Sharing Good Times - Hardcover

Carter, Jimmy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743270339 ISBN 13: 9780743270335

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2004

Synopsis

The former president and best-selling author of Keeping Faith recalls some of the simple joys that he has enjoyed throughout the years, especially those that he has shared with members of his family, friends, and colleagues, from attending big league baseball games and annual holiday trips with his family to working together at the Carter Center. 350,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, and served as thirty-ninth President of the United States. He and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that prevents and resolves conflicts, enhances freedom and democracy, and improves health around the world. He is the author of numerous books, including Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, An Hour Before Daylight and Our Endangered Values. He received a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy Award for his recording of Our Endangered Values. All of President Carter's proceeds from this series will go to the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

In the past, I have written about history, political science, religion, the technique of negotiation, outdoor experiences, a novel about the Revolutionary War, a book of poetry, and a presidential memoir -- all fairly serious subjects. This book is about the more challenging, relaxing, and enjoyable experiences that I have known -- both at work and at play. I have described personal hobbies, excursions to exotic places, political campaigns, volunteer work, fishing, skiing, climbing mountains, baseball, family vacations, and simply relaxed days and nights with little to do except exchange memories and ideas with family and friends across the years and across generations.

Few of these adventures have been especially newsworthy, and I still enjoy some of them in solitude, but the main lesson I have struggled to learn is that the experiences are more deep and lasting sources of pleasure when they are shared with others.

It has not been easy for me to accept this fact. Perhaps like most other people, I have had to overcome a self-centered inclination to live on my own terms, sometimes obsessed with intense ambition, bringing others into the private recesses of my life only reluctantly. I've come to realize that even my loved ones and I could enjoy the same event without really sharing the essence of it, and that it takes a lot of effort to sense and accommodate the desires of others in a generous way. This lifetime of learning has paid rich dividends, for me and for those with whom I have learned to really share.

I hope that these personal experiences will prove to be a practical and inspirational guide to anyone desiring to stretch mind and heart, to combine work and pleasure, and to reach out to others.

Copyright © 2004 by Jimmy Carter

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0743270339
• ISBN 13: 9780743270335
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 174