His Very Best

September 1, 2020
Presidential historian Alter delivers the first full-length, comprehensive biography of Jimmy Carter. James Earl Carter Jr. (b. 1924), the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, can be "brisk--sometimes peevish--in private, with a biting wit beneath the patented smile." So writes Alter, observing that Carter, who cooperated with the author, was not always the nice guy of his public image. What irritates him most, it seems, is the widespread, almost canonical perception that he was weak. "I made many bold decisions," Carter insists, "almost all of which were difficult to implement and not especially popular." Alter demonstrates as much, meticulously unfolding proof of Carter's many accomplishments while just as carefully showing his missteps. High on the list of the latter was a managerial style that left Cabinet members to operate pretty much as they wished, leading to incoherence at times. However, his achievements, both during his presidency and after, are significant, as Alter capably demonstrates. The former naval officer (the title comes from a stern interview Carter endured with Hyman Rickover) tried not just to be a good man, but also to do his best every day. As Alter notes, one bit of evidence for this was that Carter never lied, unlike the current occupant of the White House. He also made significant advances in civil rights as governor of Georgia. Even though "some reporters were already thinking of him as a fluke," when he edged out Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election, he corralled a big-tent Democratic Congress and plenty of Republicans as well with a governing style that revealed "no distinct political ideology." Other achievements were further opening China after Richard Nixon first cracked the door and bringing Israel and Egypt together, if uneasily, for the Camp David Accords. Even the Panama Canal treaty, used by Ronald Reagan as a wedge issue, was successful, and though Carter faltered with respect to Iran's Islamic Revolution, he can be credited for broadening democracy around the world--for which he deserves greater appreciation. Students of recent presidential and world history will find Alter's anecdotally rich narrative immensely rewarding.

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September 7, 2020
Journalist Alter continues his study of Democratic presidents (after The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies) with a sweeping, meticulously-researched biography of Jimmy Carter. Contending that Carter is “perhaps the most misunderstood president in American history,” Alter sheds light on his rise from Georgia farm boy to naval nuclear engineer in the early days of atomic submarines, innovative peanut producer, governor of Georgia, and unlikely presidential candidate. Alter highlights Carter’s achievements in his one-term presidency, from the well-known (the Panama Canal Treaty, normalizing diplomatic relations with China, the Camp David Accords) to the more obscure (deregulation provisions that opened the door for craft beer production and more effective ground shipping options). Carter’s character flaws also come into focus, particularly his aloofness and prickly personality, as does his public silence on the civil rights movement as a county school board member and state senator, his legislative failures on tax and welfare reform, and his administration’s “undisciplined, disorganized, and poorly informed” response to the Iranian Revolution, which came back to haunt Carter during the hostage crisis that doomed his reelection campaign. Alter’s fluidly written account adds depth and nuance to the popular understanding of Carter’s presidency, yet his post–White House career gets short shrift. Still, this is an illuminating and persuasive reevaluation of Carter’s legacy.

Starred review from October 15, 2020
Voters who turned Jimmy Carter out of office in 1980 typically considered him utterly incompetent as a national leader, but many have later regarded him as a paragon of civic virtue during his post-presidential years. In this compelling new biography, Alter challenges both views. In unfolding his carefully researched narrative, Alter portrays Carter as far more successful in his labors as chief executive than is generally acknowledged. Readers do see Carter's inability to cope with the energy crisis, prolonged stagflation, or (most notably) the Iranian hostage crisis. But they also see his laudable yet often forgotten accomplishments In protecting the environment, advancing civil rights, strengthening the military, and confronting Soviet aggression. Alter especially details Carter's stunning triumph in negotiating a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. When he turns his attention to Carter's post-presidential years, Alter sees much to praise, highlighting particularly Carter's unflagging efforts to build homes for the poor in America, to eradicate parasitic diseases in Africa, and to advance democracy and human rights around the globe. But in this doer of good works, Alter repeatedly discerns an egotist unable to recognize his limitations, particularly when engaging in a freelance diplomacy that has frustrated his presidential successors (both Republican and Democrat). A balanced and complete portrait.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from October 1, 2020

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter (b. 1924) is not always well remembered. His term in office was fraught with a number of economic challenges, as well as the Iran Hostage Crisis. Alter (The Center Holds) presents a superb historical assessment of Carter's life that is more comprehensive than Peter Bourne's Jimmy Carter and Stuart Eizenstat's President Carter. Covering the politician's beginnings and experiences up to the present, based on numerous interviews with Carter himself, his family, and those who knew him throughout his career, Alter takes care to explain his subject, whom he describes as often feeling like an outsider. He traces Carter's upbringing as the eldest of four children during the Great Depression and working on the family farm to becoming involved in politics at the suggestion of his brother. Yet Alter also doesn't shy away from the complexities of the president's life, including his reluctance to support civil rights publicly for fear it would hurt his career. Insight is also given to his record on domestic policies as Georgia senator (1963-67) and governor (1971-75), and his time in the White House (1976-80) with the Camp David Accords. Through it all, Alter maintains, Carter relied on faith and family. VERDICT This thorough account of a remarkable life will have wide appeal.--Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames

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