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biographies, Jimmy Carter, Jonathan Alter, Kai Bird, presidential biographies, Presidents, Rosalynn Carter, Stuart Eizenstat
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died today at the age of 100. He was the oldest-ever former president of the United States. It is also worth noting that he was married to Rosalynn Carter for an impressive 77 years.
George H.W. Bush was the second-oldest former president, passing at the age of 94 in 2018. Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and John Adams take the next three spots (having lived to the ages of 93, 93, and 90, respectively).
Carter grew up in one of the toughest areas of the Deep South, without running water or electricity in a “assemble-it-yourself” kit home purchased from Sears. But he was a bright student with a gritty determination and tenacious demeanor. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1947 and spent a half-dozen years in the Navy. Next he turned to the family business: peanut farming.
But between 1963 and 1975 he embedded himself in Georgia politics as a state senator and then as governor. And in 1974 he announced his candidacy for president of the United States. Despite entering the race with virtually no national recognition, he defeated Gerald Ford to become the 39th president of the United States.
While I share the increasingly popular view that Carter’s presidency is widely under-appreciated, his four years in the White House sometimes seem the least exceptional years of his life. His 45-year post-presidency, however, is undeniably remarkable…and unmatched in American history among former presidents.
Although he could have retired to a life of comfort, solitude and introspection, he chose a path of service and humanitarianism. Among his many honors: the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, somewhat ironically, the 2017 Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service. There may never be a former president who better exemplifies grace, compassion and service to others than Jimmy Carter.
As part of my biographical tour de force from presidents Washington to Obama I read five biographies of Carter. Two stand out as excellent comprehensive biographies while one is particularly notable for its coverage of his tenure as president.
Jonathan Alter’s 2020 “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life” is my favorite of the bunch. Not the longest biography of the Carter biographies, it is probably the most well-balanced and thorough. Carter’s early life is quite well-covered, his presidency receives as much attention as most readers will desire and it includes a generously complete review of his post-presidency. There’s a great deal to like about this book. Rating: 4½ stars (Full review here)
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kai Bird’s “The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter” was published in 2021. Similar in length to Alter’s biography, Bird’s book focuses significantly less on Carter’s pre-presidency and proportionately more on his time in the White House. But because Carter’s early years are so important to understanding his persona, I prefer the more balanced approach Alter provides. Still, readers who choose Bird’s “The Outlier” will find themselves well-rewarded. Rating: 4 stars (Full review here)
Stuart Eizenstat was White House Domestic Policy Adviser during the Carter administration. As a result, he was afforded a front-row seat to much of Carter’s presidency. His old “White House notes” combined with insights gleaned from hundreds of interviews of other sources led to the gargantuan “President Carter: The White House Years” which was published in 2018. This notable book provides a thorough review of Carter’s presidency and brief but useful coverage of his pre-presidency. While this book may prove more “presidency” than some readers are seeking, it offers unique insights, surprisingly objective perspectives and uncommonly witty writing. Rating: 4 stars (Full review here)
For a more detailed look at my tour through Carter’s biographies, see The Best Biographies of Jimmy Carter.
My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies 
Thanks for the summary from your presidential reading. And for encouraging us to learn more about this great human being,
Karen T
Thank you, Steve, for this. Very helpful. I would add his own books are a good read and provide insight into the depth of this man. I loved his novel about Georgia during the Revolutionary War called The Hornet’s Nest. He wrote several books about his faith. He has left a legacy of intellect and inspiration.
Good Morning Steve, what is the difference between Dumas Malone’s Jefferson published by Brown and Co. and the same 6 volume set published by University of Virginia? Thank you, Rebekah
The original hardback series was published by Little, Brown & Co. but I believe it has been subsequently reproduced in paperback by the University of Virginia press (only somewhat ironically, the university founded by Thomas Jefferson and just down the street from Dumas Malone’s gravesite).
I love your website, Steve. I am immensely enjoying the words of the two-volume by Paige Smith on Adams and so looking forward to purchase the 6 volume set on Jefferson. It looks like you bought the 6 volumes in paperbacks from University of Virginia instead of the volumes published by Brown and Company. Why did you choose to use the University of Virginia publication?
Hi, Steve. I’m from Argentina, 31 years old and a huge fan of your speciality: great biographies as a useful tool to explore and learn History. I owe a great debt to your blog because it has provided me with resources on what are the better biographies for the most important presidents in American history, a subject that greatly interest me. In the past few years, I have bought several of those that you consider the best and have been enjoying them very much.
I have not finished a book yet, for my habit of reading several books at the same time and I tend to be a somewhat slow reader because of that. That said, there isn’t a book of those you graded and I acquired which I did not found utterly fascinating and very readable.
I have two of Chernow’s (Hamilton and Washington, the latter is absolutely terrific, I’m now on the period after the battles of Trenton and Princeton and admire very much that author’s prose and narrative/analytical skills), three of McCullogh’s (of which the only one I truly did read has been his John Adams), two of Robert Caro’s (the first two volumes of his LBJ series, very soon I will receive Master of the Senate and plan to buy The Passage of Power as well, while I hope he finishes the fifth volume as soon as possible, same as you and many others, I guess), and one of both Jean Edward Smith (Grant), Goodwin (Team of Rivals) and Meacham (Bush). Also have Andrew Roberts’ Churchill and Napoleon and Isaacson’s Jobs and Da Vinci. Plan to buy a book on Jimmy Carter, with whom I have some reservations regarding the recent positive revisionism but nonetheless consider a very interesting personality, White’s Lincoln, probably a biography of Eisenhower and of TR or FDR. I would like a biography on Reagan as well, but for what I read in this site there’s not yet any truly outstanding book on the life of the Gipper yet so I’ll wait.
My most sincere thanks and regards to you for your endeavor, of which so many myself included have benefited.
Thanks for your comment and for stopping by so frequently! I’m impressed at your multi-tasking – I’m incapable of reading more than one book at a time (or so I’ve convinced mysefl). The line-up of biographies you’re working (on or planning to get to soon) is nothing short of exceptional. If you could just take a year “off” and do little more than read those biographies…I’d say you would be in for a real treat!
Thanks for your kind words, Steve! It’s not easy to read several bios at the same time, but it’s something I have been doing for quite a while. So it is something natural for me, especially when I’m on holidays. I also have several biographies of my country’s founding fathers and of our late 19th century Presidents, almost all of whom are fascinating figures. I’m studying Journalism. One of my ultimate goals is to become a biographer myself, and have thought already about some subjects to write about. It’s a long way, but it’s not only for pleasure that I read those books, it’s a kind of a training, as well, to see what the best in this business (or should I say it art?) wrote, how they did it and “Can I learn/borrow something from them?” It’s really an amazing experience. At the minimum, I could write book reviews like you have done so magnificently here, and in fact I tend to share my opinions when I finish a book in my social media. All the best to you, and hope to keep reading new reviews from you at this page or the other you have about biographies in general!