A Remarkable Mother [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Jimmy Carter (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Bessie Lillian Gordy Carter was a registered nurse, physicians' assistant, pecan grower, university housemother, nursing home manager, Peace Corps Volunteer, and renowned public speaker and raconteur. She ignored the restrictive mores and prejudices of the racially segregated South of the Great Depression years, and was an avid lifelong supporter of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers because she happened to attend the first major league baseball game in which Jackie Robinson, from Cairo, Georgia, ever played.

"Miz Lillie" was a favored guest on television talk shows, including those of Johnny Carson and Walter Cronkite, usually able to "steal the microphone" from her hosts.

Carter writes: "My mother was often gone from home when I was a boy, serving as a nurse on private duty in her patients' homes. She was supposed to receive six dollars for her twenty hours of service, but knew in advance that most of her families would never be able to pay. Since she came home around midnight to bathe and change into a fresh uniform, we children would sometimes miss seeing her for more than a week at a time. She would not forget, however, to leave written instructions on the front room table that prescribed our multiple chores."

President Carter loved his parents deeply and he particularly ascribes to his mother, the inspiration for his life's work.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Former President Carter offers this personal memoir concerning his relationship with his mother, Miss Lillian, who is equally as engaging and thoroughly appealing as her son. Reading with passion, honesty and clarity, Carter relates his mother's tale in a matter-of-fact manner. His Southern dialect and rolling tone are music to the ears of listeners, who will find themselves being whisked away to another time and place. With tales of escapades on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and her own views on the sectarian divide in the South, Lillian Carter steps into the spotlight so often occupied by her son and never ceases to disappoint. An exceptional audio experience! A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 18). (May)
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From Booklist

You don’t have to be a fan of the Carter presidency to acknowledge that he is a remarkable man. Husband, father, politician, farmer, humanitarian, and best-selling author top the list of his many accomplishments. According to Carter, much of the credit for this can be attributed to his mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, a remarkable woman in her own right. A woman decades ahead of her time, Miss Lillian—wife, mother, grandmother, registered nurse, civil rights advocate, legendary wit, and Peace Corps volunteer—enchanted the nation with her trademark combination of southern charm and fierce determination. This well-deserved tribute from a loving son hits all the high points of a woman well loved and a life well lived. --Margaret Flanagan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743571045
• ISBN-13: 978-0743571043
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,398,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Carter, Jimmy

More About the Author

Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, and served as thirty-ninth President of the United States. He and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that prevents and resolves conflicts, enhances freedom and democracy, and improves health around the world. He is the author of numerous books, including Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, An Hour Before Daylight and Our Endangered Values. He received a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy Award for his recording of Our Endangered Values. All of President Carter's proceeds from this series will go to the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American original, April 3, 2008

By 

Michael Poirier (RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Remarkable Mother (Hardcover)

This book was a gift, which appropriately came from my mother. President Carter was a remarkable president, but even more remarkable was his mother, Miss Lillian. The reader learns very quickly, how this hard working, no- holds-barred woman was the way she was and how she won over everyone she met. Her friends included Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, sports figures, heads of state, and the down-trodden. Miss Lillian saw people for who they were, not what they had. Although, her witty commentary could be viewed as sometimes embarrassing to the straight-laced person, she was beloved even more. This book is a fine tribute to one of America's greatest good will ambassadors.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understated Title, April 28, 2008

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Remarkable Mother (Thorndike Biography) (Hardcover)

Anyone who doesn't remember the Carter Presidency will meet in this book a truly extraordinary woman, as salty and outspoken as she was generous, good-hearted and commonsensical--perhaps the only President's mother in recent times (at least prior to the current occupant of the Oval Office) to make a noteworthy impression in public consciousness. For those who do remember her, Jimmy's fond (but not overly or needlessly sentimental) portrait will help clarify the origins of the qualities that were manifest on the surface. Rather than being a clinging or protective parent she was a "do-er," someone who taught by example. In many respects, she bears no small resemblance to the strong Southern black women with whom she had an affinity--a character with the integrity and resilience of Dilsey in Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury."

The entire Carter family--Miss Lillian, Ruth, and Billy--were utterly unique individuals, and little has been written about the personal grief that Jimmy must have endured upon the passing of his mother and both siblings, even as he continued to direct his attention toward humanitarian causes that would benefit a wider human family. Unfortunately, there is no Brother's or Sister's Day, but some of us hope the enviable energies of the former President do not fail him before he has had a chance to do at least equal justice by these two remaining members of a First Family that, however dissimilar in background and social status, attracted a level of interest not seen since the Kennedy era.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true heroine, April 14, 2008

By 

A. Kingsbury (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Remarkable Mother (Thorndike Biography) (Hardcover)

I read this wonderful book with great enjoyment. President Carter does a great job making this bio entertaining as well as inspiring. Lillian was not a saint but a very outspoken "live life to the fullest" woman.
I was impressed by her respectful treatment of African Americans and the great example she was to her son. She was a great help in meeting foreign dignitaries etc. A great read!