stanton (Secretary of War)… but I digress. Abraham Lincoln? Count me awestruck.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan–to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

– Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address 1865