A singular political life ground into bite-sized chunks

Memoir: A Full Life: Reflections At Ninety. By Jimmy Carter. Simon & Schuster, €26.60.

Jimmy Carter in 1977: his valedictory memoir chooses not to dwell for long on some of the pivotal events of his presidency. PIcture: Corbis

In the three and a half decades since he was walloped by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 US presidential election, losing 44 of the 50 states in an embarrassingly one-sided rout, Jimmy Carter has seen American political discourse slide so far to the right that his own modestly social-democratic positions now make him look like a Bolshevik in comparison. His single term in office, which was effectively wrecked by Opec’s decision to push ...