A Remarkable Mother [Hardcover]

Jimmy Carter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2012

"A Remarkable Mother" is President Carter's loving, admiring, wry homage to Miss Lillian Carter, who championed the underdog always, even when her son was president.

A registered nurse, pecan grower, university housemother, Peace Corps volunteer, public speaker, and renowned raconteur, Miss Lillian ignored the mores and prejudices of the racially segregated South of the Great Depression years. She was an avid supporter of the Brooklyn Dodgers (because she happened to attend the first major league baseball game in which Jackie Robinson, from Cairo, Georgia, played), was a favored guest on television talk shows (usually able to "steal the microphone" from hosts such as Johnny Carson and Walter Cronkite), and an important role model for the nation. Jimmy Carter's mother emerges from this portrait as redoubtable, generous, and forward-looking. He ascribes to her the inspiration for his own life's work of commitment and faith.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former president Carter (author of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid as well as many inspirational books) now offers readers the story of his extraordinary mother, Lillian Carter (1898–1983). After laying out some family history, he comes to Lillian's teen years, when she trained as a nurse at the onset of World War I. Health conditions in rural Georgia, especially later, during the Depression, were so dire that nurses were often diagnosticians as well as caregivers. Nursing also brought Lillian close to the black community, building personal bonds that paved the way for later political alliances. After her husband died, Lillian moved from wife and mother to full-fledged matriarch, and later volunteered for the Peace Corps and worked in India. Being able to help such needy people was intensely satisfying, although she never got preachy about it. She'd write home, for example, that the Indian doctor she worked with was so damned good you can't imagine him going to the bathroom. Modern readers who assume that church-going Southern Baptists don't swear, drink or work to promote birth control will find Lillian an eye-opener. She played an unofficial though vital role as the Carter administration's goodwill ambassador around the world—she almost persuaded our government to let Muhammad Ali bargain with Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini for our hostages taken in 1979. Carter offers wonderful stories about a great woman. B&w photos throughout. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (January 9, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416562451
• ISBN-13: 978-1416562450
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 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
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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!