Jimmy Carter; The Man & the Myth

New York: Richard Marek, 1979. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 24 cm. 419, [1] pages. Occasional footnotes. Sources. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Minor edge soiling. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page. Publisher's letter laid in. Victor Lasky (7 January 1918 - 22 February 1990) was a columnist and best-selling author. After World War Two, Victor Lasky joined the staff of the New York World-Telegram. He came to prominence first with his book Seeds of Treason, co-authored with Ralph de Toledano, in which the authors argued in favor of Whittaker Chambers over Alger Hiss. He was one of the first journalists to write a critical view of President John F. Kennedy. His 1963 book JFK: The Man And The Myth also took a negative viewpoint of the popular young president. In 1979, Lasky wrote another controversial work called Jimmy Carter: The Man And The Myth, asserting that Carter was one of the most inept presidents of all time. Derived from a Kirkus Review: As usual, when Victor Lasky separates man from myth, the man loses. Lasky gives us Jimmy Carter--"undoubtedly the most amazing man ever to become President," and "undoubtedly one of the more inept." The story begins with Carter's childhood and takes him through the Naval Academy, numerous campaigns, and the Presidency. Lasky's presentation is straightforward and factual: Carter raising funds for a "whites only" public swimming pool; describing himself as "a Conservative" in his brief run for Congress in 1966. There is even Carter carrying the famous garment bag, only to have it ""quickly taken from him by an aide once the cameras"" go off. A discouraging tale, but all so familiar that it should hardly cause a ripple in the Tidal Basin.