Doris Kearns Goodwin, the renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is returning to Springfield June 11 to share insights about her recent book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s. The Lincoln Presidential Foundation is hosting the event at 7 p.m. at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The format will be a conversational interview moderated by Erin Carlson Mast, Foundation president and CEO. “Doris has been filling auditoriums around the country to hear her speak about her newest book,” Mast told Illinois Times. “We’re excited to host her in Springfield and greatly appreciate the long relationship she’s had with the Foundation as an Honorary Life Board Member.”
In advance of her visit, Goodwin told Illinois Times: “I will always feel connected to Springfield. I came there for research, to talk about Team of Rivals, and it is where I accompanied Daniel Day-Lewis as he began his journey to portray Abraham Lincoln for which he was awarded the Oscar for Steven Spielberg’s film, Lincoln. As an honorary director I have returned many times to speak at the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, which honors the legacy and furthers the mission of our 16th president. There is no one like Lincoln, not simply for what he did, but for who he was. While my latest book is centered on the 1960s, Lincoln is never far from my mind as he’s a constant reminder of the ideals on which our country was founded.”
An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s is Goodwin’s eighth book. Her previous books include Leadership in Turbulent Times, in which Goodwin writes about Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, the presidents she has studied most closely, and Team of Rivals, which was adapted by Steven Spielberg into the Academy Award-winning film Lincoln.
Doris and her late husband, Richard (Dick), have both had remarkable careers and an inside view of American history in the making. Doris was selected to join the prestigious White House Fellows as a 24-year-old graduate student at Harvard. Working with President Lyndon Johnson launched her career as a presidential historian, and her first book was Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She later assisted Johnson in writing his memoirs. Dick joined John F. Kennedy’s speech-writing staff when he was in his 20s. In his 30s he was a speechwriter and special assistant in President Lyndon Johnson’s administration. He wrote some of the most memorable speeches of the times. Over many decades, he was an author, journalist and political consultant.
Doris and Dick were married for 42 years. Dick died in 2018. In the latter years of his life, the Goodwins delved into more than 300 boxes of letters, diaries, documentaries and memorabilia that Dick had saved for decades. They came to realize these represented a remarkable personal time capsule of the 1960s. The book jacket states, “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.”
“America has been at odds with itself before,” writes Goodwin. She has been drawn to write about turbulent times, including the Civil War, Industrial Revolution and World War II. Her new book is a personal reflection on the turbulent times of the 1960s. “We see what historic opportunities were seized, what chances were lost, what light those years cast upon our own fractured time. ‘The end of our country has loomed many times before,’ my husband often reminded me, ‘America is not as fragile as it seems.'”
Goodwin is called upon often to provide insights to American history and presidential elections and is a frequent guest on television news programs and late-night TV. She had a cameo appearance on “The Simpsons” as a second-grade teacher. She is also a devoted Red Sox fan and was the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room. During a March 24, 2024, story about her new book on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Goodwin was described as “an historian with academic cred and pop culture cachet.”
Goodwin has been to Springfield multiple times for book signings, public programs and research related to her books. She spoke at the Abraham Lincoln Association annual symposium in 2006. In 2010 she was the Foundation’s honored guest at its members’ reception for the Team of Rivals exhibition at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. The exhibit was based on her book. In conjunction with her visit, she also presented a lecture at University of Illinois Springfield, jointly sponsored by the Foundation and UIS and part of the Jim Edgar Lecture Series. The Foundation organized her return in 2018 to discuss her book, Leadership in Turbulent Times.
The Lincoln Presidential Foundation honored Goodwin with its Lincoln Leadership Prize in 2016 in Chicago. She was honored for her life’s work to tell the stories of American history and for her award-winning, insightful work as an author, commentator and educator on American history, the presidency and Abraham Lincoln in particular.
The June 11 event will be the first time Goodwin is back in Springfield since before the pandemic. “Doris Kearns Goodwin has long been a valued adviser and champion of our mission,” said Erin Mast. “Her work inspires each and every generation to care about history and to engage in the work of democracy. We look forward to what promises to be an engaging discussion about her extraordinary life and unique perspectives on our nation’s history.”
About the event
The program is 7 p.m. June 11. Doors open to the public at 6:15 p.m. General admission tickets are $40, or $75 which includes a copy of the book. Order tickets at https://www.lincolnpresidential.org/1826/Join-Us-for-An-Evening-with-Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/event-details/.
This article appears in Growing old gay.
