JIMMY CARTER

BOOK: Jimmy Carter: The Man and the Myth
Author: Victor Lasky
Written: 1979
Pages: 419

Sometimes when I read a book, I finish and just feel a little dirty. This is one of those books. While never a Jimmy Carter fan, I at least want to be objective as I read a book. Lasky has no such feeling.

The first line of the book says it all "He is, undoubtably, the most amazing man ever to become President of the United States. And he is, undoubtably, one of the more inept." For the next 400 pages, Lasky proceeds to recite nary a good thing about "Jimmah". At least he was consistent.

The book reads like a gilted lover's blog. Carter lied about this, talked out of both sides of his mouth about that, used politics to feed his ambition. Really now! A politician that placated the populous and used another party's poor luck and self inflicted wound (Watergate) for his own personal gain.

He then proceeds to talk about how the press villified Nixon but gave Carter a free pass even though his exploits were equally criminal. Jimmy used the press to step on everyone from George Wallace to Tip O'Neil. That excuse seems even more lame and tired after hearing it in a 24 hour news cycle.

The most compelling reading had little to do with Carter at all but more to do with the backlash of Jim Crow reform had on the South in the late sixties and early seventies. Cater took full advantage of that as one of the "New Southern Politicians". This part of the book is fascinating in how it depicts the fence-straddling Southerners of national ambition had to walk in order to stay loyal to the visons of the old South. Yet they had to conform to the laws passed down by a legislative body that did not have to live quite so close to the decisions it just made. The 1970's may have been an even tougher time for the South than the 1960's in many respects.

In retrospect, I would have been better off choosing a book about Carter's Presidency itself. I would like to have know more about the Energy Crisis, the Iran Hostage Situation, how his administration delt with inflation, etc. Since I do remember some of that, I would have liked a book with more meat.

RECOMMENDATION: The Man and the Myth does bring some interesting facets of Jimmy Carter too light. Only it does so like a Sean Hannity diatribe on a cable news network.

SOURCE: Half Price Book Store, Dallas, Texas (Courtesy of Trula Skaggs)

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