A review by tdowner
His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life by Jonathan Alter

3.0

I have lots of mixed feelings about this book. First, it's LONG: 800 pages, and only the last 40 or 50 detail his post-presidency years. The author seemed to be unbiased in his analysis of Carter's strengths and weaknesses. He clearly states when he felt that Carter or his advisors made poor choices, but also explains why many of the things the Carter administration was blamed for were the result of events that were beyond his control. There were so many "aha" moments, where i learned some small thing that Carter did for our country that I didn't know before.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but got bogged down in the political minutia, and was disappointed that the second half of Carter's life wasn't a bigger part of the story.