8 Books to Read About Jimmy Carter’s Life and Legacy

While new books on presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan pop up regularly on bookstore shelves, Jimmy Carter for a long time generated little attention from authors (other than Carter himself, who wrote 32 books on a wide variety of subjects after leaving office).

But in recent years, the Carter canon has grown substantially as historians found new reasons to explore his troubled administration and energetic post-presidency. Here is a selection of some of the most interesting books on his life and times.

The Outlier

By Kai Bird

Kai Bird, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, argues for a reassessment of the 39th president in this impressive book, which is focused mainly on the four years Carter was in the Oval Office. Like many who admired his post-presidential diplomacy and philanthropy, Bird once argued that Carter was the only president to use the White House as a steppingstone to greater achievements. But he came to believe Carter’s presidential years were profoundly underestimated.

Crown, 2021