Jonathan Alter

Alter tells the story Jimmy Carter, whose presidency put him at the center of major events in the 20th; and his efforts on conflict resolution and global health put him on the cutting edge of the challenges of the 21st. Drawing on fresh archival material and five years of extensive access to Carter and his entire family, Alter traces Carter from a timid, bookish child to an obscure, born-again governor whose 1976 campaign took him from zero percent...

Jonathan Alter, one of the country's most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obama's difficult debut. In Alter's telling, the real Obama is an authentic, demanding, unsentimental, and sometimes overconfident leader.