Doris Kearns Goodwin is a world-renowned, presidential historian, public speaker and Pulitzer Prizewinning, New York Times #1 best-selling author. Her first book for young readers, The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President, will be published September 10. Her eighth book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, was published earlier this year to critical acclaim and debuted atop the New York Times best-sellers list. Artfully weaving together biography, memoir, and history, An Unfinished Love Story takes readers on the emotional journey Doris and her husband, Richard (Dick)
Goodwin embarked upon in the last years of his life as they delved into more than 300 boxes of letters, diaries, documents, and memorabilia that Dick had saved for more than fifty years. They soon realized they had before them an unparalleled personal time capsule of the 1960s, of the events and pivotal figures of the decade—John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and especially Lyndon Johnson, who greatly impacted both their lives. The voyage of remembrance brought unexpected discoveries, forgiveness, and the renewal of old dreams, reviving the hope that the youth of today will carry forward this unfinished love story with America.
Goodwin’s previous books include the highly praised and New York Times best-selling Leadership: In Turbulent Times, which incorporates her five decades of scholarship studying Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Leadership inspired the History Channel’s miniseries events Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and FDR, which Goodwin executive produced through her production company, Pastimes Productions.
Goodwin was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. Her Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln was awarded the Lincoln Prize and was in part the basis for Steven Spielberg’s highly acclaimed film “Lincoln.” Well known for her appearances and commentary on television, Goodwin is seen frequently in documentaries and on television news, cable networks and late-night talk shows. She even portrayed herself on an episode of the enduringly successful television show “The Simpsons.” Goodwin’s interest in presidential leadership was inspired by her experience as a 24-year-old White House Fellow, working directly for President Johnson in his last year in the White House, and later assisting him in the preparation of his memoirs. Her first book was the widely praised and enormously popular Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. Goodwin has received numerous awards for her books and career, including the inaugural American History Book Prize from the New-York Historical Society, the Gold Medal for biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and most recently the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence from the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York for An Unfinished Love Story.
Goodwin graduated magna cum laude from Colby College. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Government from Harvard University, where she taught Government, including a course on the American Presidency. Goodwin lives in Boston. She was the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room in 1979 and is a devoted fan of the World Series-winning team.