In an American story of enduring importance, Jimmy Carter re-creates his Depression-era boyhood on a Georgia farm, before the civil rights movem... read full description
reviews
Feb 06, 2009
Zack
rated it: 
Jimmy Carter takes you on a trip to his hometown and describes in remarkable detail all facets of his life in rural Georgia during the Great Depression. His writing is easily accessible but not overly folksy: reading it, you sometimes forget he was the 39th President, but you never forget his eloquence and dignity. His tone is loving, and the book is pretty much a love-song to the vanishing (vanished?) rural South that raised him, warts and all. It's also fascinating to read what he has to say a
More...
Jul 10, 2011
Dora
rated it:
What a privilege to step inside the childhood of one of the most extraordinary living Americans. This is easily in the top 5 books I've read in 2011.
(by the way: I feel like this book never got the press it deserved because it came out late 2001... oops).
I wasn't expecting to read this in 48 hours... and yet, I couldn't put it down. This book, a collection of memories from Carter's upbringing in rural Georgia during the depression, paints such a vivid picture of that time an More...
(by the way: I feel like this book never got the press it deserved because it came out late 2001... oops).
I wasn't expecting to read this in 48 hours... and yet, I couldn't put it down. This book, a collection of memories from Carter's upbringing in rural Georgia during the depression, paints such a vivid picture of that time an More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 19, 2009
Aflack
rated it: 
I adore president Carter, so I when I happened to come across this book in the library, I decided to read it (finally-I had been wanting to read one of his books all along). As much as I was intrigued about his growing up, I found the book to be a little slow. I never completed reading the whole thing; however, I did manage to get a glimpse of president Carter's formative years that undoubtedly shaped him into the humanitarian he became.
President Carter talks about life in the south More...
President Carter talks about life in the south More...
Feb 05, 2011
Maggie
rated it: 
This well written memoir is essentially a slice of Jimmy Carter's life until he leaves for Annapolis in his Sophmore year of college. He shows you what his day-to-day life was like on his farm in Archery (a town which no longer exists) and at home and in school in Plains, and also gives you the background for his ancestors and his knowledge of and memories of his grandparents and parents.
What I found most fascinating was Jimmy Carter's view into every day life on his farm in the S More...
What I found most fascinating was Jimmy Carter's view into every day life on his farm in the S More...
May 18, 2009
Raymond
rated it:
This is a most engaging book - autobiography, re-creation of boyhood and coming of age - in rural Georgia of the late 1920s, on into the 1930s. This was still the segregated South, the South of the KKK. Fully 30 years before the civil rights movement burst forth. Hence the title, an hour before daylight. The Carters - the President, his mother, his father, his sisters - are fascinating, enlightened people. Jimmy Carter's farm friends were mostly black children and Jimmy thought almost nothing of
More...
Jan 19, 2009
Sonya
rated it:
During the '07-08 Presidential campaign, I became obsessed with Presidential history. I saw the bio-documentary on Carter--Jonathan Demme's MAN FROM PLAINS--and then began reading books by and about Carter. This one is lovely--a spare, quiet account of his childhood in Plains, GA. You learn so much about him--the man he is, the way he approached governing, why he may have failed as a politician and returned to Plains exactly the same person he was when he left. You get a deep sense of life o
More...
May 05, 2008
Todd
rated it:
The rural South in which Jimmy Carter grew up was a world increasingly unfamiliar to contemporary people. Carter's memoir will prove more and more valuable as time passes.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 26, 2010
Zachary
rated it:
I picked up this book at my in-laws mountain cabin two weeks ago. I enjoyed President Carter's writing style in contrast to the other presidential writings I've read recently. I've been working my way through numerous presidential biographies most of which, though thorough, were anything but personal. Pres. Carter meanders his way through his boyhood, adolesence, and young adulthood in and around Plains, GA. Many parts of it remind me of my own experiences as a boy growing up in the south. Howev
More...
Nov 06, 2010
Nolen
rated it:
Interesting study of a Southern boyhood. Although 22 years my senior there were several similar experiences with my own especially some of the stories concerning his Dad. Together they worked outdoors, hunted and went lots of places together. I can easily identify with the "simplier times" which younger generations will probably never know. Several of the family personalities are developed very well. The inconsistencies between close inter-racial relationships while still maintain
More...
Mar 27, 2011
Ken
rated it:
This book is a fascinating look at growing up in depression-era Georgia. Time and again the author dispels this reader’s preconceptions of living conditions, race relations, and rural life in general. Told in a breezy, chatty format (a little confusing at times, since it’s not strictly chronological), this book is a terriffic read, with choice anecdotes spread throughout.
If you’re a suburban guy like me, this book is almost a document of life on another planet. If you’re a Republican p More...
If you’re a suburban guy like me, this book is almost a document of life on another planet. If you’re a Republican p More...
Jan 01, 2012
Frederick
rated it:
Jimmy Carter's memoir of his childhood. The book talks about what it was like to grow up in the rural south during the depression. After reading the book, it was mysterious how he met and courted Roslynn, and what in his personality got him to the Governor's mansion and the White House. In other words, we learned much about the rural south, sharecropping, the New Deal, etc., but we learned very little about Jimmy Carter himself. It would be interesting to compare this book about Carter to a sim
More...
Dec 31, 2011
Kylene
rated it:
What I discovered about this book is it has less about politics and more about the time and place he grew up. I found it quite interesting to read a young boys take on the black-white relationships in the south when he was a boy. It was quite interesting to see how and why he became the man he did, whether or not you agree with him and his actions. Overall, this was a very good book and I really enjoyed it. So many times, I forgot that I was reading about a future president of our country. He ha
More...
Aug 20, 2009
Needhi
rated it:
its ok...i've read better depression era memoirs and his take on race relations in that era seemed a bit romanticized and naive to me. he acknowledges the racism that black people he grew up with must have suffered but complains about the loss of familiarity between blacks and whites today, as if that was not influenced by the power dynamic that must have existed. this is especially true given that most of the black people he grew up with worked for or rented land from his father.
Jul 02, 2010
Judith
rated it:
A lovely and haunting piece of work...conveys with quiet passion...its author's love for the place in which he grew up and where, he says, he expects to rest for eternity.
In this warm, almost sepia-toned narrative, Carter describes his relationships with his parents and with the five people--only two of whom were white--who most affected his early life. Best of all, however, Carter presents his sweetly nostalgic recollections of a lost America.
In this warm, almost sepia-toned narrative, Carter describes his relationships with his parents and with the five people--only two of whom were white--who most affected his early life. Best of all, however, Carter presents his sweetly nostalgic recollections of a lost America.
Apr 08, 2009
Kristine
rated it:
I read this because I read an excerpt of it in another book I read. It wasn't necessarily exciting but it kept my interest because my mom grew up in rural New Hampshire. While Jimmy Carter grew up in rural Georgia during roughly the same time period, I thought it was very interesting to read about rural life in the 1930s and 1940s. I also thought it was a very insightful description of segregation in the South.
Mar 09, 2011
Sunnykate11
rated it:
Every now and then I take a break from fiction for something else. I found this when browsing a table with books about and by various US presidents. This has been a very enjoyable journey into the past and given me new insight into Jimmy Carter, who I have always liked. His writing style is easy to get into, and while some parts move a bit slowly, still interesting. Lots of old photos as well.
Oct 13, 2009
Kris
rated it:
I'm really enjoying the portrait of rural South Georgia life and the simple beginnings of a modern President. In fact, he mentions 'presidential' things occasionally, but this is really about a small town boyhood, not about 'how to shape a man'.
I can't believe how hard these people worked and how little money/food/ etc people survived on. No wonder the closets in my house are small.
I can't believe how hard these people worked and how little money/food/ etc people survived on. No wonder the closets in my house are small.
Apr 28, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
I have a deep respect for Jimmy Carter and this book cemented that for me. It was so interesting to learn about Carter's childhood and young adulthood. I listened to the audio performed by one of my favorite readers, Tom Stechschulte. The stories were funny, poignant, and lesson bearing. I was pleased to find that Carter is a terrific writer. Can't wait to read more by him.
Mar 16, 2009
Wes
rated it:
Interesting if only from a historical perspective; depression era living, though the Carter's were clearly better off than most other working class people in the South. The book is really just a Carter family history, anecdotal and engaging - probably caters more toward fans of the former president and current humanitarian than his detractors, of which I am the former.
Jan 28, 2011
Wanda
rated it:
Written in a way that made this easy reading and you almost felt like President Carter was sitting and talking with you. Being a fourth-generation native Floridian, I know that my grandparents and great-grandparents would have had similar recollections of growing up on a farm. It mady my past heritage more accesible to me. A very pleasuable read!
Jan 12, 2011
Rick
rated it:
This is an insightful book. Carter writes about his childhood growing up on a farm in small town southern Georgia, during the Great Depression and the days when segregation was an accepted cultural fact. I liked how variuos people influenced his life, from a strong willed father to helpful Negroes who lived nearby.
Jan 05, 2011
Marilyn
rated it:
My favorite of his many books. It's an excellent picture of rural life in the South during the 20's and 30's. Enjoyed his lack of humility - he describes every aspect of how they lived, not like this is how a president was made, but what life was like for all.
Jul 09, 2009
Beenert
rated it:
This is a great book dealing with 1930s Southern Georgia. Jimmy Carter talks about everything from race issues, to farming to just being a boy. He is not the most eloquent writer by any means and sometimes the book felt badly edited, but still an enjoyable read.
Jul 29, 2009
Andrew
rated it:
I loved this book. Even though Carter is a generation older than I, I could totally relate to his description of growing up in a small town in the south. Even in my childhood, Blakely was so much like the things that he described.
Sep 27, 2011
Cara
rated it:
We're taking the kids to Plains in October, so we thought we'd do this as a read-aloud at bedtime. It's quite a memoir. We made it about 2/3 of the way through the book, covering most/all of Jimmy's childhood. We had lots of interesting conversations about sharecropping, race relations and other such things. Let's just say it is NOT a kids' book though.... I had to skim/skip some parts about the locals' taste in prostitutes etc... who knew Jimmy would include the seedier side of life? We dec
More...
Dec 21, 2010
This is a great book, displaying how easy we really have it in our culture today. Carter learned great lessons as a young man on the family farm, and this autobiography should be read by many an American teen!
Mar 09, 2010
Leslie
rated it:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some of the images painted by words brought me back to remembered scenes of my own childhood in rural MS and the blessed goodness that neighbors shared amongst themselves.
Mar 03, 2009
Tina
rated it:
A wonderful, intresting, yet simple story of how one of the greatest humanitarians of our time evolved. This book also gives us a good peek at life in the agricutural south during the depression.
Jun 12, 2011
Princessfaz
rated it:
This should be required reading for all teenagers. Its a perfect slice of what life was like back when Carter was a teen. Times sure have changed! Dont worry, he doesnt discuss politics. :)
Mar 10, 2009
Genie
rated it:
An enjoyable read, Mr. Carter gives a first hand view of growing up in the rural South. I enjoyed the description of daily life on a farm. An excellent historic account of the depression.
