December 03, 2007 Contact: Stephanie A. Hudson , USA Public Relations, (251) 460-6211
USA Writer-in-Residence Releases Jimmy Carter Biography
Author, Gaillard Frye
University of South Alabama Writer-in-Residence of the history and English departments and Mobile native, Frye Gaillard has released a biography titled “Prophet from the Plains: Jimmy Carter and His Legacy.”
The biography is a 144-page biography about Carter's character and his accomplishments since he left the White House in 1981.
“I have great respect for Carter, and I think that comes through in the book,” said Gaillard. “At the same time I've tried not to put him on a pedestal. I don't find him as warm and fuzzy as his image has been at times. But I do think he's a man of real principle and resolve. He also has this kind of technocratic engineer's mind about seeing a problem and wanting to solve it.
“I do feel like I have an understanding of Carter. Part of it was instinctive. I think growing up as a Southerner, influenced by a lot of the same things that Carter was, sort of instinctively understanding the kind of Christian faith that Carter believes in, the role that it plays in his life, and the centrality of that . . . all of those things I feel like I understood about Carter from the beginning.”
Gaillard is the author of 20 books, including “Cradle of Freedom,” winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award; “The Dream Long Deferred,” winner of the Gustavus Myers Award; and “If I Were a Carpenter,” the first independent, book-length study of Habitat for Humanity. Gaillard received his bachelor's degree in history from Vanderbilt University in 1968. Since 1990, Gaillard has been a writer, author and editor for newspapers and books. He also was the founding editor of the Novello Festival Press in Charlotte, a national award-winning literary publishing company. He joined USA 's history department in fall 2005.
Cover of the book, "Prophet from Plains"
“ Prophet from the Plains” contains a forward by historian David C. Carter. For more information and interviews with Gaillard, contact the USA Public Relations office at (251) 460-6211.
