Title: First Pdf Sandra Day O'Connor
Author: Evan Thomas
Published Date: 2019-03-19
Page: 512
“She rose to fame as the first female Supreme Court justice, but during her twenty-four years on the bench she became even more: the most powerful justice of our era. With practical instincts and sharp intellect, she crafted sensible compromises on affirmative action, abortion, and other contentious issues. She embodies the virtues we sorely lack today: decency, honesty, balance, and a nobility worn lightly. With amazing access to her journals and papers, Evan Thomas has written a brilliant and riveting book that captures her principles and personality. She’s a hero for our time, and this is the biography for our time.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo Da Vinci“A great storyteller has found his greatest subject in trailblazer Sandra Day O’Connor. Evan Thomas has written one of the most insightful and thoroughly captivating biographies I have ever read: A clear and compelling illumination of Sandra Day O’Connor’s unique voice and place in American history is told through her remarkable life’s journey from a rancher’s daughter to the first woman appointed to the highest court in the land.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Leadership: In Turbulent Times “A vivid, humane, and inspiring portrait of an extraordinary woman and how she both reflected and shaped an era.”—Drew Faust, president emerita, Harvard University “Before Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there was Sandra Day O’Connor, and O’Connor’s story has everything. In Evan Thomas’s brilliant and compelling book, we are given an intimate and gripping account of a pioneering American woman successfully seeking to thrive in an all-male world. Noble and flawed, selfless and ambitious, Justice O’Connor sought a more perfect union amid imperfect choices. Written with fluidity and grace, Thomas’s book is required reading for anyone interested in the role of women in America, the course of justice, and the nature of our politics. This is a landmark achievement about an American original that’s also, blessedly, a delight to read.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Soul of America Evan Thomas is the author of ten books, including the New York Times bestsellers John Paul Jones, Sea of Thunder, and Being Nixon. Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for thirty-three years at Time and Newsweek, including ten years as Washington bureau chief at Newsweek, where, at the time of his retirement in 2010, he was editor at large. He wrote more than one hundred cover stories and in 1999 won a National Magazine Award. He wrote Newsweek’s election specials in 1996, 2000, 2004 (winner for Newsweek of the National Magazine Award), and 2008. He appears on many TV and radio talk shows, including Meet the Press and Morning Joe. Thomas has taught writing and journalism at Harvard and Princeton, where, from 2007 to 2014, he was Ferris Professor of Journalism.
“She’s a hero for our time, and this is the biography for our time.”—Walter Isaacson
She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings—doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness.
She became the first ever female majority leader of a state senate. As a judge on the Arizona State Court of Appeals, she stood up to corrupt lawyers and humanized the law. When she arrived at the United States Supreme Court, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she began a quarter-century tenure on the Court, hearing cases that ultimately shaped American law. Diagnosed with cancer at fifty-eight, and caring for a husband with Alzheimer’s, O’Connor endured every difficulty with grit and poise.
Women and men who want to be leaders and be first in their own lives—who want to learn when to walk away and when to stand their ground—will be inspired by O’Connor’s example. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family, who believed in serving her country, and who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for all women.
Advance praise for First
“A great storyteller has found his greatest subject in trailblazer Sandra Day O’Connor. Evan Thomas has written one of the most insightful and thoroughly captivating biographies I have ever read: A clear and compelling illumination of Sandra Day O’Connor’s unique voice and place in American history is told through her remarkable life’s journey from a rancher’s daughter to the first woman appointed to the highest court in the land.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Leadership: In Turbulent Times
“A vivid, humane, and inspiring portrait of an extraordinary woman and how she both reflected and shaped an era.”—Drew Faust, president emerita, Harvard University
"Maybe in Error But Never in Doubt" While I was reading this book, I saw that author Evan Thomas mentioned Joan Biskupic's biography of Sandra Day O'Connor (titled Sandra Day O'Connor) as a source (one of many sources) while writing the book. I found a copy of that bio, first published in late 2005, and read both books, comparing as I went along. Both writers make an effort to portray O'Connor as more than a Supreme Court Justice, going into her childhood and career before the Supreme Court. Both authors did interview O'Connor, although Biskupic's interviews were conducted as part of her reporting on the Court, while Thomas interviewed O'Connor after her retirement specifically for the biography. Thomas's biography included some sources that Biskupic didn't have access to such as John O'Connor's (Sandra Day O'Connor's husband) unpublished memoir and his diaries. Thomas also discusses O'Connor's life after her retirement, while Biskupic's book ends just as O'Connor is retiring from the Supreme Court. Thomas interviewed many, nearly all, of O'Connor's law clerks from her Supreme Court years, giving a little extra insight into her day to day activities at the Court.Still, I came away thinking that if you had to choose between the two books, you might do better to read Biskupic's than Thomas's. For instance, Biskupic showed how O'Connor had been political well before her rise through the court system -- she had even lobbied Nixon to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court (she endorsed a colleague, but it's easy to believe she thought she herself might also be a good candidate) and had been active in Republican politics since serving on Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign. Biskupic was also more descriptive about William Rehnquist's views on race, leaving the reader with little doubt that he had racist views, while Evan Thomas glosses over the subject with a footnote mentioning rumors of racist behavior. This was relevant to a book about O'Connor because Rehnquist and O'Connor were very close (even romantically close at one point in their college years) and decided almost identically during O'Connor's first years on the Supreme Court, although as time went on, she broke with the conservative bloc more often. The Bush v Gore decision comes across as a shockingly poor judicial decision in both books.Both books are full of interesting inside the court information as well as fascinating analysis of court cases and how they were decided.Interesting, informative and entertaining What a wonderful account of the life and career of Sandra Day O'Connor, America's first woman justice of the Supreme Court. Justice O’Connor seems like a woman who had it all, the pinnacle of what the women’s movement strives for BUT – she managed to maintain her identity of wife, mother, social hostess. Layered on top of that was her identity as lawyer, politician and legislator. Carrying all this burden on her back she was able to shape the face of America while finding her way through the old boys club of the Supreme Court.Mrs. O’Connor was a handbag carrying Republic woman who was very traditional and conservative in her outlook and opinions. The book shows how her appointment to the Court led some to view her negatively for being too traditional. Over the years, though, she morphed and her voting record became more liberal. Her votes became more protective of minorities, women, and some being held in military prisons without charge or trial for terrorist activities.Family continued to come first for Justice O’Connor and she proved this with her retirement. She retired in 2005 to care for her ailing husband, John, who was suffering from Alzheimer's. This is an interesting, informative, and entertaining book that is well researched and factual. I’ve never supported Justice O’Connor in all of her decisions, especially early in her career but I’ve always admired her.
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