Jimmy Carter: The Man and the Myth

by Victor Lasky

Jimmy Carter, the Man & the Myth by Victor Lasky 1979 Hardcover

419 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

A longtime conservative columnist, Victor Lasky got his start in journalism in 1940 as a copy boy for The New York Journal-American. During the Second World War, Lasky worked as a correspondent for the Army newspaper Stars and Stripes covering the war in Europe. After the war, he joined the staff of The New York World-Telegram, where he assisted Frederick Woltman with his Pulitzer Prize-winning articles on Communist infiltration and co-wrote a book on Alger Hiss's trial with Ralph de Toledano.

During the 1950s Lasky worked as a screenwriter, and from 1956 to 1960 he was in charge of public relations for Radio Liberty. In 1962 he began writing a syndicated newspaper column, ''Say It Straight,'' for the North American Newspaper Alliance, which ran for the next two decades, as well as a series of controversial books about contemporary politicians.

Reviews

[James Koenig · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just a hit-piece on Jimmy Carter. Author Victor Lasky viciously attacks Carter throughout the book. It’s obvious from the first few chapters that Lasky has a strong negative bias of Carter. Carter can do no right in Lasky’s biased eyes.

Lasky’s bias of Carter, so clear and apparent, colors everything he writes about Carter. When a writer is this biased against his subject, how can the reader truly believe what the author presents?

In my case, I believe Lasky is so profoundly biased that he cannot be credibly believed - thus the one star review.

Logically, I cannot recommend this book, and I would also be highly suspect of other biographies or writings Victor Lasky gets published. He’s not a reliable source of information.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rather dated book to read and one that is certainly not friendly to Jimmy Carter. I still recommend reading. The book was published in 1979 and only covers Jimmy Carter until the middle of his Presidency. If you are a fan of the rehabilitated Jimmy Carter you will not like this book.