Jimmy Carter: References & Edit History

Carter recorded his presidential memoirs in Keeping Faith (1982, reissued 1995). Other works by Carter include The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East, new ed. (1993), a discussion of Arab-Israeli relations, and Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems (1995), Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 9 vol. (1977–82), includes speeches and statements from 1977 to 1981.

Biographies of Carter include Betty Glad, Jimmy Carter: In Search of the Great White House (1980), which touches on all stages of Carter’s career through the presidency, as well as on the political implications of his self-image; and William Lee Miller, Yankee from Georgia: The Emergence of Jimmy Carter (1978), which portrays Carter as possessing a psychological makeup usually attributed to New England Puritanism. Gary M. Fink, Prelude to the Presidency (1980), discusses Carter’s goals and achievements as the governor of Georgia. Kenneth E. Morris, Jimmy Carter, American Moralist: The Life Story and Moral Legacy of Our Thirty-ninth President (1996), is a more recent biography.

Haynes Johnson, In the Absence of Power: Governing America (1980), examines the difficulties faced by the Carter administration in its dealings with Congress, the political bureaucracy, and the media. M. Glenn Abernathy, Dilys M. Hill, and Phil Williams (eds.), The Carter Years: The President and Policy Making (1984), provides an overview of the Carter presidency in a collection of essays. Carter’s self-image as the trustee of the public interest is covered in Erwin C. Hargrove, Jimmy Carter as President: Leadership and the Politics of the Public Good (1988); and Charles O. Jones, The Trusteeship Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the United States Congress (1988). Additional works focusing on Carter’s term as president include Garland A. Haas, Jimmy Carter and the Politics of Frustration (1992), a valuable introductory examination; Burton I. Kaufman, The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr. (1993); and Herbert D. Rosenbaum and Alexej Ugrinsky (eds.), The Presidency and Domestic Policies of Jimmy Carter (1994), a collection of papers from a conference on the Carter presidency.

Studies of foreign policy during the Carter presidency include two works by members of the Carter administration: Cyrus Vance, Hard Choices (1983); and Zbigniew Brzezinski, Power and Principle, rev. ed. (1985). Additional works covering foreign policy include Gaddis Smith, Morality, Reason, and Power: American Diplomacy in the Carter Years (1986); and Herbert D. Rosenbaum and Alexej Ugrinsky (eds.), Jimmy Carter: Foreign Policy and Post-Presidential Years (1994), collected conference papers. William B. Quandt, Camp David: Peacemaking and Politics (1986), highlights Carter’s role as the catalyst in the negotiations that resulted in the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The influence of the Carter administration’s human rights policy on its foreign policy is examined in Joshua Muravchik, The Uncertain Crusade: Jimmy Carter and the Dilemmas of Human Rights Policy (1986); and John Dumbrell, The Carter Presidency: A Re-evaluation, 2nd ed. (1995), including coverage of civil rights and women’s rights.

Carter’s two presidential election campaigns are reviewed in Jules Witcover, Marathon (1977), a report on the 1976 campaign; and Jack W. Germond and Jules Witcover, Blue Smoke and Mirrors (1981), an account of the unsuccessful 1980 campaign. Carter’s considerable accomplishments since leaving the White House are examined in Douglas Brinkley, The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House (1998). Other useful sources include Kenneth E. Morris, Jimmy Carter: American Moralist (1996); Peter G. Bourne, Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post-Presidency (1997); Julian E. Zelizer, Jimmy Carter (2010); and Randall Balmer, Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter (2014).

Rosalynn Carter, First Lady from Plains (1984), offers memoirs from her days in the White House and focuses not only on her responsibilities as first lady but also on the important events of the Carter presidency.