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The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House
Reveals the range of activities in which former president Jimmy Carter has been involved since leaving office in 1980, his enormous influence in world politics, and his complex relationship with Fidel Castro and other world leaders. Reprint.
587 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1998
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About the author
Douglas Brinkley
126 books399 followersDouglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s new past master.” His most recent books are The Quiet World, The Wilderness Warrior, and The Great Deluge. Six of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He lives in Texas with his wife and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 1, 2020
Even being published in 1998, Douglas Brinkley's account of Jimmy Carter's life after his time in the White House leaves one in awe of the matchless stamina and drive possessed by the former president. Brinkley begins with Carter's 1980 defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan, and his final few lame-duck months in office. Dogged by the Iran hostage crisis that he seemingly could not solve, Carter was swept out of office in a Reagan landslide that ushered in a conservative era of American governance. Hardly anyone seemed sorry to see Carter go, with members of his own party distancing themselves from him for years afterwards.
Carter immediately turned his attention to establishing the Carter Center in Atlanta - an institute devoted to the spread of peace and democracy. He did not want it to be a think tank, although there would be some elements of that type of institution. Carter spent a lot of time fundraising for the Center, in conjunction with the building of his adjacent Presidential Library and Museum. Carter also embarked on a career as a writer, starting with his memoir Keeping Faith, getting up to ten books by the time Brinkley wrote this. That total, like Carter's world travels and constant efforts for peace, has only increased in the subsequent years.
One theme of the book is Carter's outlook: almost always forward-looking, with any reminiscences mostly reserved for his book writing. One way this manifest itself was in Carter's attitude towards the Americans who were held hostage at the American embassy in Iran for over a year. Freed on the very day that he left office, the hostages met with Carter in Germany. After that meeting, Carter quickly moved on from the ordeal, to the dismay of some of the newly freed men who had hoped to establish a connection with Carter. Another example is the Carter Presidential Library: Carter had little interest or involvement in its formation, instead devoting almost all of his energies on getting the Carter Center up and running. As someone who has been to the museum a few times, and really liked it, I was disappointed to read that it meant so little to Carter.
Carter's tireless peace-keeping efforts are on display throughout the entire book. The man just never stops. Constantly traveling, both domestically and internationally. Continuously meeting with current and former heads of state. Taking potshots at his presidential successors, and repeatedly going rogue whenever they reluctantly involved him in delicate missions. Becoming a somewhat reluctant yet not unwilling face for Habitat for Humanity. Monitoring elections. Attempting to eradicate river blindness and guinea worm. Devoting enormous chunks of time to furthering the democratic process in Third World countries, especially in Latin America and Africa. Just reading about all of his activities can be exhausting, and it is difficult to remember where Carter was and when. As one example, in 1994 alone he embarked on three difficult, different and highly dangerous missions: Haiti, North Korea, and Bosnia. Carter is willing to meet with anyone anywhere, regardless of their reputation. This can be both beneficial and detrimental to both him and whatever cause he is championing at the moment.
While Carter had a scattershot approach to his work, there were a few particular areas of the globe that he focused on more than the others. He made multiple trips to several countries in Africa, working to monitor elections and provide better healthcare by attempting to eliminate ravaging diseases. He spends a lot of time in Latin America, especially Central America. Carter played pivotal roles in elections in Nicaragua and Panama in particular, often being the only high-profile American who a dictator such as Manuel Noriega would listen to. And, Carter desperately wanted to see peace in the Middle East, expending much of his energy and time on the region, specifically in trying to cultivate a friendship with Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat.
Brinkley does a good job here: admiring of Carter's constant push to make the world a better place, yet always pointing out how Carter was frequently his own worst enemy, someone who basically popped off on CNN about the presidents who he was (ostensibly) trying to help. This is structured more topically than chronologically, although it moves in that direction as well. Occasionally, I thought that Brinkley came close to getting bogged down in details, especially with the Middle East chapters. While I understand the attention to detail, there comes a point where one gets tired of the minutiae about every little slight taken by Arafat and various Israeli leaders. The Central American chapters can feel like that a bit as well.
Brinkley reviews his difficult, contentious relationships with Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. Carter both benefited from his acute independence and willingness to speak his mind, and suffered for it as he came across as highly arrogant, stubborn, self-righteous and overbearing. As Brinkley notes on page 372: "To Clinton's wary new State Department team, Jimmy Carter apparently came across as a warmed-over Woodrow Wilson without the authority of office."
Now that over two decades have elapsed since Brinkley first wrote this book, it would be interesting to see what he would make with an expanded and updated version bringing Carter through the ensuing twenty years as he entered his 90s. Like this book, I am sure it would be worth reading.
Grade: A-
Carter immediately turned his attention to establishing the Carter Center in Atlanta - an institute devoted to the spread of peace and democracy. He did not want it to be a think tank, although there would be some elements of that type of institution. Carter spent a lot of time fundraising for the Center, in conjunction with the building of his adjacent Presidential Library and Museum. Carter also embarked on a career as a writer, starting with his memoir Keeping Faith, getting up to ten books by the time Brinkley wrote this. That total, like Carter's world travels and constant efforts for peace, has only increased in the subsequent years.
One theme of the book is Carter's outlook: almost always forward-looking, with any reminiscences mostly reserved for his book writing. One way this manifest itself was in Carter's attitude towards the Americans who were held hostage at the American embassy in Iran for over a year. Freed on the very day that he left office, the hostages met with Carter in Germany. After that meeting, Carter quickly moved on from the ordeal, to the dismay of some of the newly freed men who had hoped to establish a connection with Carter. Another example is the Carter Presidential Library: Carter had little interest or involvement in its formation, instead devoting almost all of his energies on getting the Carter Center up and running. As someone who has been to the museum a few times, and really liked it, I was disappointed to read that it meant so little to Carter.
Carter's tireless peace-keeping efforts are on display throughout the entire book. The man just never stops. Constantly traveling, both domestically and internationally. Continuously meeting with current and former heads of state. Taking potshots at his presidential successors, and repeatedly going rogue whenever they reluctantly involved him in delicate missions. Becoming a somewhat reluctant yet not unwilling face for Habitat for Humanity. Monitoring elections. Attempting to eradicate river blindness and guinea worm. Devoting enormous chunks of time to furthering the democratic process in Third World countries, especially in Latin America and Africa. Just reading about all of his activities can be exhausting, and it is difficult to remember where Carter was and when. As one example, in 1994 alone he embarked on three difficult, different and highly dangerous missions: Haiti, North Korea, and Bosnia. Carter is willing to meet with anyone anywhere, regardless of their reputation. This can be both beneficial and detrimental to both him and whatever cause he is championing at the moment.
While Carter had a scattershot approach to his work, there were a few particular areas of the globe that he focused on more than the others. He made multiple trips to several countries in Africa, working to monitor elections and provide better healthcare by attempting to eliminate ravaging diseases. He spends a lot of time in Latin America, especially Central America. Carter played pivotal roles in elections in Nicaragua and Panama in particular, often being the only high-profile American who a dictator such as Manuel Noriega would listen to. And, Carter desperately wanted to see peace in the Middle East, expending much of his energy and time on the region, specifically in trying to cultivate a friendship with Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat.
Brinkley does a good job here: admiring of Carter's constant push to make the world a better place, yet always pointing out how Carter was frequently his own worst enemy, someone who basically popped off on CNN about the presidents who he was (ostensibly) trying to help. This is structured more topically than chronologically, although it moves in that direction as well. Occasionally, I thought that Brinkley came close to getting bogged down in details, especially with the Middle East chapters. While I understand the attention to detail, there comes a point where one gets tired of the minutiae about every little slight taken by Arafat and various Israeli leaders. The Central American chapters can feel like that a bit as well.
Brinkley reviews his difficult, contentious relationships with Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. Carter both benefited from his acute independence and willingness to speak his mind, and suffered for it as he came across as highly arrogant, stubborn, self-righteous and overbearing. As Brinkley notes on page 372: "To Clinton's wary new State Department team, Jimmy Carter apparently came across as a warmed-over Woodrow Wilson without the authority of office."
Now that over two decades have elapsed since Brinkley first wrote this book, it would be interesting to see what he would make with an expanded and updated version bringing Carter through the ensuing twenty years as he entered his 90s. Like this book, I am sure it would be worth reading.
Grade: A-
September 10, 2018
https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2018...
Douglas Brinkley's “The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House” was published in 1998, seventeen years after Carter's presidency ended. Brinkley is a history professor at Rice University and the author of nearly two-dozen books including biographies of Walter Cronkite, Teddy Roosevelt and Gerald Ford.
Brinkley's "The Unfinished Presidency" is based on roughly two hundred interviews and nearly limitless access to both Carter and his personal papers. And while Brinkley initially set out to write a full-scale three-volume series on Carter, he decided to focus his efforts on his subject's unique post-presidency.
This biography quickly proves extremely readable, historically insightful and surprisingly captivating. During its 479 pages, Brinkley provides an occasionally critical - but often admiring and sympathetic - portrait of the 39th president and his post-presidency. And although the narrative often describes its subject using past tense (as though he was long gone), the book was published when Carter's retirement years were not even half-over.
It generally proceeds in a chronological manner but individual chapters frequently tackle his retirement years by focusing on specific subjects or topics. Almost without fail, chapters begin with a thoughtful introduction to the matter-at-hand and Brinkley consistently provides helpful historical context for whatever is being discussed.
The narrative begins with a diagnosis of Carter's failed bid for re-election in 1980 and by comparing the incoming and outgoing presidents in terms of style, politics and personality. Once the former president's retirement is underway, Brinkley escorts the reader on Carter's frenetic travels across the globe executing a variety of charitable missions: New York, Bosnia, Haiti, North Korea, Nicaragua, Panama, the Middle East and Yemen among the destinations.
Not content with simply re-hashing Carter's post-presidential diary, however, Brinkley frequently revisits times in his subject's past in order to provide a backstory or to introduce important characters. And while Brinkley does not set out to write a character study, what results from his close analysis of Carter's humanitarian missions is nothing less than an incisive study of the man's inner core.
For many readers, though, the detailed chapters covering Middle East tensions, seemingly intractable challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and corrupt politics in Central America can be dull and tedious. Fortunately, Brinkley finds a way to inject spice and insight into most topics to maintain reader interest. And his coverage of other subjects (such as Carter's first meeting with Fidel Castro, his relationship with Bill Clinton, and Amy Carter's rebellious collegiate endeavors) are tantalizing.
But much like Carter's hectic schedule in the early years of his retirement, the narrative tends to devolve into a scattershot jumble of topics and trips. And, somewhat similar to Stuart Eizenstat's recently-published book covering the Carter presidency, several chapters in this book dive deeper into topics than many readers will want to go.
Overall, however, Douglas Brinkley's coverage of the early decades of Jimmy Carter's post-presidency is excellent; it is filled with sharp insight, perceptive observations and cogent analysis. And while it may have been published a decade or more too soon (its subject is still ticking two decades later), this book provides an extraordinary window into his retirement years and, ultimately, his character.
Overall rating: 4 stars
Douglas Brinkley's “The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House” was published in 1998, seventeen years after Carter's presidency ended. Brinkley is a history professor at Rice University and the author of nearly two-dozen books including biographies of Walter Cronkite, Teddy Roosevelt and Gerald Ford.
Brinkley's "The Unfinished Presidency" is based on roughly two hundred interviews and nearly limitless access to both Carter and his personal papers. And while Brinkley initially set out to write a full-scale three-volume series on Carter, he decided to focus his efforts on his subject's unique post-presidency.
This biography quickly proves extremely readable, historically insightful and surprisingly captivating. During its 479 pages, Brinkley provides an occasionally critical - but often admiring and sympathetic - portrait of the 39th president and his post-presidency. And although the narrative often describes its subject using past tense (as though he was long gone), the book was published when Carter's retirement years were not even half-over.
It generally proceeds in a chronological manner but individual chapters frequently tackle his retirement years by focusing on specific subjects or topics. Almost without fail, chapters begin with a thoughtful introduction to the matter-at-hand and Brinkley consistently provides helpful historical context for whatever is being discussed.
The narrative begins with a diagnosis of Carter's failed bid for re-election in 1980 and by comparing the incoming and outgoing presidents in terms of style, politics and personality. Once the former president's retirement is underway, Brinkley escorts the reader on Carter's frenetic travels across the globe executing a variety of charitable missions: New York, Bosnia, Haiti, North Korea, Nicaragua, Panama, the Middle East and Yemen among the destinations.
Not content with simply re-hashing Carter's post-presidential diary, however, Brinkley frequently revisits times in his subject's past in order to provide a backstory or to introduce important characters. And while Brinkley does not set out to write a character study, what results from his close analysis of Carter's humanitarian missions is nothing less than an incisive study of the man's inner core.
For many readers, though, the detailed chapters covering Middle East tensions, seemingly intractable challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and corrupt politics in Central America can be dull and tedious. Fortunately, Brinkley finds a way to inject spice and insight into most topics to maintain reader interest. And his coverage of other subjects (such as Carter's first meeting with Fidel Castro, his relationship with Bill Clinton, and Amy Carter's rebellious collegiate endeavors) are tantalizing.
But much like Carter's hectic schedule in the early years of his retirement, the narrative tends to devolve into a scattershot jumble of topics and trips. And, somewhat similar to Stuart Eizenstat's recently-published book covering the Carter presidency, several chapters in this book dive deeper into topics than many readers will want to go.
Overall, however, Douglas Brinkley's coverage of the early decades of Jimmy Carter's post-presidency is excellent; it is filled with sharp insight, perceptive observations and cogent analysis. And while it may have been published a decade or more too soon (its subject is still ticking two decades later), this book provides an extraordinary window into his retirement years and, ultimately, his character.
Overall rating: 4 stars
September 25, 2010
My dad really likes Jimmy Carter and my mother-in-law can't stand him. Though he's a relatively contemporary president, I've never had a firm grasp of him and his history. I enjoyed this book, which gave a good sense of his character and accomplishments after the White House. It seems hard to argue that Carter is a moral man who tries to do the right thing, which is something in and of itself.
The following passage about Carter's presidency probably sums up my view of him: "When it was all over, pundits reviewing Carter's White House tenure applauded him most for what he didn't do. In a January 10, 1981, article entitled 'Not to Worry, Jimmy,' New York Times humorist Russell Baker imagined high-school students in the year 2081 preparing for a test on twentieth-century U.S. presidents by asking their teacher to tell them what Jimmy Carter had accomplished in the White House. 'I fancy the teacher will reflect a minute before saying something like, "Well, he really didn't do anything dreadful at all,"' Baker wrote. 'For the era of 1961-1981 that is not a bad notice from the history critics.'
"This sentiment was articulated even more succinctly by Carter speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg, who used to tell his liberal friends that, 'Jimmy Carter is the first president of my adult life who is not criminally insane.' Both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon had continued the war in Vietnam even though they knew it could not be won, just to save political face with the electorate. These presidents also taped associates' telephone conversations, sponsored covert assassinations by the CIA abroad, and harassed any number of citizens, including great civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy. Even the relatively benign Gerald Ford had sent eighteen U.S. servicemen to their deaths in the Mayaguez incident, all in the name of patriotism. 'It is wrong to kill people for no reason other than political gain or political fear,' Hertzberg explained. 'Jimmy Carter never did anything like that.'"
The following passage about Carter's presidency probably sums up my view of him: "When it was all over, pundits reviewing Carter's White House tenure applauded him most for what he didn't do. In a January 10, 1981, article entitled 'Not to Worry, Jimmy,' New York Times humorist Russell Baker imagined high-school students in the year 2081 preparing for a test on twentieth-century U.S. presidents by asking their teacher to tell them what Jimmy Carter had accomplished in the White House. 'I fancy the teacher will reflect a minute before saying something like, "Well, he really didn't do anything dreadful at all,"' Baker wrote. 'For the era of 1961-1981 that is not a bad notice from the history critics.'
"This sentiment was articulated even more succinctly by Carter speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg, who used to tell his liberal friends that, 'Jimmy Carter is the first president of my adult life who is not criminally insane.' Both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon had continued the war in Vietnam even though they knew it could not be won, just to save political face with the electorate. These presidents also taped associates' telephone conversations, sponsored covert assassinations by the CIA abroad, and harassed any number of citizens, including great civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy. Even the relatively benign Gerald Ford had sent eighteen U.S. servicemen to their deaths in the Mayaguez incident, all in the name of patriotism. 'It is wrong to kill people for no reason other than political gain or political fear,' Hertzberg explained. 'Jimmy Carter never did anything like that.'"
August 17, 2024
Carter's mantra - that peace, environmental quality, democracy and freedom are core human rights - might seem quaint or naive these days. But his dedication to advancing those ideals, along with decent housing and public health - was very real, most impressive and had tangible, measurable results. Especially in comparison to most of his fellow ex-presidents. Carter will not pick up another hammer - even as he continues to miraculously stay with us in hospice care - but he'll forever be a model to keep swinging for the fences of a just cause.
September 17, 2007
You know how Carter got pretty much whipped by Reagan in 1980? Yeah. You know how everybody pretty much hated Carter when he left office? Yeah. You know how everybody loves him now? Yeah. This is how he did it. A lot of Presidents have left office then become more popular as a citizen, but Carter has done it in a way no others have. This book chronicles how Carter has spent his years out of office, from his turbulent relationships with George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton to his efforts to broker peace throughout the world. It also treats with respect Carter's religious faith and explores how that faith guided him. An interesting look at Carter, and probably the least politically charged of the many books about him.
NC
NC
April 10, 2025
Imagine if this book had been written today. At already 400+ pages long, you'd need a whole other book to cover ALL of Carter's post-presidential work. As it is, The Unfinished Presidency was published in 1998 and covers Carter's activities (eradicating disease in Africa, monitoring elections, and brokering peace talks in the Middle East) from 1980 until 1998. At times, it was hard to keep track of all the Washington D.C. players mentioned within the book and all the conflicts happening around the world. (I guess that's why I'm not a politician.) Clearly, the author is biased toward Carter, though he does try to show that Carter had his flaws. Carter has always been my favorite President, and this book has been on my to-read list for years, so I'm glad that I finally finished it!
"Carter's beliefs were much more inclusive. Carter assailed the religious right as political propagandists more interested in the accoutrements of worldly power than in the love of Jesus Christ." - 55
"'what did Christ do with lepers?' Carter asked his Bible class in Plains. 'He had love for them. Even if we condemn what causes AIDS, we should have compassion for the victims.'" - 167
"Perturbed that Reagan viewed Middle East mediation as a 'low priority item', a discouraged Carter agreed with the position taken by Ashraf Ghorbal, a former Egyptian ambassador to Washington, that without active U.S. participation, the creation of a Palestinian homeland was 'doomed for failure.'" - 233
"Career diplomats, he reasoned, were afraid to damage their reputations by uttering the simple truth that the Israeli government ran an apartheid state that treated Palestinians as third-class citizens." - 238
"...an NBCL/Wall Street Journal poll would rank Carter has having the highest moral character of any president, with 67 percent of those surveyed giving him "very high" marks; Clinton hovered near the bottom with Nixon." - 479
"Carter's beliefs were much more inclusive. Carter assailed the religious right as political propagandists more interested in the accoutrements of worldly power than in the love of Jesus Christ." - 55
"'what did Christ do with lepers?' Carter asked his Bible class in Plains. 'He had love for them. Even if we condemn what causes AIDS, we should have compassion for the victims.'" - 167
"Perturbed that Reagan viewed Middle East mediation as a 'low priority item', a discouraged Carter agreed with the position taken by Ashraf Ghorbal, a former Egyptian ambassador to Washington, that without active U.S. participation, the creation of a Palestinian homeland was 'doomed for failure.'" - 233
"Career diplomats, he reasoned, were afraid to damage their reputations by uttering the simple truth that the Israeli government ran an apartheid state that treated Palestinians as third-class citizens." - 238
"...an NBCL/Wall Street Journal poll would rank Carter has having the highest moral character of any president, with 67 percent of those surveyed giving him "very high" marks; Clinton hovered near the bottom with Nixon." - 479
June 2, 2023
With former president, Jimmy Carter, in the news lately because of his age and health issues, I decided to read about him, so I read or listened to two of these books and read parts of the other ones. One you may want to avoid is "The Real Jimmy Carter" by a vicious Carter critic who calls Carter our worst ex-president (this was before Trump) and stoops low enough to make fun of Carter's face and smile. He also criticized Carter's strong commitment to diplomacy instead of using military violence even though, as another writer points out, it was probably that patient diplomacy which resulted in the hostages coming home safely instead of being murdered. One would think that in a time as now when 90% of war victims are innocent civilians, military violence would not be considered an option by any civilized country in any international conflict.
The other authors are all more honest and compassionate toward Carter pointing out his success with the Camp David agreement ending conflict between Egypt and Israel, and many other domestic and international accomplishments, some of which continued after he left the White House. Carter was way ahead of his time, promoting clean energy sources and even installing solar panels on the White House, which the backwards Reagan later ripped off as he turned the country toward dirty coal and fossil fuel sources.
Now we know that the hostages may not have been released because of an agreement between their captors and friends and supporters of Reagan, fearful that if released before the election, Carter would win another term. If he had won we would probably be much further along the path to clean energy and away from fossil fuels, and we might have avoided the wars against Iraq and the 9-11 terrorist attack. Two terms of Carter and much less of Reagan would have led to a safer, cleaner, and healthier world today.
The other authors are all more honest and compassionate toward Carter pointing out his success with the Camp David agreement ending conflict between Egypt and Israel, and many other domestic and international accomplishments, some of which continued after he left the White House. Carter was way ahead of his time, promoting clean energy sources and even installing solar panels on the White House, which the backwards Reagan later ripped off as he turned the country toward dirty coal and fossil fuel sources.
Now we know that the hostages may not have been released because of an agreement between their captors and friends and supporters of Reagan, fearful that if released before the election, Carter would win another term. If he had won we would probably be much further along the path to clean energy and away from fossil fuels, and we might have avoided the wars against Iraq and the 9-11 terrorist attack. Two terms of Carter and much less of Reagan would have led to a safer, cleaner, and healthier world today.
August 3, 2024
This book covers the time just after President Carter until the late 1990s. It's amazing that he found a way to continue working on his agenda without the weight of the U.S. government behind him. His energy, ideas, problem solving ability and stamina were amazing.
Instead of creating a presidential library that serves as a memorial to himself (think of Reagan's library), Carter created the Carter Center to be a vehicle for solving problems anywhere in the world. Fortunately he was so well respected outside of the U.S. that his initial successes occurred elsewhere. He put his effort into promoting peace, using diplomacy instead of weapons, and finding fresh solutions to problems. He is truly the best ex-president Americans have ever seen, and this is a model of how we might utilize our ex-presidents to continue to serve our country. I think time has shown that the Carter presidency did a lot of good things and he did get all of the Iranian hostages home safely.
Recommended. It is a long book with a lot of detail but well worth your time if you want to learn about presidential history from 1970s-1990s.
Instead of creating a presidential library that serves as a memorial to himself (think of Reagan's library), Carter created the Carter Center to be a vehicle for solving problems anywhere in the world. Fortunately he was so well respected outside of the U.S. that his initial successes occurred elsewhere. He put his effort into promoting peace, using diplomacy instead of weapons, and finding fresh solutions to problems. He is truly the best ex-president Americans have ever seen, and this is a model of how we might utilize our ex-presidents to continue to serve our country. I think time has shown that the Carter presidency did a lot of good things and he did get all of the Iranian hostages home safely.
Recommended. It is a long book with a lot of detail but well worth your time if you want to learn about presidential history from 1970s-1990s.
February 17, 2025
On page 296 of The Unfinished Presidency, Douglas Brinkley writes that former Beach Boy and rock and roll legend Brian Wilson had his legs run over by a train in 1987 while protesting the U.S. covert support of the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, and that Wilson was later an invited guest at a rally given by the Contras.
This was quite perplexing. As it happens, Brinkley appears to believe that Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and S. Brian Willson, a Vietnam veteran and peace activist, are the same person.
At this point in the text, there was no choice for me except to make The Unfinished Presidency an Unfinished Book.
A portion of the biography for Douglas Brinkley on Goodreads touts him as 'a professor of history at Rice University and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s new past master.”
Go figure.
This was quite perplexing. As it happens, Brinkley appears to believe that Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and S. Brian Willson, a Vietnam veteran and peace activist, are the same person.
At this point in the text, there was no choice for me except to make The Unfinished Presidency an Unfinished Book.
A portion of the biography for Douglas Brinkley on Goodreads touts him as 'a professor of history at Rice University and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s new past master.”
Go figure.
April 14, 2018
#20 of 120 books pledged to read during 2018
August 28, 2010
An excellent overview of Jimmy Carter's efforts at home and abroad. It's really a continuation of his presidential agenda on his terms. This book provides a mostly chronological timeline of the former president's accomplishments and activities as he adjusted to becoming a private citizen once more. While in Office, President Carter often struggled with Congress and the Government, but on his own, he has been able to accomplish many things that he could not while in an official capacity.
Brinkley's books can sometimes be long and detail heavy, but I think he found a nice balance in this book that is much shorter. Thus far that book has been moving quickly and is a great read even though I am certainly not a student of history or politics by any means. This book is honest and well researched, it doesn't sugarcoat what happened or cater to the President like many books written during the lifetime of the subject.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about this remarkable man and all that he has done for the nation and the world since leaving the fishbowl of the White House. A very good redemption for a man who was much criticized while in office for situations that were often out of his control.
Brinkley's books can sometimes be long and detail heavy, but I think he found a nice balance in this book that is much shorter. Thus far that book has been moving quickly and is a great read even though I am certainly not a student of history or politics by any means. This book is honest and well researched, it doesn't sugarcoat what happened or cater to the President like many books written during the lifetime of the subject.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about this remarkable man and all that he has done for the nation and the world since leaving the fishbowl of the White House. A very good redemption for a man who was much criticized while in office for situations that were often out of his control.
March 11, 2013
This was an objective and thoughtful look at Jimmy Carter's Presidency and it revealed his tenacity and toughness in withstanding the harshest of public criticism. After he lost the Presidency, he was almost bankrupt, but he was still able to create the Carter Center in Atlanta, with the grand ambition of instituting his two track diplomacy theory in pursuit of human rights and peace. There are many detailed accounts of his diplomatic efforts in North Korea, the Middle East, Serbia, Haiti, and Nicaragua; he successfully resolved many conflicts that would have perhaps ended in bloodshed. There are also many flaws that can be found in Jimmy Carter, as with any of us, we are all human and bound to the same traps that come with power and success.
His biggest accomplishment, in my opinion, and the lesson I have taken from him, is that even in disgrace and extreme public humiliation, having perseverance and determination will lead you to your goals. Never give up and always get back up when you fail.
His biggest accomplishment, in my opinion, and the lesson I have taken from him, is that even in disgrace and extreme public humiliation, having perseverance and determination will lead you to your goals. Never give up and always get back up when you fail.
December 13, 2010
Rating 4.5. Very well written and informative; I learned a great deal about Jimmy Carter and how many things he has been involved in since he left the White House. The amount of dedication that he and Roslyn have to their causes is truly inspiring. I was consistently amazed at the number of balls he kept in the air and how hard he worked at everything he did. I didn't always agree with what he did and often thought that he was naive in his view of events or individuals, but he meant to better the world and often stepped in where no one else would or could. Brinkley did a terrific job of informing his audience of not only what Carter did but gave all the necessary background and effect of everything as well.
May 29, 2013
This was an interesting book. Jimmy Carter did so much in world affairs after he left the presidency. The founding of the Carter Center in Atlanta was the beginning if his efforts to improve the world. Activities such as working to distribute vaccines to wipe out malaria smallpox guinea worm etc were fostered. His efforts to mediate world conflicts and supervise democratic elections in countries previously ruled by dictators was also a focal point. Lastly his efforts on behalf of habitat for humanity on a world wide basis were extraordinary Well worth the read.
October 11, 2015
Of all of the Presidents I think he has done a ton of good things for the world. Helping promote peach, still atking to world leaders, going to conferences to stay informed, he goes all the world and has stayed busy even now.
March 21, 2008
Certainly raised my admiration for Carter. In the context of those who came after him, he looks pretty good!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews