C.S. Lewis once wrote, “We read to know we are not alone.” In Dr. Seuss’s classic “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” he said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
If one would look at the boxes stored in my closet, and the books lying here and there in my little abode, one might think that I have been a lot of places. People collect all sorts of things – myself I have books.
Reading has always been a favorite of mine since I was first introduced to See Spot Run, or even before that, when my big brother, Glen, would read the Sunday comics with me.
Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, has been someone of great interest to me ever since I was six years old and he ran for President. Regardless of what type of President he was, I was excited because this man was from Georgia(where my daddy was from), and was a peanut farmer(my grandpa in Georgia grew peanuts in his garden). While living and working in Americus I had the honor of interviewing him three, and falling in love with the community of Plains, I have dove head first into several of his books. (All of the books were purchased at the Plains Inn and Antique Mall) Regardless of how one might feel, Jimmy Carter was our president. These books are worthy of an collection for an avid reader.
The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture – The proceeds from this book go to The Carter Center. Carter served as the 39th President, but it was in work after which, with the Carter Center – a non profit organization that works to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom, and democracy, and improve health around the world – that has garnered him much more attention then when he was our nation’s leader. His speech showed exactly how he believed in the human rights policy and gave his reasons why.
Sharing Good Times – He was a President. He ate with Kings, dined with leaders from all over the globe, talked, chatted, and put into action many plans that helped our country, and yet, as described in this New York Times’ Best Seller, Carter brings it all home. He shows through a variety of humorous and just regular tales of everyday life in Plains and Archery that it is the simple things of life that make each of us who and what we are today.
A Remarkable Mother – Of everything else that President Carter is or was or will be, he was a devoted son to his mother. “Miss Lillian” was a registered nurse, a house mother, a Peace Corps volunteer, and an all around, well rounded woman of many talents, abilities and considered to be very nurturing. In this tribute, Jimmy Carter talks about how his mom loved baseball, wrestling, and even was a guest on television talk shows – including Johnny Carson. My mom is my best friend, and in reading this story, I could feel the love and inspiration that President Carter and could relate. A mother’s love is like no other, and most of us are blessed with a special mother or mother figure. It was a pleasant read.
An Hour Before Daylight – The New Yorker magazine called this book “An American Classic,” for me, though, this one, Carter’s memories of a rural boyhood, was perhaps the best ever. Also a New York Times’ best seller, An Hour Before Daylight, which many of you probably have read, is the story of Carter’s boyhood on the farm in Archery and living in Plains. He writes not with the big words that some literary artists utilize or some award winning journalists/columnists might throw about, but simply, it is a, as the United Press International’s Richard Pretorius said, ‘love story of a man’s passion for his family, his home and for his fellow man.’ After finally finishing this one, thoughts and memories of my own childhood, my family and the place I consider home stirred around for a while. He shares about the Depression era in a way that makes it appealing for those us who may not remember it or were even thought of during that time to remember and know.
Also on my shelf, by Jimmy Carter, which I have not read yet, is his fictional piece of work, “The Hornet’s Nest.” No other President has written a fiction book, and well, any reader would love to say they have that back. More Carter books will grace my shelf, and not just because I can say he was my President but because he once was my“neighbor.” And how many of us can say that our “neighbor” wrote a New York Times’ Best Seller?
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