by Jimmy Carter
First published 2010
Jimmy Carter maintained a detailed personal diary throughout his presidency from 1977 to 1981, recording daily thoughts and candid assessments of the people and events around him. The diary captures his unfiltered views of cabinet members, congressional leaders, and foreign dignitaries like Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. Carter documents behind-the-scenes negotiations that produced the Camp David Accords, his advocacy for nuclear arms control and human rights, the Iranian hostage crisis, and his contentious 1980 reelection campaign against Ted Kennedy for the Democratic nomination. The original diary exceeded 5,000 pages when his term ended. Three decades later, Carter selected the most revealing entries and added retrospective commentary, offering his mature reflections on the challenges he faced and the lessons he learned in office.
Genres: history, 20th-century, autobiography, memoir, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: behind-the-scenes, memoir
Setting: White House, Camp David
Period: 1977-1981
570 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux