Jimmy Carter may have served only one term as US president but it was a term marked with many tumultuous and momentous events including the energy crisis, the takeover of the American embassy in Iran, and the signing of the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt. This title resembles other works in this historical dictionary series and includes a chronology, an introduction, hundreds of dictionary entries, and an extensive bibliography. The book focuses on issues related to the Carter presidency and includes entries on politics, literature, film, sports figures and other news related stories that occurred during Carter's presidency. Written by a history professor at Francis Marion University and a librarian (who co-authored the Historical Dictionary of the Eisenhower Era (Kaufman and Kaufman, 2009)) this book offers a good overview of American life during the Carter presidency.
The authors provide an excellent and unbiased introduction to the Carter presidency. They offer three reasons why Carter only served one term: his inability to prioritize; his attempt to do too much during his term; and his poor managerial skills. The introduction highlights the highs and lows of Carter's presidency that faced many international and domestic challenges. 1979-1980 in particular were difficult years for the president who had to address the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an exorbitant inflation rate, and the storming of the US embassy in Tehran. The authors note in the introduction how these challenging events did not help Carter politically and he lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election. Despite his loss the authors underscore how Carter continued to promote his agenda during his final months and also negotiate for the release of the American hostages in Iran.
The chronology covers December 1974 (when Carter announced his candidacy for president) to January 1981 (when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president). This chronology includes various approval ratings for Carter during different moments of his presidency. The dictionary entries found in this resource also provide an interesting portrait of American society and culture during the 1970s. Entries include major historical events, politicians, sports stars, television shows, movies, literary works, and musical groups that were all part of the Carter presidential era. Various photographs from the Carter presidential library complement the entries. Overall the authors include many relevant entries that marked this time period. However, there are some glaring omissions in the entries and chronology. The authors include the shooting of Hustler magazine owner Larry Flynt and the death of Margaret Mead which were noteworthy but not as significant, in this reviewer's opinion, as the election of two popes (Popes John Paul the first and second) within a two-month time frame in 1978 (considered the year of the three popes) or the assassination of Aldo Moro in Italy which are omitted. Hank Aaron is also included as an entry. Although a great baseball player he retired in 1976 before Carter even took office.
Despite these omissions this title serves as a helpful resource for anyone interested in learning more about this president and the era in which he served. Being a Generation Xer, this reviewer remembers the Carter era well and appreciated all the references to pop culture (from ABBA to disco, to Beverly Sills and the Jonestown Massacre, to Mean Joe Greene's unforgettable Coca-Cola commercial). Even though the entry on cinema contains an error – Meryl Streep did not win her first Oscar for the Deer Hunter as the authors claim – (it was her first Oscar nomination but that year the award went to Maggie Smith); it provides a wonderful list of the movies made during this era.
The authors' claim that Carter is the “best ex-president the United States ever had” (p. vii) may be somewhat sweeping but after his loss to Reagan he continued to make an impact. This source is recommended for public libraries and academic libraries that support the study of American culture, American history, and political science.
