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Doris Kearns Goodwin

ドリス・カーンズ・グッドウィン

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1943-01-04 （Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Roman Catholic
Residence History
Rockville Centre, New York → Concord, Massachusetts → New York City (birthplace)

Career

Occupations
Historian, Biographer, Political commentator, Sports journalist
Active Years
1977-
Affiliations
Harvard University (faculty), White House Fellows (Lyndon B. Johnson administration), Northwest Airlines (board of directors), Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (advisory board)
Influenced By
Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard N. Goodwin
Influenced
Tony Kushner (screenwriter), Steven Spielberg (filmmaker)

Education

Colby College
Political Science
Degree: BA
Period: 1960–1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: United States
magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Harvard University
Government (Political Science)
Degree: PhD
Period: 1964–1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Dissertation: "Prayer and Reapportionment"

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for History
1995
Work: No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: winner
National Humanities Medal
1996
Organization: National Endowment for the Humanities (award)
Result: recipient
Lincoln Prize
2005
Work: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Organization: Lincoln Prize committee
Result: winner
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
2014
Work: The Bully Pulpit
Organization: Carnegie Medal committee
Result: winner
Golden Plate Award
1996
Organization: American Academy of Achievement
Result: recipient
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.)
1998
Organization: Bates College (honorary degree)
Result: honorary degree
Honorary doctorate
2008
Organization: Westfield State College (honorary degree)
Result: honorary degree
Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement
2006
Organization: The Lincoln Forum
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

1976 Biography/History

An early biography of Lyndon B. Johnson drawing on Goodwin's conversations with the former president.

Presidential powerLeadership

The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga

1987 History / Family biography

A major work tracing the Fitzgerald and Kennedy families; later subject to controversies over unattributed phrasing.

Private life of politiciansProminent families

No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

1994 History/Biography

A detailed account of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the American home front during WWII. Winner of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for History.

Presidential coupleSociety during wartime

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

2005 Biography / Political history

Focuses on how Lincoln assembled his cabinet from former rivals, illustrating his leadership and political skill. Influenced the screenplay for the 2012 film Lincoln.

LeadershipPolitical adaptability
Adaptations
  • [Film (partial adaptation)] Lincoln / Steven Spielberg (2012)

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

2013 History/Biography

Examines Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and journalism's role in American politics during the early 20th century.

Presidency and mediaProgressive era

Leadership in Turbulent Times

2018 History / Leadership studies

Analyzes leadership in crisis through the lives of several U.S. presidents, offering lessons on leadership during difficult times.

LeadershipCrisis management
Adaptations
  • [Television documentary (based on)] Abraham Lincoln (docudrama) (2022)

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s

2024 Memoir / History

A personal memoir intertwining Goodwin's experiences with the broader history of the 1960s.

1960sPersonal and political history

Bibliography

  • Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream (1976)
  • The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga (1987)
  • No Ordinary Time (1994)
  • Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir (1997)
  • Every Four Years (2000)
  • Team of Rivals (2005)
  • The Bully Pulpit (2013)
  • Leadership in Turbulent Times (2018)
  • An Unfinished Love Story (2024)

Adaptations

  • Lincoln (2012 film) — partial adaptation of Team of Rivals
  • Abraham Lincoln (2022 docudrama) — based on Leadership in Turbulent Times
  • Washington (TV miniseries) — Goodwin served as a producer

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative nonfictionBiographical historical narrativeDetail-driven narrative history
Recurring Motifs
Leadership and its challengesThe presidency and governanceInteractions between politics and media

Legacy

A prominent American biographer and historian known for narrative accounts of presidential history. Winner of major awards including the Pulitzer and Lincoln Prize; widely influential in public discourse though her career has included plagiarism controversies.

Academic Societies

  • New-York Historical Society (awarded prize)
  • American Academy of Achievement (awardee)

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared as herself in American Horror Story: Roanoke (episode 5)
  • Cameo appearance as herself on The Simpsons
  • Influenced film adaptations such as Lincoln (2012)

Quotes

  • "Though my footnotes repeatedly cited Ms. McTaggart's work, I failed to provide quotation marks for phrases that I had taken verbatim..."
    Source: Time magazine (article by Doris Kearns Goodwin) (2002)
  • "The president discovered that I had been actively involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement..."
    Source: Memoir/interviews (recollections from her time in the White House Fellowship)

Trivia

  • One of the first female journalists to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room (1979).
  • Won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for History for No Ordinary Time.
  • Portions of Team of Rivals informed the screenplay for the 2012 film Lincoln.
  • Has appeared frequently on television and worked as a producer on historical documentaries.