Alter tells the story Jimmy Carter, whose presidency put him at the center of major events in the 20th; and his efforts on conflict resolution and global health put him on the cutting edge of the challenges of the 21st. Drawing on fresh archival material and five years of extensive access to Carter and his entire family, Alter traces Carter from a timid, bookish child to an obscure, born-again governor whose 1976 campaign took him from zero percent...

""My entire life I have been less fat and more fat, but never not fat." According to family lore, when Rabia Chaudry's family returned to Pakistan for their first visit since moving to the United States, two-year-old Rabia was more than just a pudgy toddler. Dada Abu, her fit and sprightly grandfather, attempted to pick her up but had to put her straight back down, demanding of Chaudry's mother: "What have you done to her?" The answer was two full...

"After more than a decade of dead-end dates and dysfunctional relationships, Christie Tate has reclaimed her voice and settled down. Her days of agonizing in group therapy over guys who won't commit are over, the grueling emotional work required to attach to another person tucked neatly into the past. Or so she thought. Weeks after giddily sharing stories of her new boyfriend at Saturday morning recovery meetings, Christie receives a gift from a friend....