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The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr.
He has been called America’s greatest ex-president, a man who lost the White House after one term but went on to become a respected spokesman for peace and human rights.
Burton Kaufman’s book on the Carter years was hailed as the best account of his administration. This new edition probes more deeply into Jimmy Carter’s approach to the presidency and the issues that he faced. It features more information on his foreign and environmental policies and expanded coverage of his personal background—both his upbringing and naval career—along with insights into his wife’s activist role.
Drawing on Carter’s previously unavailable Handwriting File, as well as on new oral histories and Carter’s own books, Burton and Scott Kaufman show the ways in which Carter had the opportunity—but failed—to be a successful transitional president. By the fall of 1978 he had become a more effective leader than during the first part of his presidency but could not undo his earlier mistakes and continued to make serious errors of political judgment.
Weighing achievements such as the Alaska Land Bill with shortcomings such as disarray within the White House and strained relations with Congress, the authors re-examine the world events that shaped Carter’s presidency, from Korea-gate and the Cuban boatlift to the Camp David accords and the Iran hostage crisis. They explore bureaucratic infighting over his human rights policies, describing how the administration’s position changed with greater emphasis on security issues after 1979; they also examine the issue of arms control in the light of newly opened Soviet archives and argue that the Vance-Brzezinski dispute was more profound than had originally been thought.
In the final analysis, the Kaufmans fault Carter for not crafting a coherent message that would offer the American people a vision on which to build a base of support and assure his success. As his reputation as an ex-president continues to grow, this updated book offers an even better understanding of his White House years.
Burton Kaufman’s book on the Carter years was hailed as the best account of his administration. This new edition probes more deeply into Jimmy Carter’s approach to the presidency and the issues that he faced. It features more information on his foreign and environmental policies and expanded coverage of his personal background—both his upbringing and naval career—along with insights into his wife’s activist role.
Drawing on Carter’s previously unavailable Handwriting File, as well as on new oral histories and Carter’s own books, Burton and Scott Kaufman show the ways in which Carter had the opportunity—but failed—to be a successful transitional president. By the fall of 1978 he had become a more effective leader than during the first part of his presidency but could not undo his earlier mistakes and continued to make serious errors of political judgment.
Weighing achievements such as the Alaska Land Bill with shortcomings such as disarray within the White House and strained relations with Congress, the authors re-examine the world events that shaped Carter’s presidency, from Korea-gate and the Cuban boatlift to the Camp David accords and the Iran hostage crisis. They explore bureaucratic infighting over his human rights policies, describing how the administration’s position changed with greater emphasis on security issues after 1979; they also examine the issue of arms control in the light of newly opened Soviet archives and argue that the Vance-Brzezinski dispute was more profound than had originally been thought.
In the final analysis, the Kaufmans fault Carter for not crafting a coherent message that would offer the American people a vision on which to build a base of support and assure his success. As his reputation as an ex-president continues to grow, this updated book offers an even better understanding of his White House years.
- GenresHistory
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 1993
37 people want to read
About the author
Burton I. Kaufman
15 books2 followersBurton I. Kaufman is a Professor Emeritus for the History Department in the Miami University of Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 29, 2018
3.5 This book focuses on the ups and downs of Carter's presidency. The authors seem to lean much on the polls in most of the chapters. Still, I got a solid impression of Carter's strengths, weaknesses , and the challenges encountered during his administration. The epilog was very engaging as it covered the many activities that Carter undertook for world peace and humanitarian effect after his presidency, and it could be argued - these activities and results were much more profound than those he experienced in the White House.
April 6, 2015
Several years ago, a young co-worker asked me about Jimmy Carter and my response was that he was a much better ex-president than he was a president. His subsequent work in areas such as Habitat for Humanity as well as international relations has been excellent. He has served as a goodwill ambassador, election monitor and has negotiated several international agreements that favored the United States. He has also continued to be a champion of human rights causes throughout the world.
Contrasting his success after his presidency with his performance while in office demonstrates the reasons why his presidency is generally assigned a mediocre grade. His idealism in championing human rights was the most obvious example of the truism that idealism may help get you elected, but it gets in the way of governing effectively. In the age of the cold war and international tensions, a cold, heartless pragmatism seems to be the only thing that works.
I found Kaufman’s explanations of the Carter presidency to be the most even-handed and honest that I have read. Carter made many mistakes, had some made for him and in other cases was just the victim of circumstances. Nevertheless, he did have some striking successes, the two most notable being the Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt and the treaty relinquishing the Panama canal. In these events, Carter showed how much potential he really had as a president. I remember when the networks pre-empted their regular programming as Carter, Sadat and Begin came back from Camp David with the agreement in hand. It was a stunning achievement and amazed the world. The magic of that moment is captured in the book, as well as the subsequent problems that continue to plague the region. Despite all the violence in the area of Palestine and Lebanon in the years since the accords were signed, the fact that Israel and Egypt still continue to have formal relations and are at peace show how sturdy those agreements are.
As someone who lived through those years and followed the Carter presidency in great detail, reading this book brought back a great deal of memories. Without attempting to boast, I do have an excellent memory, and the recounting of the events are all exactly as I remember them.
The author closes with a very important and often overlooked point. Carter’s presidency is considered a failure, and yet he refused to negotiate away anything in order to release the hostages in Iran. Reagan’s presidency is considered a success and yet he attempted a bribe for the release of the hostages in Lebanon by selling armaments to Iran. There is no doubt that on that point, Carter bests Reagan.
I would like to close this review with a personal point. Yes, Carter’s pushing of human rights did create problems. But, when you consider that some of those whose rights were being violated, Walesa in Poland and Havel in the Czech Republic, rose to the leadership of their nations, perhaps he was just ahead of his time.
This review also appears on Amazon
Contrasting his success after his presidency with his performance while in office demonstrates the reasons why his presidency is generally assigned a mediocre grade. His idealism in championing human rights was the most obvious example of the truism that idealism may help get you elected, but it gets in the way of governing effectively. In the age of the cold war and international tensions, a cold, heartless pragmatism seems to be the only thing that works.
I found Kaufman’s explanations of the Carter presidency to be the most even-handed and honest that I have read. Carter made many mistakes, had some made for him and in other cases was just the victim of circumstances. Nevertheless, he did have some striking successes, the two most notable being the Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt and the treaty relinquishing the Panama canal. In these events, Carter showed how much potential he really had as a president. I remember when the networks pre-empted their regular programming as Carter, Sadat and Begin came back from Camp David with the agreement in hand. It was a stunning achievement and amazed the world. The magic of that moment is captured in the book, as well as the subsequent problems that continue to plague the region. Despite all the violence in the area of Palestine and Lebanon in the years since the accords were signed, the fact that Israel and Egypt still continue to have formal relations and are at peace show how sturdy those agreements are.
As someone who lived through those years and followed the Carter presidency in great detail, reading this book brought back a great deal of memories. Without attempting to boast, I do have an excellent memory, and the recounting of the events are all exactly as I remember them.
The author closes with a very important and often overlooked point. Carter’s presidency is considered a failure, and yet he refused to negotiate away anything in order to release the hostages in Iran. Reagan’s presidency is considered a success and yet he attempted a bribe for the release of the hostages in Lebanon by selling armaments to Iran. There is no doubt that on that point, Carter bests Reagan.
I would like to close this review with a personal point. Yes, Carter’s pushing of human rights did create problems. But, when you consider that some of those whose rights were being violated, Walesa in Poland and Havel in the Czech Republic, rose to the leadership of their nations, perhaps he was just ahead of his time.
This review also appears on Amazon
December 27, 2009
Effective review of Carter's presidency but, unlike McCollough's biographies of John Adams and Harry Truman, this book maintains an external point of view without revealing much about Carter the man.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews