Order of Book Series
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Jimmy Carter Books in Order

Jimmy Carter has written 51 books, published between 1975 and 2020. The first book is Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years (1975) and the newest is NRSV, Simple Faith Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Following Jesus into a Life of Peace, Compassion, and Wholeness (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
51
Published
1975–2020
Pages on record
12,465 in 43 of 51 books
Reading time
208–312 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,465 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 43 of 51 titles with a page count on record.

See all 51 books in order Printable Jimmy Carter checklist
Photo of Jimmy Carter, author of the What Would Henry Do? series

Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, and wrote 51 books. Carter's subjects cover his own childhood and career, American politics and government, peace negotiation, the Arab-Israeli conflict and Christian faith. The catalogue opens with Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years (1975), two years before he took office, and takes in Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (1982) and The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East (1986). Later titles turn to the Bible and devotional writing, the most recent dated 2020. Books median 224 pages, and the 2000s were Carter's most productive decade.

How many Jimmy Carter books are there?

Jimmy Carter has 51 books, released between 1975 and 2020. 1 of them belong to the What Would Henry Do? series.

Jimmy Carter Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 51 Jimmy Carter books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years by Jimmy Carter (1975)
  2. Cover of The Wit and Wisdom of Jimmy Carter by Jimmy Carter (1977)
  3. Cover of A Government as Good as Its People by Jimmy Carter (1977)
  4. Cover of Carter On The Arts by Jimmy Carter (1977)
  5. Cover of The Spiritual Journey of Jimmy Carter, in His Own Words by Jimmy Carter (1979)
  6. Cover of Kids' Letters to President Carter by Jimmy Carter (1979)
  7. Cover of Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President by Jimmy Carter (1982)
  8. Cover of Negotiation: An Alternative to Hostility by Jimmy Carter (1984)
  9. Cover of The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East by Jimmy Carter (1986)
  10. Cover of Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life by Jimmy Carter (1987)
  11. Cover of An Outdoor Journal: Adventures and Reflections by Jimmy Carter (1988)
  12. Cover of Living Faith by Jimmy Carter (1991)
  13. Cover of Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith by Jimmy Carter (1991)
  14. Cover of Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age by Jimmy Carter (1992)
  15. Cover of Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation by Jimmy Carter (1993)
  16. Cover of Always a Reckoning and Other Poems by Jimmy Carter (1994)
  17. Cover of The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer by Jimmy Carter (1995)
  18. Cover of The Virtues of Aging by Jimmy Carter (1998)
  19. Cover of Conversations with Carter by Jimmy Carter (1998)
  20. Cover of An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood by Jimmy Carter (2000)
  21. Cover of Conference for Global Development Cooperation by Jimmy Carter (2000)
  22. Cover of Atlanta: The Right Kind of Courage by Jimmy Carter (2000)
  23. Cover of Christmas in Plains: Memories by Jimmy Carter (2001)
  24. Cover of U. S. Law Affecting Americans Living and Working Abroad by Jimmy Carter (2001)
  1. 1
    Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years1975 · 166 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975166
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Wit and Wisdom of Jimmy Carter1977 · 141 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977141
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    A Government as Good as Its People1977 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Carter On The Arts1977 · 74 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197774
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Spiritual Journey of Jimmy Carter, in His Own Words1979 · 270 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979270
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Kids' Letters to President Carter1979 · 159 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979159
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President1982 · 633 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982633
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Negotiation: An Alternative to Hostility1984 · 57 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198457
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East1986 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1986252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life1987 · 198 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    An Outdoor Journal: Adventures and Reflections1988 · 316 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988316
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Einstein on Peace, Congress, Malta, 19881988 · 120 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Living Faith1991 · 273 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991273
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith1991 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age1992 · 223 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992223
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation1993 · confirmed 1/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Always a Reckoning and Other Poems1994 · 130 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994130
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer1995 · confirmed 1/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Virtues of Aging1998 · 140 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998140
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Conversations with Carter1998 · 344 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998344
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood2000 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Conference for Global Development Cooperation2000 · confirmed 1/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Atlanta: The Right Kind of Courage2000 · 255 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Christmas in Plains: Memories2001 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    U. S. Law Affecting Americans Living and Working Abroad2001 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Israel, Yesterday and Today2002 · 138 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002138
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    To Assure Pride and Confidence in the Electoral Process: Report of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform2002 · 358 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002358
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Personal Beliefs of Jimmy Carter: Winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize2002 · 273 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002273
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture2002 · 20 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Hornet's Nest of the Revolutionary War2003 · 465 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003465
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Jimmy Carter books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

What Would Henry Do? in order

1 book
  1. 1. What Would Henry Do?: Essays for the 21st Century

Standalone books

50 books

50 Jimmy Carter titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Jimmy Carter Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Jimmy Carter books run from Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years (1975) to NRSV, Simple Faith Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Following Jesus into a Life of Peace, Compassion, and Wholeness (2020), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Jimmy Carter in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Jimmy Carter books in order?

You only need to read Jimmy Carter books in order within the What Would Henry Do? series, which holds 1 of the 51 Jimmy Carter books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Jimmy Carter

Start with Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years (1975), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Jimmy Carter book?

NRSV, Simple Faith Bible, Hardcover, Comfort Print: Following Jesus into a Life of Peace, Compassion, and Wholeness (2020) is the newest Jimmy Carter book released so far.

Is there a new Jimmy Carter book coming?

No next Jimmy Carter book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Jimmy Carter at a glance

Died
Jimmy Carter died in 2024, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Jimmy Carter on record dates from 2020.
Release pace
Jimmy Carter books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
12,465 pages across the 43 of 51 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Jimmy Carter books, 19 of 51, were published in the 2000s.

What the Jimmy Carter books are about

43 of the 51 Jimmy Carter books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: presidents is tagged on 11 of 43. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.