Jennifer Hogan / Special to The Citizen

AUBURN -- Frank Ireland, of Seneca Falls, admits that he had never gave much thought to the historical importance of William Seward until he received a historical biography of Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet, written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, as a Christmas gift from his grandson.

"I have a completely different outlook on Seward and his historical significance since reading the book," he said Wednesday afternoon during a discussion of Goodwin's "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" at the Seward House in Auburn Wednesday. "It was a marvelous book. It seems to have taken a tremendous amount of research."

Ireland, who attended the discussion with his daughter, Beth Liberatone, of Auburn, said that he enjoyed the book so much that he plans to read it again in a few months.

"The first reading you tend to miss many things," he said. "The second reading helps you to notice many of the details."

Seward House executive director Peter Wisbey said the book includes a detailed mini biography of William Seward.

"The author spent a great amount of time here at the Seward House reading personal letters of the family," he said. "She became very interested in Seward's life. Her enthusiasm for Seward really comes through in this book."

According to Wisbey the 800-page book took more than 10 years of research to complete.

For more, read Thursday's Citizen