Customer Reviews

Jimmy Carter, American Moralist

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"Jimmy Carter - American moralist" is an excellently researched and well written biography of the 39th American president. It provides us with a fine introduction to the ex-president's private and public life. The book is very detailed in exploring Carter's childhood and early political career. Although I found that part interesting to read, I wish it had been as detailed on the account of his presidency. As a born-again Christian there is no doubt that morality played (and still plays) a major role both in Carter's private as well as public life. Unfortunately, strong moral and ethics is not enough to make a good leader and president (I think Bill Clinton is the best example on that...)

President Carter endured the lowest poll ratings ever to be recorded. And after leaving office he spent years as America's favorite guy to pick on. He dedicated himself to volunteer work, especially working with the organization "Habitat for Humanity". More than a decade would pass before he again, in the mid-90'ies, would enjoy life in the public limelight. In 1994 Atlanta Georgia, he got his (long overdue) tribute in bronze, his public ratings was again soaring, and he received invitations to join peace negotiating teams etc.

"Jimmy Carter - American moralist" (together with Powell's "My American Journey") was my introduction to reading about American politics and history. In this book, the author strikes a perfect balance between political jargon, facts and figures. And the result is a biography easy to read, even for lay readers like me. I learned a lot from reading this book, and it inspired me to continue to explore the field further.

An interesting biography!

The strength of this book lies in the depth of it's treatment of Jimmy Carter's formative years. It falls short on details of his governing years. Many conclusions are transparently flimsy but, for someone coming in with little knownledge of Carter's life like myself, it was an informative read.

Although Morris writes and interesting biography, the strength of the book is when he's telling Carter's story and the environment in which Carter acts. I found the psychoanalysis less compelling. I would have preferred if the author drew his conculsions in the text and relegated his descriptions of the school of sociological thought that a particular Carter behavior might have fit to the endnotes. Sociology too often interferes with a good story that Morris generally tells well, especially Carter's childhood. I wish the book had a more detailed account of Carter's Presidency. What's there is good, but more is needed. I thought the author offered many interesting political insights, but found his comparison of the economic record of Carter and his neighboring Presidents very poor. The economic analysis relies too heavily on comparing 4-year averages of certain indicators rather than describing what the trends were, what the causes were, and how well Carter acted to address the trends.

Jimmy Who? That was the question many American asked themselves during the 1976 presidential campaign. Who was this obscure southern governor positioning himself into the highest office in the land? Twenty-five years later, many Americans find themselves asking this exact same question despite a presidential term and a prominent life in volunteer work. While a full understanding of Jimmy Carter is impossible, Mr. Morris provides a fine introduction to his life. The author puts a strong emphasis on the role morality played both in Carter's private life and public image. The book is especially strong in exploring Carter's childhood and early political career - a topic that is neglected in every other Carter book. Less emphasis is placed on Carter's presidential term. Major incidents that shaped the late 1970s receive only a few pages each. What are we to make of Jimmy Carter's presidency? Even though the Southern Baptist may have been the most ethical and decent man to occupy the White House this century, the record is wanting, at best, miserable at worst. This is because Carter lacked any core vision of where he wanted to take his country. He never explained to voters or to himself the direction he wanted to take us. Further, in cases where Carter was more assertive, like energy policy, he was inexperienced in how Washington politics worked. He stumbled badly in his Congressional relations and he never constructed a loyal constituency out of the American public. There were some positives, such as the Egypt-Israel peace accords and legislation deregulating the airline and trucking industries. The Iran Hostage affair was a perplexing situation that would have frustrated any leader. But on economics and Cold War relations, the most important issues of Carter's term, his administration was especially inept. Even though Carter had private misgivings about Keynesianism, he couldn't bring himself to repudiate the tenets of social liberalism. Government spending surged under Carter's term. Inflation proved resistant to his wage and price contols. Under Carter's foreign policy team, detente continued to be a one-way street working to Moscow's advantage. It took a man with a far different perspective of the world, Ronald Regan, to reverse Carter's shortcomings. It is unfair to label Jimmy Carter a failure. Only the harshest critic can label a man who rose to the highest office in the land - and served with honesty and integrity- as a "failure." But Carter's presidency was constrained by a lack of vision, competence, and a failed ideology. The responsibility for this situation lies solely with this farmer's son from Plains.