A Remarkable Mother

by Jimmy Carter

"A Remarkable Mother" is President Carter's loving, admiring, wry homage to Miss Lillian Carter, who championed the underdog always, even when her son was president. A registered nurse, pecan grower, university housemother, Peace Corps volunteer, public speaker, and renowned raconteur, Miss Lillian ignored the mores and prejudices of the racially segregated South of the Great Depression years. She was an avid supporter of the Brooklyn Dodgers (because she happened to attend the first major league baseball game in which Jackie Robinson, from Cairo, Georgia, played), was a favored guest on television talk shows (usually able to "steal the microphone" from hosts such as Johnny Carson and Walter Cronkite), and an important role model for the nation. Jimmy Carter's mother emerges from this portrait as redoubtable, generous, and forward-looking. He ascribes to her the inspiration for his own life's work of commitment and faith.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Biography Memoir, History, Presidents

222 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

James Earl Carter, Junior, known as Jimmy, the thirty-ninth president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, creditably established energy-conservation measures, concluded the treaties of Panama Canal in 1978, negotiated the accords of Camp David between Egypt and Israel in 1979, and won the Nobel Prize of 2002 for peace.

Ronald Wilson Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter, the incumbent, in the presidential election of 1980.

He served and received. Carter served two terms in the senate of Georgia and as the 76th governor from 1971 to 1975.

Carter created new Cabinet-level Department of education. A national policy included price decontrol and new technology. From 1977, people reduced foreign oil imports one-half to 1982. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the second round of strategic arms limitation talks (SALT). Carter sought to put a stronger emphasis on human rights in 1979. People saw his return of the zone as a major concession of influence in Latin America, and Carter came under heavy criticism.

Iranian students in 1979 took over the American embassy and held hostages, and an attempt to rescue them failed; several additional major crises, including serious fuel shortages and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, marked the final year of his tenure. Edward Moore Kennedy challenged significantly higher disapproval ratings of Carter for nomination of the Democratic Party before the election of 1980. Carter defeated Kennedy for the nomination lost the election to Ronald Wilson Reagan, a Republican.

Carter left office and with Rosalynn Smith Carter, his wife, afterward founded the nongovernmental center and organization that works to advance human rights. He traveled extensively to conduct, to observe elections, and to advance disease prevention and eradication in developing nations. He, a key, also figured in the project of habitat for humanity. Carter particularly vocalized on the Palestinian conflict.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jimmyc...

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

2012 REVIEW:
What an amazing woman, mother, and humanitarian (went into the Peace Corps at 68!) she loved her family, Loved the community no matter what their color/ethnicity was and she loved her soap operas! Sad that her husband, 2 daughters, son Billy and her own life was cut short from pancreatic cancer.


2015 REVIEW:
I re-read this book once again. I'm the kid who loved watching The Homecoming and later on TV, The Walton's. The life the Carters lived in Georgia, was somewhat like Waltons. Jimmy Carter lost almost all his siblings and parents, and unfortunately, Jimmy Carter has just been diagnosed with brain cancer. Most of his family, died from Pancreatic Cancer. Pray for Jimmy Carter.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkably intimate look into the life of President Carter and his relationship with his mother. The back cover photo shows the real hard scrabble life they led during the early years. She lived a life of white privilege during a time when it wasn’t so much better than their African neighbors.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed reading this book about Mrs. Lillian. What a fascinating woman she was. It amazes me how much energy and spunk she had in her later years. There is one part of the book that I will share with you that I felt was very amusing:

After Jimmy's inaugural speech,

Press Secretary Jody Powell shouted, "Let's stay close together, and don't any of you talk to the press." Mama stopped and said, "Jody, you can go to hell. I'll talk to whom I please." she was immediately surrounded by television and radio microphones, and the first question was, "Miss Lillian, aren't you proud of your son?" I leaned forward to hear her answer: "Which one?"

What a pistol Miss Lillian was back then. Great lady. Great book. Love every bit of it.

[Noelle Kukenas · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading several of President Carter's books, I recognize a few of the stories mentioned between these pages, but he includes lots of 'new' stories as well. The devotion he had for his mother did not cloud his perspective and the author is honest while being discreet about some of the adventures of 'Miss Lillian.' I hope I am half the woman she was if I am fortunate enough to live a long life.

[Magdalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the Political realm of the Carter family Lillian Carter has been depicted as a whimsical, open-minded woman, who knows how to be herself in all kinds of situations and whose son, Jimmy Carter, greatly benefited from her presence during his presidency. It's the kind of American tale you rarely hear of and the kind that gives you hope as you remember the family that you have and came from....overall, I'd read this once a year at least, to recreate that spark of inspiration within.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Mother-in-law gave me this book to read! Excellent! Lillian Carter was indeed a remarkable mother and woman. Miss Lillian ignored prejudices, loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a favored guest on talk shows. She was generous to a fault and committed to great causes. Defintley a good, fast read.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every mother would relish a son who felt this way about her. What a remarkable writer and storyteller Jimmy Carter is!

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite books. A must read.Jimmy's mother was simply amazing. Very simple and uncomplex.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have started driving on a regular basis (2 days per week) and I am behind on my reading goals, so I wanted an audiobook. This is the only one I had on my shelf and I was a little worried, because the last audiobook read by President Carter was about policy and was hard to listen to for any length of time because he cited numbers and such which are harder for me to follow in audio format. Luckily, Miss Lillian was a character and Jimmy Carter loved his Mama, so this made for a livelier experience.

I was very young in the Carter years and I only knew that Miss Lillian had a feisty reputation but very little of the details of her personality. I was so impressed by her work in the Peace Corps in her later years and her views on racial equality, women's rights, and general decency. This gave me a real sense of where Jimmy Carter got much of his outlook on life, including the lack of snobbery and political sophistication which gave him so much trouble once he got into office. Miss Lillian and Rosalyn were clearly very influential in shaping his approach as a grassroots campaigner and were effective in helping humanize him to the voters.

I was impressed by the friendships Miss Lillian made, even before Jimmy became President and some before he was governor of Georgia, including Johnny Carson and Muhammad Ali. She followed sports more avidly than politics and was a champion of integration in all aspects of life despite being from a rural town in southern Georgia where popular opinion would make it unlikely. Her career as a nurse was important to her and played a big role in her service in India, which gave her experience that made her valuable to the Carter Administration as a second-level personal ambassador. And she was never afraid to speak her mind, with a lot of the quotes in the book being good for a chuckle or even the occasional guffaw. I was glad to have the chance to get to know her through this book and I think the title is an accurate portrayal of who she was -- or a part of who she was, because she was remarkable in many ways.

[Josh Kitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I want to ask you a question,” the reporter said. “Your son ran for the presidency on the premise that he would always tell the truth. Has he ever lied?”

Mrs. Carter said, “I think he’s truthful. I think you can depend on his word.”

The reporter again asked if he had ever lied in his entire life.

His mother said, “Well, I guess maybe he’s told a little white lie.”

“Ah, see there!” the reporter exclaimed. “He’s lied! If he told a white lie, he has lied.”

The reporter was still not satisfied and asked her, “What is a white lie?”

And then Lillian Carter said, “It’s like a moment ago when you knocked on the door and I went to the door and said you looked nice and I was glad to see you.”

[Amy Roebuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite parts were about Lillian's Peace Corps work in India, and her quiet but effective efforts for civil rights long before the 60's.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but satisfying book about former President Jimmy Carter's mother, "Miss Lillian" Carter. Many anecdotes and amusing stories about events during her entire life, particularly when, in her late 60s, she signed up for the Peace Corps and spent two years nursing the sick in a small village in India. She did not hold back on expressing her opinions and Carter tells about many of her blunt remarks she made to various people, which are hilarious. A loving memoir of, truly, a remarkable mother.

**#107 of 120 books pledged to read/review in 2016**
#25 of 120 books pledged to read during 2023

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, mostly about Miss Lillian's years when she was young (through her 70s!). Jimmy Carter obviously idolizes her, but it was quite obvious that when he was president everybody spent some time crossing their fingers and hoping she wouldn't do or say something that would cause a big problem. She was quite a spunky person (understatement!!)

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great piece of writing, but the strength and independence of Jimmy Carter's mother rivals any woman I've ever read about. She did some amazing things long before her son's name was even heard of and she continued to live her live uncompromisingly even after her actions became highly scrutinized and might affect her son's presidency and legacy. She was, indeed, remarkable.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

won autographed copy as door prize at CDC Watsonian Christmas Party. Finally read it this year and found it an interesting look at Jimmy Carter's mother. The writing style is simplistic and unsophisticated, I think I expected a more dynamic writing style, although in retrospect, not sure why I should have!

[Jennifer Nanek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book. Listened to the audio version w/ President Carter reading it. Very much loved hearing his stories about his mother. the title is most appropriate. very impressed with her efforts in India and her open mindedness. I imagine her son and family always miss her but what a great tribute.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is not inspiring, but the story is. Lillian Carter is a fascinating woman. I am curious to read the collection of letters she wrote to her family while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in India. A quick and easy read.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely portrait of a mother by a very remarkable man. She certainly accomplished a great deal for a woman of her time, or any time and it's clear that her very progressive approach to life had a profound impact on her son. I enjoyed.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom made me read this book, but it was basically inoffensive and didn't depress me AT ALL. She is a pretty saucy lady, and reading this book was marginally more interesting than staring at people on the subway.

[Granny · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful little read-it-in-a-lazy-afternoon book! I've long admired Lillian Carter and this book written by son Jimmy is chock-full of anecdotes. She was an exceptional woman with a sharp tongue, loving heart and razor wit.

[Tony Millspaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since his recent announcement of his battle with pancreatic cancer, I, like many other Americans feel a wave of nostalgia for a President once disdained. I bought this title for my remarkable mother and it was a delight.

[Drnick]

Jimmy Carter is one of the most amazing people currently alive. He has built a remarkable legacy, more so as an ex-president than as a president.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice Mother's Day gift. Jimmy Carter certainly had his hands full with Miss Lillian -
a remarkable woman. A quick read and most interesting

[Allison]

I adore Jimmy Carter.

[Jean Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful!

[Nancy Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool woman.

[Lesli Banner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that every time I read something by JCarter, I hear his voice narrating it. He has lots of interesting stories to tell.

[Peg]

A really interesting look at Lillian Carter. What a woman!

[Andy Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple biography of a simple but interesting woman. No major surprises, but then Lillian Carter was always very forthright.

[Lorie Bonano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet - son who obviously loves and adores his mother - book.