The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators, and Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry

by Steven F. Hayward

This book reveals a man who has been given a dangerously free pass by historians, but who in reality is not only a failed ex-president, but as vindictive as he is egotistical, and a self-righteous busybody who leaves disaster in his wake.

Genres: Politics, History, Biography, American History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 19, 2004

Reviews

[Don Incognito]

This book was obviously meant to be anti-Carter, based on the subtitle and the short length (at less than 250 pages before the index, I was disappointed), but it seems to be accurate. Having been born in 1980, I am fascinated by the 1970s, and I find Jimmy Carter more interesting than Bill Clinton, whose presidency I grew up in. Carter appears to be a sincere Christian, and more principled than Bill Clinton--it's just that he has different faults. Instead of being a weak man of appetites, Carter is principled, but is also arrogant and self-righteous, to the point of interfering in the diplomatic affairs of presidents Reagan, Clinton and W. Bush; but his being principled obviously didn't help him conduct an effective presidency (for crying out loud, the author relates in this book that Carter had a bunch of average people flown to Camp David so he could ask them what to do); and the author claims that despite being Christian, Carter is generally a malicious person, and eternally bitter about losing to Ronald Reagan in 1980.
This is a worthy book, but don't make it the only biography or criticism of Carter you read. If you can find it, read the out-of-print book *The President Who Failed: Carter out of Control*, by Mollenhall, written in or around 1980.

[Nick]

Repeats itself a bit, but it surprisingly gives Carter some credit, even though some attacks like on who funds habitat for humanity are a bit much. Best as a kind of political biography of the man and his influence rather than just one damn thing after another history. Like Hayward's Age of Reagan

[Nikoloz Zandukeli]

What a flop he was ! Total disaster. Domestic or foreign policy, no matter! No charisma, no political intuition, bunch of miscalculations ! Losing 44 states out of 50 for an acting president, what a shame !

[Roxanne]

Well I have wondered about this also, how much power should an Ex-President still have. I do not know that answer. I do not know why he could not deal the Iran hostages well. Should he be now roaming the world checking on things?

[Jean Barry]

Jimmy Carter is such an idiot.