The Outlier: The Life and Presidency of Jimmy Carter
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- Create Date：2021-06-16 18:30:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kai Bird
- ISBN：0451495233
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Summary
An essential re-evaluation of the complex triumphs and tragedies of Jimmy Carter's presidential legacy--from the expert biographer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Prometheus
Ever since Ronald Reagan's landslide win in November 1980， pundits have labeled Jimmy Carter's single term in the White House a failed presidency。 But Carter's time as president is a compelling and underexplored story， marked by accomplishment and adversity。 In this deeply researched， brilliantly written account， the first full presidential biography of Jimmy Carter， Kai Bird approaches Carter's presidency with an expert hand， unfolding the story of Carter's four years with few allies inside Washington and a great many critics in the media。
As president， Carter was not merely an outsider， but indeed an outlier。 He was the only president in a century to grow up in the heart of the old confederacy， and though he held strongly to the separation of church and state， his born-again Christianity made him the most openly religious president in memory。 As Bird shows， this background manifested itself in an unusual complex of arrogance， humility， and candor that neither Washington nor America was prepared to embrace。 Forty years before today's broad public reckoning with the vast gulf between America's creed and its actions， Carter looked out over a nation torn by race， crippled by stagflation， and demoralized by both Watergate and Vietnam and prescribed a radical self-examination from which voters ultimately recoiled。 The cost of Carter's unshakeable belief in doing the right thing would be a second term--and the ascendance of Reagan。
The issues that Carter contended with in the late 1970s are still hotly debated today: national health care， growing inequality， energy independence， racism， immigration， the Israeli-Palestinian conflict。 Forty years after voters turned him out of the White House， Carter appears remarkably prescient on the major issues facing the country in the twenty-first century， even if in his own time he was a prophet scorned。
Drawing on interviews with members of Carter's administration as well as recently unclassified documents from his presidential library， Bird delivers a profoundly thorough， clear-eyed evaluation of a president whose legacy has been debated， dismissed， and misunderstood The Outlier is this generation's definitive account of an enigmatic presidency--as it really happened and as it is remembered in the American consciousness。
Ever since Ronald Reagan's landslide win in November 1980， pundits have labeled Jimmy Carter's single term in the White House a failed presidency。 But Carter's time as president is a compelling and underexplored story， marked by accomplishment and adversity。 In this deeply researched， brilliantly written account， the first full presidential biography of Jimmy Carter， Kai Bird approaches Carter's presidency with an expert hand， unfolding the story of Carter's four years with few allies inside Washington and a great many critics in the media。
As president， Carter was not merely an outsider， but indeed an outlier。 He was the only president in a century to grow up in the heart of the old confederacy， and though he held strongly to the separation of church and state， his born-again Christianity made him the most openly religious president in memory。 As Bird shows， this background manifested itself in an unusual complex of arrogance， humility， and candor that neither Washington nor America was prepared to embrace。 Forty years before today's broad public reckoning with the vast gulf between America's creed and its actions， Carter looked out over a nation torn by race， crippled by stagflation， and demoralized by both Watergate and Vietnam and prescribed a radical self-examination from which voters ultimately recoiled。 The cost of Carter's unshakeable belief in doing the right thing would be a second term--and the ascendance of Reagan。
The issues that Carter contended with in the late 1970s are still hotly debated today: national health care， growing inequality， energy independence， racism， immigration， the Israeli-Palestinian conflict。 Forty years after voters turned him out of the White House， Carter appears remarkably prescient on the major issues facing the country in the twenty-first century， even if in his own time he was a prophet scorned。
Drawing on interviews with members of Carter's administration as well as recently unclassified documents from his presidential library， Bird delivers a profoundly thorough， clear-eyed evaluation of a president whose legacy has been debated， dismissed， and misunderstood The Outlier is this generation's definitive account of an enigmatic presidency--as it really happened and as it is remembered in the American consciousness。
Reviews
Montzalee Wittmann
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The OutlierThe Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carterby Kai BirdCrown PublishingI want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this terrific book！Jimmy Carter has to be my favorite President。 Obama was good but even he had flaws he just hid them。 With Carter， he was open and honest and according to polls， people would rather have someone that breaks the rules a few times if it means getting things done。 Not me， I want someone with integrity and honestly！ But Carter did get things The OutlierThe Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carterby Kai BirdCrown PublishingI want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this terrific book！Jimmy Carter has to be my favorite President。 Obama was good but even he had flaws he just hid them。 With Carter， he was open and honest and according to polls， people would rather have someone that breaks the rules a few times if it means getting things done。 Not me， I want someone with integrity and honestly！ But Carter did get things done。 I think Carter's time in office was often bad timing on the world stage and other staged plots by Roy Cohn as described in the book。This follows Carter from his humble beginning on a farm with no running water or electricity to after his Presidency。 From boy， man， husband and soldier， to Senator， Governor， then to President and beyond。 It deals with family， friends， co-workers， his ideals， his accomplishments， and his failures。 It told how he was conservative on some things and liberal on others。 As Governor， and this really wasn't too different than when he was President， he worked for prison reform， education， climate and preserving land， childcare， hunger， and more。 But he also was ok with the death penalty for some cases。 As President， he was before his time in climate change。 He put solar panels on the White House。 （Of course ignorant Reagan took them down！） The only big problem he had was one of his main advisors was accused of cooking the books and the rest of his staff made the guy resign。 After the trial， he was proven innocent。 Roy Cohn later was the one that started it all to bring shame on Carter's legacy。 Carter's popularity went down due to that。He was working on the high inflation， about had it going in the right direction but not in time to save his election bid， and he should've cut defense spending and focused more on internal development。 But the was no wars but a hostage situation at the end of his term， again due to interference。 Overall， Carter manage to get the Panama deal， and several more international issues started or completed。 Social security running well。 Other major accomplishments we take for granted today。 He tried to get a universal healthcare but couldn't get it through。 Obama's healthcare piggybacked off of Carter's。 Carter， in his later 90's， is still helping humanity。 Still the honest， sweet man that did what he felt was right and didn't care what side of the political stick you were on。 This is a very informative and interesting look into a great man。 It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican， this is a story of a solid citizen， too honest for politics， but he accomplished things anyway！ Highly recommend！ 。。。more
J Earl
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The Outlier: The Life and Presidency of Jimmy Carter by Kai Bird is an enlightening reassessment of Carter's presidency by putting it in line with the rest of his life。 Doing so shows that what went right or wrong in his administration was less about doing the "wrong" thing but doing what he believed was the "right" thing regardless of political fallout or the impact on his reputation。 When embedded in a system that rewards corruption and rarely does the "right" thing because it is right， trying The Outlier: The Life and Presidency of Jimmy Carter by Kai Bird is an enlightening reassessment of Carter's presidency by putting it in line with the rest of his life。 Doing so shows that what went right or wrong in his administration was less about doing the "wrong" thing but doing what he believed was the "right" thing regardless of political fallout or the impact on his reputation。 When embedded in a system that rewards corruption and rarely does the "right" thing because it is right， trying to be fair and equitable becomes unpopular and comes largely to failure through efforts of those who want to undermine。What makes this such a compelling read is that Carter is not presented as some kind of saint， his mistakes and weak points are mentioned as well as his good。 But we see the consistency with which he leads his life。 So often in politics， some current new upcoming right wing terrorists that have been elected to Congress are perfect examples， when a politician gains a platform those who knew them before don't recognize them。 they change in big ways， not just shifting a bit on policy one way or another。 Carter has been， as a human being， far more consistent than most of us and definitely far more than almost all politicians。 Thus the dismal view of his term， we tried to do what he thought was right rather than what might get him reelected。 And the evil regime that followed threw American lives away in order to seal that fate。I would recommend this to those who would like to reconcile， in their minds， Carter's presidency with the Carter we have all come to respect in his post-presidency。 In addition， for those who appreciate a good biography that contextualizes the events rather than simply telling them will enjoy this book。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Brandon Westlake
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