Home / Programs / Guest Speakers / Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Pulitzer Prize-winning author, biographer, historian and political commentator

Doris Kearns Goodwin visited with students at Amherst in Summer 2007

Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, American biographer and historian, and an oft-seen political commentator. She is the author of biographies of several U.S. Presidents, including Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream; The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga; No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt (which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1995); and most recently, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

As a Presidential historian and political news analyst, Ms. Goodwin has appeared frequently on NBC, MSNBC, The Charlie Rose Show and Meet the Press. Other appearances include The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and many more.

Many of Ms. Goodwin’s books have attracted the attention of Hollywood and Broadway: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln has been optioned by Steven Spielberg who is making a feature film based on it, with Liam Neeson starring as Lincoln. The Fitzgeralds and The Kennedys was made into a six hour miniseries aired on ABC in 1990. Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir has been optioned for a musical.

Ms. Goodwin is married to the writer, presidential advisor, speechwriter, and playwright Richard N. Goodwin, who worked in the White House under both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

For further information about Ms. Kearns Goodwin, please visit her website.

"I am deeply impressed by many aspects of this program, including the warmth and professionalism of the staff, the rigor and creativity of the curriculum, and the physical beauty of its setting. But what impresses me most, are the students themselves."

Dr. Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

"Every summer, all I have to do is mosey on down from my hilltop home overlooking Amherst College, and walk into an ongoing conversation about the Big Stuff. It always feels like an intellectual transfusion."

Dr. Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

"I will mark Amherst as my most memorable event of the year, simply because of the smartest and most generous kids I was surrounded with. I wish they could be my students forever..." "

Da Chen, award-winning, best-selling author

"What a terrific curriculum and an enthusiastic group of young people. Made me want to drop everything and sign up."

Barry Eisler, best-selling author

"The students were such an engaged and smart and interesting group. I really enjoyed talking to them but mostly just appreciated being asked such a varied array of questions. It was a lot of fun."

Jacob Lewis, former managing editor of The New Yorker magazine and co-founder of Figment.com

"The Great Books program is a midsummer night's dream- I adored the kids and it all felt so alive and was so much fun! The faculty was warm and embracing. So important to keep literature alive and connect with kids who want to read books! "

Laura Shaine Cunningham Memoirist, novelist, playwright and journalist

"I enjoyed talking to and listening to the your kids. They are an impressive bunch. "

Dr. Richard Reeves Award-winning author, journalist and documentary filmmaker

"I loved my experience with the Great Books Summer Program. The students were brilliant and involved even beyond my expectations, really the ideal young audience for a writer. "

Peter Straub, Award-winning author

"I give a lot of talks to a lot of groups all over the country and world, but I've never had a more engaged, interested and interesting audience than the students at the Great Books Summer Program. They were clearly primed to learn and think. I hope I gave them some useful ideas about writing and the writing life; I know they inspired me. "

Kurt Andersen, Award-winning author, editor and co-creator of Studio 360 radio show

STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH
GREAT BOOKS
INFORMATION,
SPECIAL EVENTS AND OFFERS:

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

REQUEST A BROCHURE TODAY: