Carter-Our Endangered Values

[Keith P]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4984885

*Follow the link for an excerpt from the book

NPR.org, November 4, 2005 · Blurring the line between church and state threatens civil liberties and privacy, says former President Jimmy Carter. That's the case he makes in his new book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, which draws on Carter's experiences as a president and a Christian.

Carter was the 39th president of the United States. In addition to his work to help ensure the fairness of elections around the world, he founded the Carter Center, a conflict resolution organization. In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end violence and spread human rights.

Those achievements have come to overshadow the difficult years of Carter's presidency, which was marked by a Republican resurgence culminating in his defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980.

The final year of Carter's term in office saw him institute a boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow, and he struggled unsuccessfully to resolve the Iran hostage crisis, in which 55 people were seized along with the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Despite his success in brokering a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979, an overwhelming number of Americans became frustrated with Carter. Since then, he has been able to remake his legacy by dedicating himself to causes from international peace efforts to domestic projects like Habitat for Humanity.

Carter has written a number of best-selling books, including An Hour Before Daylight; Christmas in Plains; Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President; and Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation.

Two of Carter's most popular books are Sources of Strength, a compilation of his favorite meditations drawn from the Sunday school class he still leads, and Always a Reckoning, a collection of poems published in 1995.