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President Carter: The White House Years Hardcover – Illustrated, April 24, 2018
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Stuart E. Eizenstat
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Print length1024 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherThomas Dunne Books
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Publication dateApril 24, 2018
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Dimensions6.62 x 2.12 x 9.59 inches
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ISBN-101250104556
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ISBN-13978-1250104557
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A comprehensive and persuasive account of Carter’s presidency that stands far above the familiar confessional and reveal-all accounts by former White House officials we are accustomed to reading. ... Eizenstat offers a compelling narrative filled with colorful stories ... Political junkies and presidential-history buffs will love this book. Eizenstat has succeeded in showing that the Carter presidency had a huge impact on American political life." ―The Washington Post
"Eizenstat has produced a thoughtful, measured and compelling account that bemoans Carter’s weaknesses even as it extols his strengths. It fills a gaping void on the presidential bookshelf. Until now, there has never been a satisfying full-length history of [Carter's] presidency. Eizenstat closes that gap." ―The New York Times
"Eizenstat’s account is fascinating: detailed, intimate, even page-turning... From Stuart Eizenstat, you can learn a great deal ― about Carter, sure, but also about the presidency at large." ―The National Review
"Rich and fascinating" ―Salon
"It's nearly 1,000 pages long, but...it moves like a rocket, as does he, with seamless writing and exhaustive detail, interviews with everybody and anybody." ―Neil Cavuto, Fox News
"Definitive book on Carter" ―The New Republic
"It’s clearly, even entertainingly written and worth reading even if you’re not a Carter fan or a student of modern American history or political science. ... To say 'President Carter' is the definitive history of the administration is an understatement." ―Atlanta Jewish Times
"Astonishing and instructive" ―The Weekly Standard
"An astute, often shocking, behind-the-scenes chronicle." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"An invaluable insider's perspective...this comprehensive, unflinching narrative and analytical treatment of Carter is essential for a new evaluation of an earnest, often exasperating, yet important figure in late 20th-century U.S. history." ―Library Journal (starred review)
"Eizenstat’s taut behind-the-scenes narrative gives readers unexpected reasons to appreciate Carter’s stunning accomplishment in negotiating peace between Egypt and Israel. A compelling reassessment of an oft-maligned chief executive." ―Booklist (starred review)
"President Carter: The White House Years adds tremendously to the growing historiography of the Carter presidency and deserves consideration as the seminal text for historians seeking to understand fully the tumultuous years of 1977-1981. A comprehensive and thorough chronicle of Jimmy Carter's presidency." ―Shelf Awareness
"Stuart Eizenstat’s book is something we rarely see ― an illuminating, vital and elegant combination of White House insider’s memoir and well-researched history. His excellent work shows us important new dimensions of Jimmy Carter and his Presidency and deserves to be widely read.”
―Michael Beschloss, NBC News Presidential Historian and New York Times bestselling author of The Conquerors
"Stuart Eizenstat has produced a knowing and insightful reassessment of President Carter's administration from the perspective of a clear-eyed insider. Based on his own experiences and hundreds of interviews, he shows how Carter's moral tone and under-appreciated accomplishments offer valuable lessons for our times. It's an important contribution to history."
―Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of The Innovators and Steve Jobs
"'People never did understand me and still don't,' Jimmy Carter has said. Stuart Eizenstat disproves the claim in this ultimate insider's account of our 39th President, which does for Carter what Robert Sherwood did for FDR, and Ted Sorensen for JFK. His access equaled by his objectivity, Eizenstat places the first New Democrat in historical perspective as a self-confident moralist impatient with incrementalism, uncomfortable with Washington's status quo and the politicians who defer to it. Clearly more consequential, and legislatively successful, than it appears in popular memory, Carter's presidency put a lasting stamp on energy and environmental policy, human rights and the tortuous pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Eizenstat makes it all matter in this highly readable narrative forty years in the making, and well worth the wait."
―Richard Norton Smith, Pulitzer Prize finalist for Thomas E. Dewey and His Times
“Stuart Eizenstat's beautifully written book will become an essential part of our understanding of the Jimmy Carter presidency and of the history of America in the 1970s. No one has described and analyzed the Carter White House and public challenges of the seventies more thoroughly and fairly. This is judicious history every professional historian would be proud to call their own.”
―Robert Dallek, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Unfinished Life and Pulitzer Prize for History finalist for Nixon and Kissinger
"Stuart Eizenstat's President Carter: The White House Years is an epic biography and first-class administrative history of our vastly underrated 39th president. Such Carter accomplishments as Camp David, the Panama Canal Treaty, Alaska Lands and formal recognition of China pile up in a dramatic fashion. The amount of new documentary evidence unearthed by Eizenstat is staggering. A landmark achievement!"
―Douglas Brinkley, CNN Historian and author of The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House
"Jimmy Carter was one of the most intriguing, and often-times misunderstood, presidents in U.S. history. President Carter: The White House Years, written by Stuart Eizenstat, the Carter Administration’s chief domestic policy adviser, provides an in-depth and inside look at the successes and failures of our nation’s 39th President. It is a compelling read for all interested in this period of American history."
―James A. Baker, III, Secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush, Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan, and White House Chief of Staff to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan
"History may judge Jimmy Carter guilty of too much humanity, but he lacked neither courage, nor conviction, nor, in the final analysis, real and lasting achievements. This is an important and long overdue assessment."
―Ted Koppel, broadcast journalist, former anchor of ABC's Nightline
"Stuart Eizenstat has poured heart and soul, reams of contemporaneous notes, lengthy interviews, and personal reflections into the definitive saga of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, with all its shining promise of a new beginning to its ultimate disappointment in the sands of the Middle East. I’m glad he has done so. It’s a fascinating read about life in the White House, day by day, week by week, called upon to respond to crises domestic and international, all complicated by political differences in the President’s own party....Eizenstat’s research and recollections remind us that the 'man from Georgia' was also a man of principle and substance, with substantial accomplishments in office."
―Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
"An admiring but also very frank account of Jimmy Carter’s presidency by the ultimate insider, Stuart Eizenstat. He’s honest about Carter’s weaknesses, as well as his strengths, and he reveals some details that have never been reported before. His summation of 'what ifs' at the end of the book makes haunting reading. This memoir reminds us that during the Carter years, we had a smart, decent but unlucky man in the Oval Office."
―David Ignatius, columnist, The Washington Post
“President Carter is an extraordinary reassessment of the first ‘New Democrat's’ presidency, combining Stu's recognized domestic and international policy range and depth with wonderful political, personal, institutional, and societal insights. This book is much more than a well-written and researched history: Stu reminds that Jimmy Carter was the first modern president who ran as an anti-Establishment populist, navigating currents of alienation that have continued to swirl around American politics."
―Robert B. Zoellick, former President of the World Bank, US Trade Representative, and Deputy Secretary of State
"Jimmy Carter may well be due for a revisionist wave. If so, Stu Eizenstat's important book will be seen as its cutting edge. As anyone who knows him would expect, Eizenstat’s book is tough-minded, thorough and thoughtful in making the case for a new view of the Carter Presidency. It deserves the close attention of anyone concerned with American history or politics."
―Larry Summers, Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton and former chairman of President Obama's National Economic Council
"With his President Carter: the White House Years, Stuart Eizenstat has delivered a masterpiece – presidential biography as it should be written. Eizenstat’s rich narrative is both endearing and unforgiving, tracking Carter from the earliest days on the campaign to his final, failed hours office trying to free Iranian hostages. The author delivers all the fly-on-the-wall authenticity of an insider, while at the same time providing the arms-length perspective and historical context of a skilled biographer. This groundbreaking book should prompt a reassessment of one of our least understood commanders-in-chief."
―Fred Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, and former Wall Street Journal Bureau Chief in Brussels
"What better time than now for a reevaluation of Jimmy Carter’s presidency? And who better to initiate it than Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director and one of his top advisors on the Mideast? No apologist, Eizenstat acknowledges Carter’s political weaknesses and studiously avoids excessive claims of greatness. President Carter is thus a first-rate work of analysis and history and a much-needed retrospective on a president who reflected great personal credit on the office he held and the country he served."
―Stanley Cloud, former White House correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief for Time magazine
“Eizenstat has given us a seminal reminder of the kind of president that we need in this dangerous world―and of the contribution a candid insider’s account can give to history’s understanding of a widely misunderstood president. As Eizenstat writes, Jimmy Carter was 'not a great president,' but he was a darned good one and, at the head of a functioning US government, accomplished much more than many others who have filled that post.”
―Douglas Besharov, Norman and Florence Brody Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy
"If you believe you know the full truth about the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, you’ll think twice after you read Stu Eizenstat’s fascinating, richly researched, insider accounts. Eizenstat has filled in a lot of blanks about the administration he loyally served. While he fully acknowledges major mistakes by Carter and his aides (including himself), the author makes a strong case that Carter’s four years in the Oval Office are due a serious reevaluation, and that Carter achieved far more than he is often credited with in the shorthand style of current history and commentary."
―Larry J. Sabato, professor, founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics
"Stuart Eizenstat has written an important book, a richly detailed account of the events and people of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, which may very well lead to history’s reevaluation of the 39th President."
―Stephen H. Hess, Senior Fellow Emeritus, The Brookings Institution
"An unflinchingly honest, comprehensive description and analysis of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Eizenstat’s reconstruction of Carter’s term offers detailed treatment of foreign and domestic policy issues, along with intriguing analysis of the politics of it all. He was a participant observer and activist who knew the players well. History benefits, as will scholars and other readers of this crisply written, carefully researched volume."
―Charles O. Jones, Hawkins Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison
"Stu makes it impossible not to see Carter’s genuine accomplishments at home and abroad and his daring to tackle problems others wouldn’t touch. It is a rare pleasure to read such a fair-minded and truthful book."
―Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus, Council on Foreign Relations
"This book provides an important corrective to the history of the Carter administration. Written by one of the president's closest and most influential advisers, it portrays the intricacies of presidential politics in compelling, balanced, and extremely readable prose. The discussion of events leading up to and through the Camp David peace accords is fascinating."
―Stephen J. Wayne, Professor of Government, Georgetown University
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : Thomas Dunne Books; Illustrated edition (April 24, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 1024 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250104556
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250104557
- Item Weight : 2.6 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.62 x 2.12 x 9.59 inches
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Best Sellers Rank:
#482,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,532 in US Presidents
- #3,034 in Political Leader Biographies
- #23,069 in United States History (Books)
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First of all, Carter left Plains Baptist Church in the 1970’s, not the 1960’s.
Second, it’s Knight-Ridder newspapers, not Knight-Rider.
Third, Carter was still Governor of Georgia when he appeared on What’s My Line in December 1973. He had 13 more months to serve as Governor.
Finally, and most egregious, MLK Jr was already dead when Carter was running for Governor in 1970.
I hope these errors are corrected in a future edition.
Books written by members of a Presidential administration are often score-settling and spiteful, or hagiographic retellings of how wonderful the President was. Eizenstat does neither, but produces a warts-and-all retelling of what happened and what was achieved by President Carter. Carter is a profoundly decent human being, who would make a great neighbor or best friend, but he is viewed as a hapless President that was overwhelmed by events.
But the author makes a very strong case for Carter leaving a profound mark on American society and on the world. The achievements are quite extensive, with highlights that include passing major energy policy legislation, which laid the groundwork for the steep decline in US oil use and improved efficiency, paying off by 1986 when global oil prices collapsed. He began the process of investing in renewable energy research, and 40 years later global installation of clean energy has now exceeded 1000 gigawatts, with much of it in the US. Deregulation of large sectors of the economy lowered costs for American consumers. Air travel came within reach of the most budget-conscious, when before 1977, it was a luxury of the jet set. Natural gas deregulation made cheap gas available to all, lowering heating costs, and natural gas is now the cheapest source of electric power, though renewables are set to beat it soon. He started the process of deregulating crude oil, helping to end gas lines forever, and trucking deregulation made freight shipping much cheaper.
Carter brought women and minorities into government in a major way. His appointment of Andrew Young to UN Ambassador showed the world an African-American representing the US. He appointed women to the Federal Courts in large numbers. He made the Vice-Presidency an office of real significance, one that in the past was not “worth a bucket of warm spit” in the words of a previous occupant (Harry Truman did not even know about the Manhattan Project when he became President).
In foreign policy Carter left a deep mark for the US. He negotiated the SALT II treaty which basically brought to a halt the expansion of strategic nuclear weapons, and while never ratified, Reagan and the Soviets both abided by the treaty. His willingness to return the Panama Canal to Panama had a major positive effect on US relations with Latin America, while his decision to make human rights a key goal of US foreign policy transformed the world. Latin America rapidly democratized over the next ten years, and many of the newly elected leaders thanked and credited Carter for making that possible. Reagan adopted the emphasis on human rights, expanding democracy to our East Asian allies, and using human rights as an effective tool to criticize the Soviet Union and communism. Human rights promotion remains a centerpiece of US policy.
Eizenstat spends several chapters on the Middle East. He details how Carter midwifed the Camp David Accords and the subsequent formal peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, which would never have happened without his hands-on efforts as Begin and Sadat could not stand to talk to each other. While to many Americans it seemed to not affect their lives, this treaty has been the cornerstone of US policy in the Middle East for 40 years. It has outlived countless Israeli Prime Ministers, Sadat, Mubarak, the Egyptian Brotherhood, and a revolution.
The Iran Hostage Crisis also gets lengthy treatment. The huge error of allowing the Shah to enter the US for medical treatment is explored, and how there was intense pressure within the White House and without on Carter to allow the Shah to come to the US. Carter with great foresight asked what he was to do if the Iranians responded by taking the embassy hostage, a question to which there was no answer. It turned out that the Shah’s leukemia could have been treated in many other countries, and there was no reason to let him in. The US Embassy, which had been reduced to a skeleton crew from a staff of hundreds, was taken hostage. Carter made a political error in allowing that situation to consume his Presidency. When North Korea took 80 US sailors hostage for 11 months in 1968 after it captured the USS Pueblo, LBJ did not turn that into the focus of his administration (albeit Vietnam was rather salient). Carter could have been much more aggressive against Iran, perhaps blockading their oil exports, but he had a singular focus on bringing the hostages back alive, and did not want to risk their lives.
Carter’s administration is in popular memory seen as a time of economic chaos and decline. It was in 1980, one of the worst years ever in postwar America with high inflation, gas lines, and a recession at the same time. But in the big picture, the 70’s and 80’s were not that different. GDP grew 37% in the 1970’s (Jan 71 to Jan 81), and 33% in the 1980’s. In Carter’s four years GDP grew 14% while Reagan’s first term saw growth of 13%. 20 million jobs were added in the 1970’s, and 18 million in the 1980’s, under Carter 10 million jobs were added, while Reagan’s first term saw net growth of 5 million, a further 11 million jobs were added in his second term.
What hurt Carter badly was inflation, which surged coming out of the 1974 recession, and reached double digits by 1979. Carter focused on controlling inflation through reducing the budget deficit and deregulating to improve economic efficiency. But both Republicans and Democrats in the 1970’s just didn’t understand how to bring down inflation. In the early 1970’s Nixon even imposed wage and price controls to dampen inflation, an unthinkable act for a Republican supposedly devoted to free markets. The only thing that would really work was tight money, meaning a Federal Reserve that was willing to raise interest rates to whatever level necessary to crush demand and choke inflation. Carter finally recognized that and appointed Paul Volcker to be Fed Chairman knowing full well this meant a sharp recession in 1980, and likely was going to kill his chances of re-election, which is what happened. Volcker ended up raising interest rates to 20% and drove unemployment to a peak of over 10% by 1982 before taking his foot off the brake and setting off an economic boom.
Eizenstat goes into detail about Carter’s shortcomings. He was not a natural politician, he had no ability to soothe the towering egos of Congress, and he was not able to give a little on a minor issue to get support on something more important. His desire to master detail was usually an asset, but sometimes would drown him in memos and analyses. His Georgia Mafia had a poor understanding of the legislative process, and turned off many Congressional leaders with their heavy-handed ways. His list of goals was so exhaustive it was hard for other Democrats to prioritize. He also knew he was President of a country that had shifted conservative setting up a clash with liberal Democrats wanting a return to the driver’s seat.
Eizenstat does not fully discuss the political fluke that was Carter. A one-term Georgia governor became President because of Watergate, but just barely. After 30 years of Democratic dominance built on a coalition of the solid but racist South and Northern liberals, the country had realigned to a Republican era dominated by a coalition of Western and Midwestern states along with Southern states. This coalition yielded four landslide wins from 1972-1988, with Carter the only exception as he was able to reassemble a solid South for the Democrats in 1976. But even if there was no hostage crisis and the economy was not quite so bad in 1980, it was unlikely in my view he could have pulled it off again. The South was slipping away from liberal Democrats, and Carter was not going to be able to play the “Son of the South” card a second time around. It would take another 12 years for a new Democratic coalition to form around the upper Midwest, Northeast, and Pacific Coast to make the Democrats competitive without the South.
If you are looking to read a polemic for or against Carter this is not the book. In our deeply polarized times it is hard to take a dispassionate look at a Presidency that many of us lived through. Eizenstat has written a serious work of scholarship and what up to now must be considered the definitive book on the Carter years. He makes a compelling case that much of modern America has been shaped by decisions and policies that Carter was responsible for. In his post-Presidency Carter has cut an almost saintly figure, but his actual Presidency was more consequential than is generally understood.
On the other hand, I did come away knowing a lot more about Jimmy Carter than ever before.
But this book would have been much better with rigorous editing in general and, especially, sharp copy-editing in particular. Seems that they just published the notes from Eizenstat's many yellow legal pads.
Intelligently written book, gives amazing behind the scenes insights into the regrettably only single term presidency.. The personalities of Cabinet's members, and backgrounds to decisions, which were monumetal at the time (i.e.: Peace Accords) for our world!!
Very important book, which should be read by all to understand how our government works.
* Most voters in this country need to be better informed about the process of how Presidency functions, and this is an uplifting book that could be a fantastic learning tool in that regard, as well!
Great, fascinating read!!
















