A Full Life

Reflections at Ninety

By: Jimmy Carter

Narrated by: Jimmy Carter

Grammy Award, Best Spoken Word Album, 2016

Jimmy Carter, 39th president, Nobel Peace Prize winner, international humanitarian, fisherman, reflects on his full and happy life with pride, humor, and a few second thoughts.

At 90, Jimmy Carter reflects on his public and private life with a frankness that is disarming. He adds detail and emotion about his youth in rural Georgia that he described in his magnificent An Hour Before Daylight. He discusses racism and the isolation of the Carters. He describes the brutality of the hazing regimen at Annapolis, how he nearly lost his life twice serving on submarines, and his amazing interview with Admiral Rickover. He describes the profound influence his mother had on him and how he admired his father even though he didn't emulate him. He admits that he decided to quit the navy and later enter politics without consulting his wife, Rosalynn, and how appalled he is in retrospect.

In A Full Life, Carter tells what he is proud of and what he might do differently. He discusses his regret at losing his reelection but how he and Rosalynn pushed on and made a new life and second and third rewarding careers. He is frank about the presidents who have succeeded him, world leaders, and his passions for the causes he cares most about, particularly the condition of women and the deprived people of the developing world.

This is a wise and moving look back from this remarkable man. Jimmy Carter has lived one of our great American lives - from rural obscurity to world fame, universal respect, and contentment. A Full Life is an extraordinary listen.

©2015 Jimmy Carter (P)2015 Simon & Schuster

Stimulating

I saw an interview with Jimmy Carter on the PBS Newshour, and that interview triggered me to buy the book. I was amazed at how much Carter has done and been in his ninety years. He has been Governor of Georgia, President of the United States, a naval officer, a cotton and peanut farmer, philanthropist and author. He also has been a professor at Emory University for the past 33 years. Carter has written over 30 books and one of the books was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, he also was a Nobel Peace prize recipient.

In this book Carter tells about his formative year growing up on a farm in Georgia. He goes into depth about his years at the United States Naval Academy and his eleven years in the Navy.

In the book Carter describes the race problems growing up and living in the Deep South throughout his lifespan. He describes the harassment and ostracizing his family faced because he voted for integration. He goes into his time working his way through local and state politics in Georgia. He states Plains schools did not admit a black student until 1962, thirteen years after the United States Supreme Courts Brown V Board of Education decision.

Carter briefly goes into his time as President but spends most of the rest of the book about life since he left office. He provided lots of information on the Carter Center and his role as a gadfly. The book also contains some of his poems. Jimmy Carter narrated the book himself. I understand the print version also has pictures of some of his paintings.

What a busy man

Amazing journey he has had. Learned so much about him. Would love to meet him someday.

A great man and story

Hearing the story of his life was amazing. He was even better than I realized. It is too bad Americans don’t appreciate him more.

Carter: Farmer and Navy Man! And Future President of U.S.

I loved President Carter’s Navy Experience; courage; and intelligence; I also loved his family history and personal story. His experience gave him a good foundation as a future President of the U.S. and Commander and Chief!

Integrity explained by a life

I liked connecting with the inside story which I had only followed by the media news and views of my generation. My conclusión is that hasty judgements and self interest are the causes of the US decline since the days of Regan.

Made me nostalgic

Where does A Full Life rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Nostalgic in several ways...I hit my early 20s when Carter became president. Lots going on the world. For me, living a year on a Kibbutz, meant Kissinger/Carter...Entebbe/uganda/the Shaw of Iran. Carter seemed to be to be voice of calm in a turbulent world. Then there is Carter the Man. He is the same age as my mother, something she was proud of when she was living, and she loved him. She went to his "Sunday School" class in Georgia several times. His accent and stories take me back to my trips to my mothers hometown in Mississippi. Share croppers, mixing of the races, playing in the fields and the simple times with lots of hard work...children and adults alike. Like my mother used to say, "we didnt know we were poor"! Best part of the book is listening to him read it. I Love his accent. Rural Southern dignity. I loved the stories, the honesty, the integrity of the man.

Jimmy Carter a great man in a challenging political situation that built an amazing career and successful life.

I think allot of great lessons can be gleaned from this book and some will never be learned. Today’s political polarization and a noisy atmosphere may be the justification one will need to listen to this great book. I respect Jimmy Carter, visited the Carter Center and was pleasantly surprised by his post political activism and achievements.

Excellent!

A fantastic insight to a most interesting American. A man way ahead of his time.

5 stars

This was a great read. Having President Carter narrate the book was especially good. He's easy to follow, and very honest. Definitely a recommended purchase.

A great memoir showing many wonderful details about the man Jimmy Carter

I really enjoyed this book. It opens a lot of the detail that I did not know about Jimmy Carter and also shows the greatness of the former president and his devotion to humanity.