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Rating: 
Summary: Everyone Can Learn
Review: ... even former Presidents and their First Ladies, as Jimmy and Rosalynn show us in this, their entry in the self-improvement / retirement advice category. Of course, anybody who's not a Dem is likely to be unwilling to take any such advice from the self-styled peanut farmer and his wife. So, I'm going over my stock of acquaintances, trying to remember who voted for Carter. The book would make a great gift not just for recent retirees, but also those whose life has just gone through change, whether it be a layoff, a disabling illness, or the death of a spouse. Sure wish my father had read it, twelve years ago, when my mother died -- so many ideas for him! Instead, he simply curled up in front of the TV. Jimmy and Rosalynn show how devastated they were by their 1980 defeat, then, step by step, how they rebuilt. Parts of the book delve too far into global health and other policy issues, but chapter after chapter, they introduce new activities, like a flower opening! If you're tired of fist-pounding self-improvement tomes, here is one that feels like a gentle friend, sitting beside you, arm around your shoulders, sharing the same problems you're having, and showing you several ways out of the "box" you've built for yourself. Read it and relax, then, go out and make the most of the rest of your life -- whether it's the next ten or next fifty years.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone Can Learn
Review: ... even former Presidents and their First Ladies, as Jimmy and Rosalynn show us in this, their entry in the self-improvement / retirement advice category. Of course, anybody who's not a Dem is likely to be unwilling to take any such advice from the self-styled peanut farmer and his wife. So, I'm going over my stock of acquaintances, trying to remember who voted for Carter. The book would make a great gift not just for recent retirees, but also those whose life has just gone through change, whether it be a layoff, a disabling illness, or the death of a spouse. Sure wish my father had read it, twelve years ago, when my mother died -- so many ideas for him! Instead, he simply curled up in front of the TV. Jimmy and Rosalynn show how devastated they were by their 1980 defeat, then, step by step, how they rebuilt. Parts of the book delve too far into global health and other policy issues, but chapter after chapter, they introduce new activities, like a flower opening! If you're tired of fist-pounding self-improvement tomes, here is one that feels like a gentle friend, sitting beside you, arm around your shoulders, sharing the same problems you're having, and showing you several ways out of the "box" you've built for yourself. Read it and relax, then, go out and make the most of the rest of your life -- whether it's the next ten or next fifty years.
Rating: 
Summary: A revealing and inspiring memoir
Review: Collaboratively written by former American President and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Jimmy Carter, and his beloved wife and former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, Everything To Gain: Making The Most Of The Rest Of Your Life is a revealing and inspiring memoir about personal challenges they've had to face and overcome; the satisfaction of their work with Habitat for Humanity; their struggles to promote peace and human rights; and the personal steps they've taken to enjoy physical and spiritual health at home. Everything To Gain is enthusiastically recommended as a deeply rewarding and heartfelt encouragement to living our lives to the fullest.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing to gain...
Review: Despite the fact that this nearly broke up their marriage, this book is not what I hoped for when I picked it up and began reading. I missed the old Mrs Carter who had a wry story about her life on the campaign trail. I will never forget the many adventures that she detailed in "First Lady from Plains" which is a superior book in every way. The time she was trapped in bathroom stall and had to crawl out of it. Then there was the time when she had to cut her way out when trapped in a car by her seatbelt. Funny stuff and real human interest. If bizarre things can happen to the first lady of the land the can happen to anyone, can't they? The book I wanted to read was a kind of sequel to the masterful "First Lady from Plains." This clearly is not that book, though I hope Mrs. Carter will consider writing it one day real soon.
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