'What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?'
Jimmy Carter, America's 'Malaise,' and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country
By Kevin Mattson
August 2010
$16.00
288 pp
5.5 x 8.25 in
Paperback
By Kevin Mattson
"A cautionary tale and a great read … Those of us who were around back in the day will be ruefully reminded of those bygone times. And those who weren't will be scratching their heads in disbelief at this fascinating and frequently improbable history."-Wall Street Journal
At a critical moment in Jimmy Carter's presidency, when morale was low and his ratings were even lower, Carter gave a speech that should have changed the country-instead, it led to his downfall. Kevin Mattson takes us behind the scenes of the Carter White House in the weeks leading up to the fateful speech, and examines the moral crisis that ushered in a new, conservative America.Reviews for “What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?”
"But as the historian Kevin Mattson made clear in his recent book about the Carter presidency, “What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?” you also have to factor in the meltdown at Three Mile Island, Soviet tanks in Afghanistan and the vivid specter of Skylab hurtling day after day toward a stationary and helpless Earth — in other words, an air of general chaos and a belief that a president lauded for his humility had too little control over larger forces in the universe. This explains, too, the appeal of Ronald Reagan, whose cinematic persona suggested that he would have lassoed the Skylab satellite and hurled it back into space."—Matt Bai’s Week in Review, The New York Times Read piece.
Kevin Mattson and James Fallows were on Minnesota Public Radio on Monday to discuss America’s decline.
"Jimmy Carter -- Mr. Carter was a big fan of Bob Dylan, but ironically, the "born-again" Mr. Carter became disenchanted with the singer after Mr. Dylan converted to Christianity, according Kevin Mattson in his book "What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President?" Mr. Carter's other favorites were the Allman Brothers, Paul Simon and the Marshall Tucker Band."—Washington Times. Read article.
Washington Post paperback column 9/28. Read article.
