Doris Kearns Goodwin, PhD, is a world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker, and Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times #1 best-selling author. Her first book for young readers, The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President (Simon & Schuster, 2024), will be published on September 10. Her eighth book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (Simon & Schuster, 2024), was published earlier this year to critical acclaim and debuted atop the New York Times bestsellers list.
Artfully weaving together biography, memoir, and history, An Unfinished Love Story takes readers on the emotional journey Goodwin 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 Dick had saved for over 50 years. They soon realized they had before them an unparalleled personal time capsule of the 1960s, and of the pivotal figures and events of the decade—John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and especially Lyndon Johnson, who deeply impacted both their lives. The voyage of remembrance brought unexpected discoveries, forgiveness, and the renewal of old dreams, reviving the hope that today’s youth 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 (Simon & Schuster, 2018), which draws on her five decades of scholarship studying Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Leadership inspired the History Channel’s miniseries Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and FDR, which Goodwin executive produced through her production company, Pastimes Productions.
She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (Simon & Schuster, 1994). Her book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Simon & Schuster, 2005) was awarded the Lincoln Prize and served in part as the basis for Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed film Lincoln.
Well known for her commentary on television, Goodwin appears frequently in documentaries, on cable and network news, and late-night talk shows. She even portrayed herself on an episode of 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 during his final year in office, later assisting him with the preparation of his memoirs. Her first book was the widely praised and enormously popular Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream (Harper & Row, 1976).
She has received numerous honors 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 and earned a PhD in government from Harvard University, where she also taught, including a course on the American presidency.
She lives in Boston. In 1979, she became the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room and remains a devoted fan of the World Series-winning team.
