Biografia

Has a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Political Science. She is one of our country's foremost Presidential historians. She and her husband have three sons. Besides her love for politics, she has been a major baseball fan since her childhood. She is a big Boston Red Sox fan. As a child, she began writing about baseball games for her father. She is also a Harvard Professor of Government. Her husband, Richard N. Goodwin, worked as a presidential speechwriter. They live in Boston.

In 1999, she was consulted by Steven Spielberg as part of his research about a film he wanted to make about Abraham Lincoln. Goodwin revealed that she was working on a book, entitled "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln". Spielberg immediately expressed interest in using this book as the basis for his film, and Dreamworks Pictures finalized the film rights in 2001. The book itself was not published until 2005.

Former assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In the wake of accusations over plagiarism in her "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys", history book in 1987, Goodwin resigned from board of Pulitzer Prize judges, 31 May 2002. Had been a member of the board since 1999.

Resignation followed a probe since January, 2002 of possible plagiarism in other books of hers. She acknowledged she had long before made cash payment to author Lynne McTaggart to settle dispute over charges that Goodwin had plagiarized from her book, "Kathleen Kennedy".

Winner of 1995 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction for book "No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II."

A lot of times when people are on campaigns, it can be like a movie set.

Lincoln's singular way of walking, contemporaries observed, gave the impression his long, gaunt frame needed oiling. He would plod forward in an awkward manner, his hands hanging at his sides or folded, behind his back. His step had no spring, his law partner William Herndon recalled. He lifted his whole foot at once and then thrust it down on the ground rather than landing on his heel. 'His legs', another observer noted, 'seemed to drag from the knees down, like those of a laborer going home after a hard day's work'.

Although Lincoln's voice was 'thin' and 'high-pitched', reporter Horace White recalled, it had 'much carrying power' and 'could be heard a long distance in spite of the bustle and tumult of the crowd'. While he seemed awkward at first, when he 'hit his stride', White observed, he grew 'very impassioned' and 'seemed transfigured' by the strength of his words.

Those who knew Lincoln described him as an extraordinarily funny man. Humor was an essential aspect of his temperament. He laughed, he explained, so he did not weep. His 'eyes would sparkle with fun', one old-timer remembered, 'and when he had reached the point in his narrative which invariably invoked the laughter of the crowd, nobody's enjoyment was greater than his'. His ability to counter criticism with humor was legendary. When told that he was two-faced, he instantly responded, 'If I had two faces, do you think I'd be wearing this face?'

Roosevelt coined the phrase 'bully pulpit' for the platform a president has to influence public sentiment. I think after Sandy Hook, when Obama went out and he talked a lot about gun control and met with the parents, there was a sense that something was going to happen. But then, I guess, the power of special interests was greater than public sentiment.