An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter
An Hour Before Daylight is a memoir by former US President Jimmy Carter, in which he recounts his childhood growing up on a Georgia farm during the Great Depression. The book provides a vivid portrayal of life in the rural South before the civil rights movement, and explores themes such as racism, poverty, and family dynamics.
Throughout the book, Carter emphasizes the idea that racism is a learned behavior, and uses regional dialect, vivid imagery, and personal experiences to create a tone and structure that allows readers to truly understand what it was like to live in the South while segregation still existed.
He also offers an unforgettable portrait of his father, a brilliant farmer and strict segregationist who treated black workers with his own brand of “separate” respect and fairness, and his strong-willed and well-read mother, a nurse who cared for all in need regardless of their position in the community.
What I Liked
Everything – absolutely everything. I am fascinated by the American South of the 1930s – the land and time when my grandparents were growing up. This book covers how life was actually lived in the absolute best prose and structure. And Jimmy Carter wrote the best book out there about it. Amazing man.
What I Did Not Like
Nothing – it’s brilliant.
