The life and legacy of Jimmy Carter.

• Author: Pal, Amitabh
• Position: 'A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety' - Book review

A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety

By Jimmy Carter

Simon & Schuster. $28.272 pages.

I have a soft spot for Jimmy Carter.

He's the first President of whom I have any memories. I remember my uncle jovially announcing Carter's election victory at the breakfast table at my home in India. I was mystified by the man my uncle was discussing so delightedly. Some months later, I was in the United States (I did a lot of back-and-forth as a child), and I saw on television the person who was the cause of my uncle's happiness.

I don't remember too many details about Carter's presidency, since I was not even in my teens then. However, I do vividly remember his toothy grin.

My family returned to India when I was twelve. I became more aware of Carter's post-presidency work when I came back to this country as a young man. I saw him briefly in 1996 at a book event in North Carolina. (The occasion was so well attended that the organizers abandoned his planned talk and turned it into just a book signing.)

Then, in 2008, I was able to interview him. I went down to the Carter Center in Atlanta and for three days observed Carter preside over an open government conference. He was intimately involved in the proceedings and very attentive to the particulars, even suggesting amendments to the final declaration.

As soon as the conference ended, I was whisked to his office. Carter was gracious in person and patiently answered my questions. He even gave me a few choice quotes.

"What we have done through our own government is to torture prisoners, to deprive them of their basic rights to legal counsel, even the right of prisoners to be acquainted with the charges against them," he commented on the Bush Administration's record. "Those kinds of things have been cherished as basic principles of American law and American policy for more than 200 years. To have them subverted and abandoned and condemned is just a travesty of justice and a very serious embarrassment to those of us who--as Americans and non-Americans--are committed to human rights."

With the announcement that he is suffering from terminal cancer, Jimmy Carter's presence among us seems to be coming to an end, and the discussion about his life and legacy has intensified.

Perhaps out of compassion, many progressives have been gentle with him. In These Times columnist Susan Douglas penned a sympathetic remembrance. And even the radical website CounterPunch had a debate of sorts between David Macaray (mostly for...