JIMMY CARTER
by Anne Schraff
In Schraff's view, although Carter's presidential record is decidedly mixed, in the days since he sacrificed his political career to save the lives of the Iran hostages, he has become our ``best example of a retired former president.'' In clear, concise prose, this entry in the United States Presidents series traces Carter's career from five-year-old peanut vendor to venerable peacemaker, showing how he overcame the obstacles of a rustic background and substandard education to excel in the navy, in business, and in politics, closing with a summary account of his post-presidential achievements up to his 1996 visit to Tunisia to mediate the Rwanda-Burundi conflict. Schraff provides only glimpses of Carter's private life and family, but quotes briefly and to good effect from a variety of published sources, supports her narrative with plenty of notes, and supplies both a select bibliography and a list of Internet addresses for readers seeking more detail. A readable, if utilitarian, update for Ed Slavin's Jimmy Carter (1989) and the other series biographies. (b&w photos, index, not seen) (Biography. 10-13)