A review by linzyerin
A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety by Jimmy Carter

3.0

This is my first memoir/firsthand account from a US president and it might be my last, at least for my current goal of reading biographies of the presidents in order. I didn’t know much about Jimmy Carter going into this, except that he was a Georgia peanut farmer and is often considered one of the worst presidents due to issues that happened during his administration, like the Iran hostage crisis. I have also heard a poll placed him as the nicest man to hold the office, and that’s easy to see through this book, where he shares endearing stories, reflects on things he would do differently, and expresses a genuine desire to make the world a better place (I was particularly impressed with the work of The Carter Center). He did some infuriating things, though, like deciding to leave the Navy and later to run for office, both without talking to his wife first. And he seems to get his feelings hurt easily by the press and other presidents. This book was a decent overview of his life, but it was occasionally confusing because I didn’t know the context of some of the national events he vaguely references. So while I appreciate hearing firsthand why the president did this or that, I think I’ll stick to scholarly books for the rest of the presidents.