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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
Poor Jimmy Carter was an unsuccessful president in many people's estimation, but in his life post-presidency he has been a great humanitarian. I've grown to admire him for his accomplishments and his humility, and this book added to my respect for him.
That said, however, his writing is amateurish, and that gets old. He has illustrated the book with prints of oil paintings he has done, and they're kind of embarrassingly basic. Also, he intersperses prose with poetry he has written, and the poetry is really bad.
So it's not great lit, but it's interesting to learn about Jimmy Carter.
That said, however, his writing is amateurish, and that gets old. He has illustrated the book with prints of oil paintings he has done, and they're kind of embarrassingly basic. Also, he intersperses prose with poetry he has written, and the poetry is really bad.
So it's not great lit, but it's interesting to learn about Jimmy Carter.
I was born in 1989, several years after Jimmy Carter ended his time in office. For most of my life, I heard him referred to as the worst president America had ever elected. As I grew, I began to admire him as a person because of his wise words on faith, politics, and his humanitarian work, and I rejected the notion that he was a bad president. But his autobiography has made me realize that maybe he is seen as a bad president because he is such a good person.
This book is a little dry and spends too much time on facts while spending too little time on his actual reflections. It does, however, give someone too young to remember his presidency greater insight into who Jimmy Carter was before and during his tenure as President of the United States. Though dry, Carter's words are easy to read and tell you what you need to know without being too longwinded. Despite not enjoying this book as much as I had anticipated, I look forward to reading other works by Carter that include more of his thoughts and opinions.
This book is a little dry and spends too much time on facts while spending too little time on his actual reflections. It does, however, give someone too young to remember his presidency greater insight into who Jimmy Carter was before and during his tenure as President of the United States. Though dry, Carter's words are easy to read and tell you what you need to know without being too longwinded. Despite not enjoying this book as much as I had anticipated, I look forward to reading other works by Carter that include more of his thoughts and opinions.
This is the first book by President Jimmy Carter that I've consumed. He's the first president I remember in office, and I remember my dad telling me he was voting for him in 1980 because, in part, as an educator, developing the Department of Education was a big factor. I've read a biography of Jimmy Carter, who tried to make his presidency seem more significant than I personally thought it was. And that's sort of what you get here. I did enjoy the stories the former president shared about his time growing up in Georgia and the years leading up to the presidency. The parts about the presidency, however, seemed kind of meh and while there were some great victories during his time in office, I thought the book was going to spend some time discussing his glorious and productive post-presidency life, which has been more consequential.
I got the audio book through the library's Libby app and highly recommend listening to this book if you want to hear it straight from the former president.
I got the audio book through the library's Libby app and highly recommend listening to this book if you want to hear it straight from the former president.
I am too young to have experienced his presidency, so I didn't know much about Jimmy Carter, the man nor the President. This was the first of his books that I've read, and I truly enjoyed listening to it, read by Carter himself. I admire his transparency and vulnerability, and was intrigued by all of the facets of his life, personal and professional. I look forward to adding more of his books to my shelf!
I loved this! I don't normally grab non-fiction, but I was needing a palate cleanser, and this one had been sitting on my TBR pile for awhile. I don't think that you have to be a huge fan of Carter as president to still recognize that he is a very good man. His humanitarian work is legendary and admirable. This is one of many books that Carter has written, this one written as he was turning 90(!). It is absolutely amazing. As the title says, Carter uses this book to reflect on important milestones in his life, beginning as a young boy in Georgia, traveling through his political career, and continuing into the incredible amount of work he did after his presidency. I loved his reflections on race, growing up in the Jim Crow south. He doesn't tell a story of one progressive family who pushes back against the racism of his time. Instead, he tells a nuanced and complicated story of how different members of dealt with a world changing around them. I loved his reflections on his life as a naval officer and the transition to the life of a farmer. Although this is a book of mostly positive reflections on his life, Carter doesn't hesitate to share some whoppers of mistakes he made in life. I cannot believe that he made the choice to abandon a promising career in the navy to return home and take over operations of the family farm without consulting Rosalyn (!!!). Craziness. His path into politics was fascinating as well. This isn't a man who grew up dreaming of being president of the United States. It was crazy to see just how random his path to president was. I can see why so many discounted him as a serious candidate. I can also see why he didn't have a particularly successful presidency when it came to public opinion. It seems as if Carter was involved in EVERYTHING. I mean, how many presidents have we had who could converse intelligently about nuclear technology because of actual real world experience? Super cool, but it must have been terribly frustrating to have so much knowledge and experience and then have to navigate the stupidity of Washington politics when facts don't often matter as much as how people FEEL about things. Ugh! I do realize that this is his memoir, so, of course, he is going to paint a lovely picture of his governing choices, but it did seem as if he accomplished some amazing things in a political climate that seems almost unreal when compared to the toxic political environment in our day. I thought his discussion of his deep religious convictions was lovely and sincere in a way we don't see often these days. I appreciated the way he described his relationship with ex-presidents, especially those of the opposing political party. But as much as I loved learning of his time as president, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by his talk of the humanitarian causes he undertook after leaving the presidency. He was relatively young when he lost the 1980 election, so there was a lot of life ahead of him. He could have chosen to make a fortune on the speaking/consultant circuit, but instead he worked to make the world around him better. Like I say ... he is a good, good man. While we have seen other politicians bitter in defeat, Carter turned his defeat to his good. Was he sad about losing? Yeah. But life moves on, and he has made a wonderful life for himself and the world around him.
He did a great job narrating this story. It is one that I didn't expect to love as much as I did, but I have found myself thinking and talking about it often in the days since I finished it. Five stars for this one. It was amazing!
He did a great job narrating this story. It is one that I didn't expect to love as much as I did, but I have found myself thinking and talking about it often in the days since I finished it. Five stars for this one. It was amazing!
This book was quite dry and tough to get through. It’s also not exactly what I was expecting based on the title. Not a bad book at all, I just went it with the wrong expectations.
Never really read or knew anything about Jimmy Carter and this book was a real eye opener. A good, honest person who was trying to do what he thought was best for his constituents, and willing to admit when he made mistakes.
Was a great entry into his life, as he tells stories about important moments in each stage of his life, and gives you a broad overview to decide if later on you want to read something that goes more in depth.
Was a great entry into his life, as he tells stories about important moments in each stage of his life, and gives you a broad overview to decide if later on you want to read something that goes more in depth.
Found the book full of disconnected anecdotes. Listening to the audiobook, this Yankee found some parts difficult to understand.