mbedrosian's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
sarahfett's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually listen to audiobooks, but I've had commuting to do in the last month, so I checked this out from the library. Jimmy Carter has had a full life indeed! I admit that parts of the book dragged for me, but that was because of my lack of interest in certain political topics and not Carter's writing.
librarylapin's review against another edition
4.0
If you know anything about Jimmy Carter's life, you know he is an amazing human being. How to be an engineer and a poet, a farmer and an activist, a president and a feminist? This tells his story up to now. I really enjoyed the book but felt like he could only touch on any point because there was so much to tell.
bobbo49's review against another edition
3.0
That Jimmy Carter is able to write - and read his book aloud - in his nineties is simply amazing. That he has lived this impossibly full life, and inspired so many others with his service to his local, national and international communities, is awesome. This book is really a summary of what he has accomplished, and written about at length elsewhere - but ah, what a life it has been!
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
Ummm, no I'm sorry, but this book, isn't for me, despite me being a solid life long Democrat, even if I'm one with a bit of a Libertarian streak.
You know how when you read academic documents, they often start with an abstract, that acts as a synopsis for the article that follows? That's probably the best way to describe this book. It acts as a synopsis of Carter's life, but doesn't have the following article that follows. For that, you'd need to hunt through the other books Carter has written, and that's my biggest problem with this book. I shouldn't have to hunt this hard to have the follow-up. Don't get me wrong, it covers his life, it's just a bit of a breezy overview.
An other grumble relates to the old Garrison Keillor's description of Lake Wobegon (all the women are strong, men good looking, and children above average). That could almost be used to describe Carter's life. Given the work he's done ending conflicts, I have difficulty squaring his rose tinted spectacles with what he must have seen in his life, and that lessens the book for me.
My other grumble is how he sees other people. He sort of sets himself up as the "Great I Am", but derides other people. Being English by birth, the one that stands out is his description of the British in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, where he makes out the final resolution of the independence issue was pretty much down to him, which felt weird, as I have no recollection of the Americans being involved.
So all in all, my instinct is "Ummm, no", but if you want a brief and breezy overview of Carter's life, you might like it.
You know how when you read academic documents, they often start with an abstract, that acts as a synopsis for the article that follows? That's probably the best way to describe this book. It acts as a synopsis of Carter's life, but doesn't have the following article that follows. For that, you'd need to hunt through the other books Carter has written, and that's my biggest problem with this book. I shouldn't have to hunt this hard to have the follow-up. Don't get me wrong, it covers his life, it's just a bit of a breezy overview.
An other grumble relates to the old Garrison Keillor's description of Lake Wobegon (all the women are strong, men good looking, and children above average). That could almost be used to describe Carter's life. Given the work he's done ending conflicts, I have difficulty squaring his rose tinted spectacles with what he must have seen in his life, and that lessens the book for me.
My other grumble is how he sees other people. He sort of sets himself up as the "Great I Am", but derides other people. Being English by birth, the one that stands out is his description of the British in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, where he makes out the final resolution of the independence issue was pretty much down to him, which felt weird, as I have no recollection of the Americans being involved.
So all in all, my instinct is "Ummm, no", but if you want a brief and breezy overview of Carter's life, you might like it.
wadesworld's review against another edition
4.0
To summarize anyone’s life at 90 in under 250 pages is a feat - let alone the life of a 90-year-old former President. This book was insightful on so many facet’s of President Carter’s life & events in America. I highly recommend anyone pick this up, and I look forward to reading more of his work.
knitter22's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not going to review Carter's presidency, nor even the book really, just comment on the remarkable man I learned about in A Full Life. He fought for civil rights and equality, was an accomplished submariner, farmer, author, peacemaker, philanthropist, carpenter, teacher, and public servant. He has won the Nobel Peace Prize and been a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is also a poet and a painter, and examples of both of these appear in the book. As I write this, he is working on building 150 houses across Canada for Habitat for Humanity’s 34th Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
President Carter is an intelligent, thoughtful, and honest man, and I wonder if he may not have been considered a great president because he told the truth. He has made his life remarkable, and continues to do so even as he has aged. I couldn't help but be struck and saddened by the differences between President Carter and our current president.
Summer Book Bingo 2017 - Recommended by a family member
President Carter is an intelligent, thoughtful, and honest man, and I wonder if he may not have been considered a great president because he told the truth. He has made his life remarkable, and continues to do so even as he has aged. I couldn't help but be struck and saddened by the differences between President Carter and our current president.
I look back on those four years with peace and satisfaction, knowing that I did my best and had some notable accomplishments. Vice President Mondale summarized our administration by saying, "We told the truth, we obeyed the law, we kept the peace." I would add, "We championed human rights."If only.
My hope is that our leaders will capitalize on our country's most admirable qualities. We need to be a Superpower as a champion of peace, not war; we need to be a Superpower in being a champion of basic human rights, although we're now violating a good many of the basic principles of human rights. We need to be the most generous country in the world; the most dedicated to the essence of democracy and freedom.
I think that we should be a champion of peace, and a champion of human rights, and a champion of democracy, and a champion of freedom, a champion of generosity, a champion of environmental quality. Those things won't cost us anything. They will add the admiration, and support, and I think ultimately the economic benefit to our country.
Summer Book Bingo 2017 - Recommended by a family member