No Such Thing as a Bad Day

Atlanta, GA: Longstreet Press, 2000. Later Printing. Hardcover. Very good/very good. David Hathcox (author photograph). [10] 260 pages. Illustrations. Foreword by Jimmy Carter. Signed by the author. Part memoir, part cancer survival story, this New York Times bestseller recounts the political adventures and personal struggles of the former White House Chief-of-Staff. William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan (September 21, 1944 - May 20, 2008) was an American politician who served as Chief of Staff to President of the United States Jimmy Carter. In 1970, at the age of 26, Jordan ran Jimmy Carter's successful gubernatorial campaign, which included a Democratic primary election fight against former Governor Carl Sanders and a less eventful general election against the Republican Hal Suit. While serving as Governor Carter's executive assistant, Jordan wrote a lengthy memorandum detailing a strategy for winning the 1976 Democratic Primary. Years later, Jordan's memo served as the "game plan" for Carter's 1976 presidential bid. Jordan was a key advisor and strategist for Carter during the 1976 presidential campaign and during Carter's administration, serving as White House Chief of Staff in 1979-1980 (Carter, who took office in 1977, had previously not seen the need formally to appoint an aide to such a post). Jordan played a powerful role in the formulation of election strategies and government policies. Jordan died on May 20, 2008, aged 63, from peritoneal mesothelioma, which he believed resulted from his exposure to asbestos during his volunteer service in Vietnam. He had survived several other forms of cancer earlier in his life, including diffuse histiocytic non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanoma, and prostate cancer. Derived from a Publishers Weekly article: Political reflections mingle with cancer war stories in this memoir by former presidential aide Jordan. In the last two decades of the 20th century, after serving as Jimmy Carter's chief of staff, Jordan was diagnosed with cancer--three times. A strong advocate for aggressive treatments--he chose chemotherapy for his lymphoma and surgical removal of his prostate for his prostate cancer--Jordan reflects on the lessons he's learned while surviving cancer. He gives his "ten top tips for cancer patients"; advises others to research their prognosis and treatment and to find experienced physicians; and advocates investigating the mind/body connection. Along the way, he emphasizes his belief that his treatments were successful because he took responsibility for his medical care. But he also reflects on his life more generally: convinced that his cancers were caused by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, Jordan takes some time to discuss the war as well as his southern Georgia childhood and his political career. He thoughtfully contrasts his beloved, but racist, father with a cousin who was a civil rights activist, and he also settles some old scores--including one with President Clinton, whom he clearly dislikes. This book is a quirky, feisty addition to the growing stack of memoirs by late-20th-century presidential aides.