James Earl Carter, Jr. -- known to his family and the world as Jimmy -- was born in the rural southwest Georgia community of Plains on October 1, 1924, the son of a farmer and a registered nurse. Educated in the public school system of Plains, Jimmy Carter studied at Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology before going off to Annapolis, Maryland to attend the United States Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1946. Graduating from the Naval Academy wasn't the only momentous event for Jimmy Carter in 1946; on 7 July of that year he married Rosalyn Smith. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Carter served as a submariner; he eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant and served as the senior officer of the pre-commissioning crew of U.S.S. Seawolf, a nuclear submarine. Jimmy Carter resigned his naval commission in 1953, after the death of his father, James Earl Carter, Sr. He took over the family farm and business became involved with government in Plains. Moving beyond local politics, Carter was elected to the Georgia state senate in 1962 and governor in 1970. On 12 December 1974, Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States; elected President in 1976, Carter served one term and left office in 1980.

After leaving the Oval Office, Jimmy Carter focused on writing political memoirs, reminiscences of his childhood in rural Georgia, and books for children and young adults. Carter began his literary career before entering the White House, however; in order to introduce himself and his outlook to America, Carter, in 1975, published the book Why Not The Best? While serving as President, Carter published another book, titled A Government As Good As Its People, in which, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Carter discusses government policy on crime, poverty, nuclear energy, foreign policy, and human rights."

One of the hallmarks of Jimmy Carter's presidency was his recognition of the need to use diplomatic means to bring peace and stability to troubled regions of the world, such as the Middle East. This desire to achieve peaceful agreements between the various factions of Middle Eastern politics led Carter to write two books that deal either partially or wholly with the subject -- Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a President and The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East. Keeping the Faith gives Carter's insight into his role in the Camp David talks that helped to end hostilities between Egypt and Israel and led to an historic peace accord between the two countries. In a review of The Blood of Abraham, Marvin Seid, writing in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, noted that Carter's views on Middle Eastern politics are "shaped by compassion for all those, past and present, who have suffered in this cockpit of religious and nationalistic antagonisms."

Jimmy Carter's literary career has touched on personal as well as political topics. In books such as Christmas in Plains: Memories (which is illustrated by his daughter Amy) and An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood, Carter attempts to both give insight into his own background and the influential events of his youth and to preserve memories of a way of life in the rural South that has been lost to social and technological advances. In An Hour Before Daylight, Carter also explores the complexities of pre-integration South, where, as described by Contemporary Authors On-Line , Carter's "closest friends were the black children of the tenants on his father's farm" and how he felt uncomfortable as they "began to treat him deferentially as they grew older." The changes in Carter's life - from his youth on his parents' Plains farm through his years in the Navy, his years as a politician and his life after leaving the White House - are seen in the memories of Christmastime in Christmas in Plains. The importance Jimmy Carter places on family is evident in works such as these.

Not confining himself to books of memories and political works, Jimmy Carter concerns himself with the needs of older people, lest they view aging as a negative process. As reviewed in the Washington Monthly, Carter's book The Virtues of Aging "gives practical steps to happy, healthy, and productive later years." Carter advises maintaining an active social and mental life as a way to fully enjoy the richness of the later years. In the whimsical The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer, Carter reaches out to an audience of young people, as well.

Jimmy Carter's literary output is as varied as his experiences in life. Through his literary works, he is willing and able to open his life to others so that they might gain from his wisdom and insight. The contributions of his wisdom and perspective continue, as well, since he still publishes his insights into history, life, politics, and society.

The following titles may be found in the Hall of Fame Library:

Always a Reckoning and Other Poems. New York: Times Books, 1995.

An Hour before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

An Outdoor Journal. Toronto- New York: Bantam Books, 1988.

Atlanta : The Right Kind of Courage. Memphis: Towery Publishers, 2000.

Christmas in Plains. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Everything to Gain: Making the Most of Your Life. New York: Random House, 1987.

Government as Good as Its People: Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1996.

Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President. Fayetteville: Toronto ; New York : Bantam Books, 1982.

Living Faith. New York: Times Books, 1996.

Negotiation the Alternative to Hostility. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1984.

Our Endangered Values: America 's Moral Crisis. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005.

Sharing Good Times. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005.

Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith. New York: Times Books, 1997.

The Blood of Abraham. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.

The Hornet's Nest: a Novel of the Revolutionary War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.

The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer. New York: Times Books, 1996.

The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.

The Personal Beliefs of Jimmy Carter. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002.

Turning Point: a Candidate, A State, and a Nation Come of Age. New York: Times Books, 1992.

Why Not the Best? Nashville: Broadman Press, 1975.

Why Not the Best? New York: Bantam Books, 1976.

Why Not the Best? Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1977.

Why Not the Best? The First Fifty Years. Fayetteville: University of Arakansas, 1996.

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