Periodically TIME presents its readers with an advance look at the memoirs of famous men. Excerpts first appeared in TIME from such works as Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev's Khrushchev Remembers: The Last Testament (1974), Anwar Sadat's In Search of Identity (1978), and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's White House Years (1979) and Years of Upheaval (1982). In this issue, TIME offers Part 1 of a two-part serialization of Jimmy Carter's Keeping Faith, the former President's personal account of his years in the Oval Office.

This week's excerpts tell of the President's hopes and fears through the dramatic 13 days at Camp David that resulted in the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Next week, Carter writes of the 444 days that tore at the very roots of his presidency--the period in which America's hostages were held in Iran.

Included in this week's cover story is an exclusive interview with Carter conducted in Plains, Ga., by Assistant Managing Editor Ronald Kriss, who supervised the excerpting of the Carter book, and Chicago Bureau Chief Chris Ogden. TIME'S White House and State Department correspondent during the Carter Administration, Ogden prepped for the interview by renewing old contacts with former Carter aides and reviewing stories and his own yellowing notes. Recalls Ogden: "Carter is not a politician in the traditional sense who feels compelled to put up a false friendly front. While gracious, he was, as usual, all business." When the four-hour interview was over, Carter said: "TIME wrote some tough stories about me in the past, but I'm really happy you're publishing me. In TIME my book will reach the largest potential worldwide readership."

The excerpting of Keeping Faith was done by Senior Writer Ed Magnuson, whose 90 cover stories over 20 years include three on the Iran hostage crisis. Says Magnuson: "A President's recollections are a matter of history, so we were exceedingly concerned about not taking anything out of context."

Helping Magnuson in the task was Reporter-Researcher Eileen Chiu, who had also worked on some of the Kissinger excerpts. "I was struck by the timeliness of what the President said in Keeping Faith" says Chiu. Just as Author Carter is pleased to have his work in TIME, we are sure TIME'S readers will be pleased to find it here.

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