Archives & Readers' Guides > Archives of Book Discussions

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin ~ Book Club Online

<< < (54/54)

Ella Gibbons:
JONATHAN, thank you for your post.  I, too, would like to hear, or read, the Southern view; perhaps in another discussion.  Do you have a book in mind?  Every once inawhile the Confederate flag appears somewhere in the South or a racial incident happens to bring that conflict, that terrible war, to our attention.  Reconstruction!  I'm sure there is a book somewhere on the subject.

PAT, what a good and great tribute to your father!  I'm sure he is pleased with you and is smiling at your words.  There was so much more in the book and in Lincoln's life that we did not cover; we did not have the time in one discussion to fully explore all the facets of the period in which Lincoln lived and died.  Truly a good politician, a president for the ages. 

Book TV had a number of authors and speakers last weekend about Lincoln.  New material coming out and one fellow has written a book about Lincoln - the man in the monuments - a study with images of all the monuments to Lincoln and their history.  One was fascinating.  There was a monument somewhere in Indiana and during WWII the people decided to send it to Great Britain as a gesture of friendship.  Well, the government got involved and what a hullabaloo that became.

And so it goes.......................

THANKS, AGAIN, EVERYONE!  I think we did Doris Kearns Goodwin proud.

PatH:
You're right, Ella, there's so much more we could have said.  But we said a lot!

Thank you, the faithful few who stuck it out--few but good!  There were so many detailed and thoughtful posts, so many good ideas being tossed around that it really added up.  I'm glad we had this discussion; it was a lot of work, but really worth it.

JoanK:
I too enjoyed the discussion greatly. You all gave me so much to think about with your wonderful comments, and I feel that my sense and appreciation not only for Lincoln, but for that period in our history and culture has deepened.

As a sociologist, I was fascinated by what I can only call the "flavor" of the times: the differences in the way people viewed America, the way they conducted themselves, even the sense of humor made me realize how many changes in our attitudes occur over time without our being aware of it.

Examples: can you imagine fist fights, even gunshots between Congressmen today, at the same time that they felt that it wasn't honorable to vote for themselves? Can you imagine thinging of the US as a new experiment in freedom which might not survive? Can you imagine the clever insults and slapstick humor that politicians engaged in? Unfortunately, it's also hard to imagine the kind of honesty and adherance to principal in a politician that we see in Lincoln.

mabel1015j:
In watching Obama today i wondered if Lincoln was a comfortable being president and w/ his decisions as Pres Obama "seems" to be? The only other president i can think of that i have "known" who seemed so comfortable was Gerald Ford. L and O both had that tall, lanky, look. Men of that stature often seem to be "strolling" along when they walk giving them an air of confidence. I think that's why Obama has such high approval numbers in these hard times. He exudes confidence and therefore gives us confidence that things will be all right. It's just amazing how much they seem to be alike and that we read this book at this time.

Again i thank Ella and Pat for leading us and for the rest of you for providing such an interesting conversation.............jean

jane:
This discussion is now locked and will be archived in a few days.

Thank you for your participation.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page