Book description
In this powerful memoir, former President and bestselling author Jimmy Carter writes about the powerful rhythms of countryside and community in a sharecropping economy. He offers an unforgettable portrait of his father, a brilliant farmer and strict segregationist who treated black workers with his own brand of 'separate' respect and…
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Why read it?
2 authors picked An Hour Before Daylight as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Carter has written a huge number of books, including a historical novel and a volume of poetry, but this one is definitely his best. Like Coolidge's, it’s simple, detail-driven, and always personal, capturing Carter's Georgia childhood and connecting it to bigger issues like the Great Depression and the Jim Crow South. There's a handful of shorter, more intimate books by ex-presidents—not only Carter’s but also Harry Truman’s Mr. Citizen and Dwight Eisenhower’s At Ease—and these books always read better and reveal more than their authors’ official presidential memoirs. I wish more ex-presidents would follow Coolidge in writing that punchy…
From Craig's list on written by American presidents.
Carter grew up amid Jim Crow segregation on a farm in Archery, Georgia. While his family wasn’t poor, the farm had no running water, electricity or mechanized equipment until Carter was 11. Carter has written 31 books, and this is his best: It’s warm, evocative and revealing of his character development.
From Jonathan's list on Jimmy Carter.
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