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First: Sandra Day O'Connor
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best History & Biography (2019)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 class at law school 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 Supreme Court, appointed by 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 today will be inspired by how to be first in your own life, how to know when to fight and when to walk away, through O'Connor's example. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family and believed in serving her country, who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for the women who followed her.
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 Supreme Court, appointed by 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 today will be inspired by how to be first in your own life, how to know when to fight and when to walk away, through O'Connor's example. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family and believed in serving her country, who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for the women who followed her.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published March 19, 2019
About the author
Evan Thomas
76 books358 followersEvan Thomas is the author of nine books: The Wise Men (with Walter Isaacson), The Man to See, The Very Best Men, Robert Kennedy, John Paul Jones, Sea of Thunder, The War Lovers, Ike’s Bluff, and Being Nixon. Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for thirty-three years at Time and Newsweek, including ten years (1986–96) 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 fifty-thousand-word election specials in 1996, 2000, 2004 (winner of a National Magazine Award), and 2008. He has appeared on many TV and radio talk shows, including Meet the Press and The Colbert Report, and has been a guest on PBS’s Charlie Rose more than forty times. The author of dozens of book reviews for The New York Times and The Washington Post, Thomas has taught writing and journalism at Harvard and Princeton, where, from 2007 to 2014, he was Ferris Professor of Journalism.
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May 19, 2019
Continuing my exploration of influential members of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), I turned to Evan Thomas and his biography of Sandra Day O’Connor. The life and times of the first woman who served on the Court proves not only to be interesting to the curious reader, but also quite informative in its exploration of key legal and policy themes the United States faced over that quarter century of her time as one of the nine Justices. Never the wallflower, Sandra Day grew up as a rancher’s daughter in Texas and learned the ‘ropes’ from an early age. Thomas explains that Day learned the importance of hard work as a child, though her parents also felt there was a need for strong educational roots, sending her away to finishing school to smooth some of her rough edges. Always interested in learning, Day was accepted to Stanford at a time when women in post-secondary institutions was rare. Her interest in history and politics left her wanting more, paving the way for Stanford Law School, a domain where few women went and even fewer succeeded. There, she devoured all things related to the law and made some key friendships, none more than with William ‘Bill’ Rehnquist, a man who developed strong feelings for her and who would one day serve as Chief Justice on the Court. Thomas explores this platonic/romantic relationship between Day and Rehnquist, though the former did not feel the passion and sought love elsewhere. When Sandra Day met John O’Connor, it was a connection that few would ever doubt had great chance at longevity. This connection proves to be a theme for the rest of the biography, showing how dedicated the O’Connors were to one another.
Armed with a law degree, Sandra O’Connor sought to find work, though she was dismissed from many law firms, offered only legal secretary positions. However, she refused to demean herself or the education she had, choosing to hang out her own shingle in Phoenix. O’Connor was able to work and make ends meet, while John secured work in one of the city’s larger firms. Thomas shows these parallel employment tracks of the two O’Connor lawyers, depicting how closed-minded many were in the 1950s. Taking time to start a family, Sandra showed a passion for all things familial, working as hard in the house as she had when sitting behind a desk. As her children grew, O’Connor turned back to her Republican roots and sought higher office to effect change. In a turn of fate, she was offered the chance to run for state senate in Arizona and served there, shaping laws and soon becoming the country’s first female state senate leader, even though the press made no notice of it. Her notoriety was not lost on the state and national scene, as she befriended the often outspoken and staunchly Republican U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, who began circulating her name to key players in the political arena. Sandra O’Connor was a woman with a mission and her passion for the law could not be overlooked. Her ascension to the bench came in due time, where Sandra O’Connor was able to shape laws and interpret the US Constitution in key instances, paving the way for others to look to her, hoping to see how she would use her clout to shape women’s issues at a time when rights were coming to the forefront.
During the 1980 US Presidential Election, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan vowed to make his first SCOTUS appointment be that of a woman. Paving the way for O’Connor, the opportunity arose in the summer of 1981, as Reagan chose Sandra O’Connor to fill a seat on the Court, even though many close to the president wanted him to renege on his promise. Reagan had little doubt that O’Connor would serve as a key conservative vote on the Court, while others were sure that women’s issues and affirmative action would be strengthen themes in rulings. O’Connor was breaking glass ceilings all over, though she was extremely modest in her advancements. As Thomas explores throughout, O’Connor did not want to be token woman who would buck the trend of her eight brethren, though she could not deny the new and fresh approach on the Court. Thomas spends much time exploring issues of affirmative action, abortion, race relations, constitutional interpretation, and social advancement throughout the biography, with all sides hoping to use O’Connor as a key player to various causes. She did not disappoint, but could not always be relied upon to vote a certain way, surprising pundits (and the president) on certain occasions. Thomas also spends time exploring the interactions that O’Connor had with her fellow Justices and clerks, positing an ever-evolving set of views and clashes that kept O’Connor’s life on the Court highly exciting.
There was more to O’Connor than her writing Court decisions and deciphering some of the nuances of constitutional law. Thomas explores how she used her time on the Court to educate many to the importance of the law, be it within the United States or on the world scene. She would travel around the country—and the world—to speak to groups that valued her opinions, while leaving a lasting impact on world judicial pillars. As hard as it would be for the world to see Sandra Day O’Connor as a human like others, she had her own foibles. A fight with cancer brought O’Connor to her knees and forced her to accept that she could not always deflect life’s hard choices. Thomas shows her vulnerable side throughout, when she was handed news and would breakdown in her chambers or at home. The strength of her family foundation was able to keep her from falling apart, but the reader will discover a woman who had her own issues and yet found ways to overcome them in her own way. Slowly, John O’Connor began to fade as well, though it was Alzheimer’s that took him down a path towards confusion and a degree of isolation. Justice O’Connor did her best to juggle her role as one of the nine, as well as be the dutiful wife to keep John comfortable. When there was little chance of her being able to do both, Sandra O’Connor chose family above country and decided that it was time to retire. Thomas engages in an interesting banter around O’Connor’s retirement and the illness of Chief Justice Rehnquist, which serves as an interesting parallel to their early relationship five decades before. While she was out of Court proceedings, Sandra O’Connor was never far from the pulse of legal progress locally and around the world. Her impact would not soon be forgotten, and remains vibrant to this day!
Evan Thomas captivates readers with his paced biography, giving Sandra Day O’Connor both a heroic nature and down to earth mentality as she navigated through life in the spotlight. While many created O’Connor into an icon for the women’s movement, shaping decisions from the bench, she was quite independent in her views and would not always vote to expand rights for the sake of doing so. Thomas uses extensive research to shape his narrative, including interviews, Court documents, and judicial opinions to offer a thorough view of the first woman to sit on SCOTUS, paving the way for other women who now sit and shape American policy. Thomas explores key themes in American politics and constitutional interpretation, including some issues that remain buzzwords today. Thomas effectively argues that O’Connor moved the discussion forward, though could not always be seen to give a final flavour to the discussion. The biography is highly educational, though Thomas is able to entertain in this easy to digest tome. The curious reader will take much away from this book and can use Thomas’ work as a wonderful launching pad to further exploration of O’Connor’s life or the intricacies of American jurisprudence. There is so much to learn and Evan Thomas takes readers on an adventure they will not soon forget, glorifying Sandra Day O’Connor without turning her into a sainted being.
Kudos, Mr. Thomas, for a sensational biography of a wonderful American icon. While this was my first piece of your work, it will definitely not be the last.
This Book fulfils Topic #5: Humbly Herculean in the Equinox #7 Book Challenge.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Armed with a law degree, Sandra O’Connor sought to find work, though she was dismissed from many law firms, offered only legal secretary positions. However, she refused to demean herself or the education she had, choosing to hang out her own shingle in Phoenix. O’Connor was able to work and make ends meet, while John secured work in one of the city’s larger firms. Thomas shows these parallel employment tracks of the two O’Connor lawyers, depicting how closed-minded many were in the 1950s. Taking time to start a family, Sandra showed a passion for all things familial, working as hard in the house as she had when sitting behind a desk. As her children grew, O’Connor turned back to her Republican roots and sought higher office to effect change. In a turn of fate, she was offered the chance to run for state senate in Arizona and served there, shaping laws and soon becoming the country’s first female state senate leader, even though the press made no notice of it. Her notoriety was not lost on the state and national scene, as she befriended the often outspoken and staunchly Republican U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, who began circulating her name to key players in the political arena. Sandra O’Connor was a woman with a mission and her passion for the law could not be overlooked. Her ascension to the bench came in due time, where Sandra O’Connor was able to shape laws and interpret the US Constitution in key instances, paving the way for others to look to her, hoping to see how she would use her clout to shape women’s issues at a time when rights were coming to the forefront.
During the 1980 US Presidential Election, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan vowed to make his first SCOTUS appointment be that of a woman. Paving the way for O’Connor, the opportunity arose in the summer of 1981, as Reagan chose Sandra O’Connor to fill a seat on the Court, even though many close to the president wanted him to renege on his promise. Reagan had little doubt that O’Connor would serve as a key conservative vote on the Court, while others were sure that women’s issues and affirmative action would be strengthen themes in rulings. O’Connor was breaking glass ceilings all over, though she was extremely modest in her advancements. As Thomas explores throughout, O’Connor did not want to be token woman who would buck the trend of her eight brethren, though she could not deny the new and fresh approach on the Court. Thomas spends much time exploring issues of affirmative action, abortion, race relations, constitutional interpretation, and social advancement throughout the biography, with all sides hoping to use O’Connor as a key player to various causes. She did not disappoint, but could not always be relied upon to vote a certain way, surprising pundits (and the president) on certain occasions. Thomas also spends time exploring the interactions that O’Connor had with her fellow Justices and clerks, positing an ever-evolving set of views and clashes that kept O’Connor’s life on the Court highly exciting.
There was more to O’Connor than her writing Court decisions and deciphering some of the nuances of constitutional law. Thomas explores how she used her time on the Court to educate many to the importance of the law, be it within the United States or on the world scene. She would travel around the country—and the world—to speak to groups that valued her opinions, while leaving a lasting impact on world judicial pillars. As hard as it would be for the world to see Sandra Day O’Connor as a human like others, she had her own foibles. A fight with cancer brought O’Connor to her knees and forced her to accept that she could not always deflect life’s hard choices. Thomas shows her vulnerable side throughout, when she was handed news and would breakdown in her chambers or at home. The strength of her family foundation was able to keep her from falling apart, but the reader will discover a woman who had her own issues and yet found ways to overcome them in her own way. Slowly, John O’Connor began to fade as well, though it was Alzheimer’s that took him down a path towards confusion and a degree of isolation. Justice O’Connor did her best to juggle her role as one of the nine, as well as be the dutiful wife to keep John comfortable. When there was little chance of her being able to do both, Sandra O’Connor chose family above country and decided that it was time to retire. Thomas engages in an interesting banter around O’Connor’s retirement and the illness of Chief Justice Rehnquist, which serves as an interesting parallel to their early relationship five decades before. While she was out of Court proceedings, Sandra O’Connor was never far from the pulse of legal progress locally and around the world. Her impact would not soon be forgotten, and remains vibrant to this day!
Evan Thomas captivates readers with his paced biography, giving Sandra Day O’Connor both a heroic nature and down to earth mentality as she navigated through life in the spotlight. While many created O’Connor into an icon for the women’s movement, shaping decisions from the bench, she was quite independent in her views and would not always vote to expand rights for the sake of doing so. Thomas uses extensive research to shape his narrative, including interviews, Court documents, and judicial opinions to offer a thorough view of the first woman to sit on SCOTUS, paving the way for other women who now sit and shape American policy. Thomas explores key themes in American politics and constitutional interpretation, including some issues that remain buzzwords today. Thomas effectively argues that O’Connor moved the discussion forward, though could not always be seen to give a final flavour to the discussion. The biography is highly educational, though Thomas is able to entertain in this easy to digest tome. The curious reader will take much away from this book and can use Thomas’ work as a wonderful launching pad to further exploration of O’Connor’s life or the intricacies of American jurisprudence. There is so much to learn and Evan Thomas takes readers on an adventure they will not soon forget, glorifying Sandra Day O’Connor without turning her into a sainted being.
Kudos, Mr. Thomas, for a sensational biography of a wonderful American icon. While this was my first piece of your work, it will definitely not be the last.
This Book fulfils Topic #5: Humbly Herculean in the Equinox #7 Book Challenge.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
April 22, 2019
As 2019 nears its third completed mark, my reading focus has become primarily nonfiction as I participate in the first annual group reading challenge in the Nonfiction Book Club here on goodreads. I have honed in on reading biographies and memoirs of remarkable women as a theme for the year. Recently, I noted that it would take be an indefinite amount of time to read about all the remarkable and trailblazing women of interest to me, much more than the time allotted by women's history month. In time for women's history month, United States biographer extraordinaire Evan Thomas has published a new biography on the woman once known as the most powerful woman in America, Sandra Day O'Connor. Along with his wife Oscie, Thomas interviewed countless friends and family of O'Connor as he performed a labor of love to pay homage to the first woman of the Supreme Court.
Sandra Day was born on March 26, 1930 to Harry and Ada Mae Day of the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona. An only child for the first nine years of her life, young Sandra played on the grounds of the vast ranch that her family called home and turned to ranch hands and the family's numerous animals as playmates. Harry instilled in his children a life of discipline whereas Ada Mae strove to remain a cultured woman even in the dusty environs as a rancher's wife. She taught her children to love reading and stayed dressed in the classy modes of the era in which she lived. When it came time for Sandra to start school, she boarded with her maternal grandmother Mamie Wilkey of El Paso, Texas. Having skipped a grade, Sandra was shy around her classmates; while she learned to appreciate the Tex Mex culture of El Paso, she longed for summer vacations at the Lazy B and never fit in amongst her school mates. Striving for independence, Sandra lobbied her parents to allow her to live at home and undergo a seventy mile bus ride in each direction to attend public high school in Lourdsburg, New Mexico. While she was able to be home, the level of education in Lourdsburg was not up to the Days' standards. Always the overachiever, Sandra skipped another grade in school and returned to El Paso for her senior year. It was in El Paso that classmates first noted that Sandra somehow knew that she was destined for more than a life as a wife and mother. To achieve these dreams, her next stop would be Stanford University.
Harry Day had wanted to attend Stanford as a young man but the onset of the depression and maintaining his family's landholdings prevented him from doing so. Harry was thus overjoyed when his daughter Sandra entered the school in 1946 at age sixteen. The years after World War II showed an influx of male students returning from service who attended colleges on the GI Bill; male students would outnumber their female counterparts by more than three to one. Sandra, although young for her age, had no shortage of suitors for this reason, one of whom was William Rehnquist of Wisconsin. Smitten by Sandra, the two would enjoy a professional and friendly relationship for the rest of their lives. While in a program that allowed her to complete undergraduate and law school in six years, Sandra fell for John O'Connor. Bill Rehnquist had his heart broken temporarily and longed for Sandra while clerking for the Supreme Court following graduation at the top of his Stanford class. Sandra finished second yet upon applying for jobs at top firms, the only answer she received was "how fast can you type." John O'Connor joined the armed forces, and the new couple moved to Germany for the duration of the Korean War years. Sandra found work as a paralegal, setting the groundwork for a long career on American soil.
Upon returning to the United States, the O'Connors chose the up and coming city of Phoenix to be their home city. John quickly found work at a top firm in the city whereas Sandra had to "hang her own shingle" at a public defender's office. This work influenced Sandra to have an eye on civics and community service for the rest of her long career. The O'Connors first demonstrated their attention to service by successfully lobbying their Paradise Valley community to keep the City of Phoenix from annexing it. They rose to hobnob with the movers and shakers of Phoenix, entertaining top politicians at their modest adobe home. Both Sandra and John started to rise professionally as well, John at his firm and Sandra as the leader of the Arizona State House and then on the State Court of Appeals. After successfully lobbying politicians to vet their old friend William Rehnquist to the Supreme Court in 1971, top brass in the Republican party took notice of the female judge in Arizona. By the late 1970s during the Carter presidency, the conservative Ronald Reagan wooed women's votes and noted that if a vacancy came up in the Supreme Court during his term, he thought it was time to appoint the first woman. Although not as qualified as the other candidates, Sandra Day O'Connor made President Reagan's short list.
September 25, 1981 saw Sandra Day O'Connor introduced as the first woman of the Supreme Court and would remain the Court's only woman for the next twelve years. It had taken a career balancing family first and work to get to the pinnacle of her career. Evan Thomas balances Sandra's private and public life seeming effortlessly in order to paint a picture of a pragmatist who took the middle ground during her two and a half decades on the court. Upon entering the United States' highest court, O'Connor quickly added women's touches to personalize her workplace. Women's aerobics at 8 am became a mandatory part of all women employees day, and weekly justice lunches allowed the justices to have contact with one another in a personalized setting. Before O'Connor's arrival on the bench, the justices rarely saw each other than at oral arguments, dubbing the court as nine separate law offices. Besides providing a voice of reason between liberals and conservatives O'Connor hired clerks under the auspices that they would be hard workers and receive an education on life, not just jurisprudence. Taking her clerks on field trips throughout the Washington area culminating with an annual hike to the Cherry Blossom Festival, O'Connor gave her clerks lessons in culture and civics, and, despite the heavy workload, reminded them to always put family first.
Evan Thomas demonstrates how Sandra O'Connor put family before work in his moving sections about John O'Connor. A hard worker in his own right, John sacrificed a top career in Phoenix to allow his wife to rise to prominence. While in Washington he joined a middle firm and the O'Connors established themselves as the talk of the town, both professionally and publicly. In order to establish a social life apart from his famous wife, John O'Connor joined gentleman's clubs around the city and reveled in the company of high achieving men. An accomplished story teller and joke deliverer, in some regards John O'Connor was better company than his better well known wife. Although he had to give up a career, he took the backseat to his wife at a time when women were first breaking through the glass ceiling politically. John enjoyed a sometime comical, all time cordial relationship with Denis Thatcher, the husband of Margaret and brought husbands of female senators into their exclusive club. Both O'Connors enjoyed traveling apart from their careers and maintained lifelong relationships with circles of friends in both Phoenix and Washington. From their sons' interviews with Thomas, it is apparent that they enjoyed a loving relationship for the duration of their long marriage.
Sandra O'Connor remained a voice of reason for her two and a half decades on the Supreme Court bench. Often she was a deciding vote on 5-4 decisions on key issues including abortion, affirmative action, and fourteenth amendment cases. While conservatives hoped that O'Connor would remain so for her entire career, voting with the Rehnquist block, O'Connor voted on a case by case basis, taking women and children's rights to heart, and encouraging her clerks to do so as well. Writing concurrent decisions so often and taking the middle ground as the nation became more polarized, pundits dubbed the court the "O'Connor Court" even though Sandra's old friend William Rehnquist had at the time long been elevated to Chief Justice. O'Connor's childhood at the Lazy B Ranch shaped her professional thought process and she never slowed down, even after a bout with cancer, adding the moniker of cancer survivor to her long list of achievements. Yet, as Thomas repeatedly pointed out, if a family obligation interfered with a vote, Sandra O'Connor expertly balanced the two. This was ever clear in the poignant later chapters of O'Connor's career when she had to decide between advancing her career and caring for John who had developed Alzheimer's, a disease that had already claimed her mother. Wanting to retire while there was still a Republican president in office to ensure a conservative successor, Sandra O'Connor stepped down from the Supreme Court in 2005 after a trailblazing twenty five year career on the bench. Although in the throes of a disease that would claim him five years later, John O'Connor noted at the time that "she could have been President."
I have noted many times that one of my heroes is Jackie Robinson because of his role in advancing civil rights in this country. Evan Thomas notes that Sandra Day O'Connor deserves equal recognition to Robinson for her being the first and inspiring a generation of women and beyond to seek out careers in politics. Today there are three women Supreme Court justices, one of whom, Elena Kagan, resides in the office once used by Sandra Day O'Connor. A generation ago this would have been unfathomable. The Arizona State University School of Law has been renamed in her honor, and in 2009 Sandra Day O'Connor received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her trailblazing life. At eighty nine years old, O'Connor is battling Alzheimer's and lives in an assisted living facility, yet, thankfully, Evan and Oscie Thomas interviewed her for this project while she was still lucid enough to annunciate on most memories. While I will continue to read about remarkable women throughout 2019, the life of Sandra Day O'Connor will be one of my crown jewels. To use a pun that John O'Connor would have been proud of, Evan Thomas has done justice to this trailblazing first woman of the Supreme Court.
*5 stars*
Sandra Day was born on March 26, 1930 to Harry and Ada Mae Day of the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona. An only child for the first nine years of her life, young Sandra played on the grounds of the vast ranch that her family called home and turned to ranch hands and the family's numerous animals as playmates. Harry instilled in his children a life of discipline whereas Ada Mae strove to remain a cultured woman even in the dusty environs as a rancher's wife. She taught her children to love reading and stayed dressed in the classy modes of the era in which she lived. When it came time for Sandra to start school, she boarded with her maternal grandmother Mamie Wilkey of El Paso, Texas. Having skipped a grade, Sandra was shy around her classmates; while she learned to appreciate the Tex Mex culture of El Paso, she longed for summer vacations at the Lazy B and never fit in amongst her school mates. Striving for independence, Sandra lobbied her parents to allow her to live at home and undergo a seventy mile bus ride in each direction to attend public high school in Lourdsburg, New Mexico. While she was able to be home, the level of education in Lourdsburg was not up to the Days' standards. Always the overachiever, Sandra skipped another grade in school and returned to El Paso for her senior year. It was in El Paso that classmates first noted that Sandra somehow knew that she was destined for more than a life as a wife and mother. To achieve these dreams, her next stop would be Stanford University.
Harry Day had wanted to attend Stanford as a young man but the onset of the depression and maintaining his family's landholdings prevented him from doing so. Harry was thus overjoyed when his daughter Sandra entered the school in 1946 at age sixteen. The years after World War II showed an influx of male students returning from service who attended colleges on the GI Bill; male students would outnumber their female counterparts by more than three to one. Sandra, although young for her age, had no shortage of suitors for this reason, one of whom was William Rehnquist of Wisconsin. Smitten by Sandra, the two would enjoy a professional and friendly relationship for the rest of their lives. While in a program that allowed her to complete undergraduate and law school in six years, Sandra fell for John O'Connor. Bill Rehnquist had his heart broken temporarily and longed for Sandra while clerking for the Supreme Court following graduation at the top of his Stanford class. Sandra finished second yet upon applying for jobs at top firms, the only answer she received was "how fast can you type." John O'Connor joined the armed forces, and the new couple moved to Germany for the duration of the Korean War years. Sandra found work as a paralegal, setting the groundwork for a long career on American soil.
Upon returning to the United States, the O'Connors chose the up and coming city of Phoenix to be their home city. John quickly found work at a top firm in the city whereas Sandra had to "hang her own shingle" at a public defender's office. This work influenced Sandra to have an eye on civics and community service for the rest of her long career. The O'Connors first demonstrated their attention to service by successfully lobbying their Paradise Valley community to keep the City of Phoenix from annexing it. They rose to hobnob with the movers and shakers of Phoenix, entertaining top politicians at their modest adobe home. Both Sandra and John started to rise professionally as well, John at his firm and Sandra as the leader of the Arizona State House and then on the State Court of Appeals. After successfully lobbying politicians to vet their old friend William Rehnquist to the Supreme Court in 1971, top brass in the Republican party took notice of the female judge in Arizona. By the late 1970s during the Carter presidency, the conservative Ronald Reagan wooed women's votes and noted that if a vacancy came up in the Supreme Court during his term, he thought it was time to appoint the first woman. Although not as qualified as the other candidates, Sandra Day O'Connor made President Reagan's short list.
September 25, 1981 saw Sandra Day O'Connor introduced as the first woman of the Supreme Court and would remain the Court's only woman for the next twelve years. It had taken a career balancing family first and work to get to the pinnacle of her career. Evan Thomas balances Sandra's private and public life seeming effortlessly in order to paint a picture of a pragmatist who took the middle ground during her two and a half decades on the court. Upon entering the United States' highest court, O'Connor quickly added women's touches to personalize her workplace. Women's aerobics at 8 am became a mandatory part of all women employees day, and weekly justice lunches allowed the justices to have contact with one another in a personalized setting. Before O'Connor's arrival on the bench, the justices rarely saw each other than at oral arguments, dubbing the court as nine separate law offices. Besides providing a voice of reason between liberals and conservatives O'Connor hired clerks under the auspices that they would be hard workers and receive an education on life, not just jurisprudence. Taking her clerks on field trips throughout the Washington area culminating with an annual hike to the Cherry Blossom Festival, O'Connor gave her clerks lessons in culture and civics, and, despite the heavy workload, reminded them to always put family first.
Evan Thomas demonstrates how Sandra O'Connor put family before work in his moving sections about John O'Connor. A hard worker in his own right, John sacrificed a top career in Phoenix to allow his wife to rise to prominence. While in Washington he joined a middle firm and the O'Connors established themselves as the talk of the town, both professionally and publicly. In order to establish a social life apart from his famous wife, John O'Connor joined gentleman's clubs around the city and reveled in the company of high achieving men. An accomplished story teller and joke deliverer, in some regards John O'Connor was better company than his better well known wife. Although he had to give up a career, he took the backseat to his wife at a time when women were first breaking through the glass ceiling politically. John enjoyed a sometime comical, all time cordial relationship with Denis Thatcher, the husband of Margaret and brought husbands of female senators into their exclusive club. Both O'Connors enjoyed traveling apart from their careers and maintained lifelong relationships with circles of friends in both Phoenix and Washington. From their sons' interviews with Thomas, it is apparent that they enjoyed a loving relationship for the duration of their long marriage.
Sandra O'Connor remained a voice of reason for her two and a half decades on the Supreme Court bench. Often she was a deciding vote on 5-4 decisions on key issues including abortion, affirmative action, and fourteenth amendment cases. While conservatives hoped that O'Connor would remain so for her entire career, voting with the Rehnquist block, O'Connor voted on a case by case basis, taking women and children's rights to heart, and encouraging her clerks to do so as well. Writing concurrent decisions so often and taking the middle ground as the nation became more polarized, pundits dubbed the court the "O'Connor Court" even though Sandra's old friend William Rehnquist had at the time long been elevated to Chief Justice. O'Connor's childhood at the Lazy B Ranch shaped her professional thought process and she never slowed down, even after a bout with cancer, adding the moniker of cancer survivor to her long list of achievements. Yet, as Thomas repeatedly pointed out, if a family obligation interfered with a vote, Sandra O'Connor expertly balanced the two. This was ever clear in the poignant later chapters of O'Connor's career when she had to decide between advancing her career and caring for John who had developed Alzheimer's, a disease that had already claimed her mother. Wanting to retire while there was still a Republican president in office to ensure a conservative successor, Sandra O'Connor stepped down from the Supreme Court in 2005 after a trailblazing twenty five year career on the bench. Although in the throes of a disease that would claim him five years later, John O'Connor noted at the time that "she could have been President."
I have noted many times that one of my heroes is Jackie Robinson because of his role in advancing civil rights in this country. Evan Thomas notes that Sandra Day O'Connor deserves equal recognition to Robinson for her being the first and inspiring a generation of women and beyond to seek out careers in politics. Today there are three women Supreme Court justices, one of whom, Elena Kagan, resides in the office once used by Sandra Day O'Connor. A generation ago this would have been unfathomable. The Arizona State University School of Law has been renamed in her honor, and in 2009 Sandra Day O'Connor received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her trailblazing life. At eighty nine years old, O'Connor is battling Alzheimer's and lives in an assisted living facility, yet, thankfully, Evan and Oscie Thomas interviewed her for this project while she was still lucid enough to annunciate on most memories. While I will continue to read about remarkable women throughout 2019, the life of Sandra Day O'Connor will be one of my crown jewels. To use a pun that John O'Connor would have been proud of, Evan Thomas has done justice to this trailblazing first woman of the Supreme Court.
*5 stars*
March 24, 2019
I have read Joan Biskupic’s biography of Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-) and have read O’Connor’s memoirs and other books. Thomas’s book was written after she retired from the Court so contains more information about her later life. Thomas also had access to John O’Connor’s papers, diary and unpublished memoir.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. Thomas interviewed almost all of O’Connor’s law clerks and staff as well as friends and colleagues. I found the information about how each of the male Justices had to adapt (or not) to a female Justice interesting. I found the lunch meeting between O’Connor and Ginsburg most interesting. This meeting took place just after O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court and long before Ginsburg was appointed to the Court. Thomas provided a number of insights as well as material not covered in prior books. This book is well worth the read. I noted how far women attorneys have come since the day O’Connor graduated from Stanford Law School and found out that firms would not hire women.
I read this as an e-book on my Kindle app for my iPad. There were lots of photographs. I wished I had the photograph with all the women Justices together. The book was 455 pages and published by Random House.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. Thomas interviewed almost all of O’Connor’s law clerks and staff as well as friends and colleagues. I found the information about how each of the male Justices had to adapt (or not) to a female Justice interesting. I found the lunch meeting between O’Connor and Ginsburg most interesting. This meeting took place just after O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court and long before Ginsburg was appointed to the Court. Thomas provided a number of insights as well as material not covered in prior books. This book is well worth the read. I noted how far women attorneys have come since the day O’Connor graduated from Stanford Law School and found out that firms would not hire women.
I read this as an e-book on my Kindle app for my iPad. There were lots of photographs. I wished I had the photograph with all the women Justices together. The book was 455 pages and published by Random House.
March 11, 2019
An inspiring and enlightening autobiography of a most amazing woman.
SUMMARY
Sandra Day 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. She graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, but no firm would even interview her. Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings—with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and toughness.
She became the first ever female majority leader of a state senate. As a judge on the Arizona 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.
REVIEW
Absolutely loved this authoritative and well-sourced autobiography of Sandra Day O’Connor, who became the most powerful woman in America. Sources include Supreme Court internal records, and interviews with O’Connor, and many of her clerks, friends and family. FIRST draws a fabulous portrait of her childhood, her personal life, and her twenty-five years on the bench.
The writing is superb. I cried when I read the explanation of her appointment to the Supreme Court, just as I had when she was actually appointed in 1981. I loved hearing about her thoughtful deliberations on the tough issues of discrimination and abortion. I laughed at the many funny stories of dancing, making jokes and having a good time. I enjoyed reading about her jovial husband John, and how he dealt with being married to the “most powerful woman” in America. I was captivated at many details of her relationships and interactions with the other justices.
Being from Florida, one of my favorite parts of the book was the chapter on Bush v. Gore. Not because I necessarily liked the outcome, but because I now finally understand the rationale behind it. FIRST is an inspiring and enlightening autobiography of an amazing woman. The book is smartly structured and is bounding with magnificent personal and professional details. Highly recommended.
Author Evan Thomas is the author of nine books including two NYT best sellers: John Paul Jones and Sea of Thunder. Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for thirty-three years at Time and Newsweek, including ten years (1986–96) as Washington bureau chief at Newsweek, where, at the time of his retirement in 2010, he was editor at large.
Thanks to Netgalley, Evan Thomas and Random House for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher Random House
Published March 19, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
SUMMARY
Sandra Day 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. She graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, but no firm would even interview her. Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings—with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and toughness.
She became the first ever female majority leader of a state senate. As a judge on the Arizona 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.
REVIEW
Absolutely loved this authoritative and well-sourced autobiography of Sandra Day O’Connor, who became the most powerful woman in America. Sources include Supreme Court internal records, and interviews with O’Connor, and many of her clerks, friends and family. FIRST draws a fabulous portrait of her childhood, her personal life, and her twenty-five years on the bench.
The writing is superb. I cried when I read the explanation of her appointment to the Supreme Court, just as I had when she was actually appointed in 1981. I loved hearing about her thoughtful deliberations on the tough issues of discrimination and abortion. I laughed at the many funny stories of dancing, making jokes and having a good time. I enjoyed reading about her jovial husband John, and how he dealt with being married to the “most powerful woman” in America. I was captivated at many details of her relationships and interactions with the other justices.
Being from Florida, one of my favorite parts of the book was the chapter on Bush v. Gore. Not because I necessarily liked the outcome, but because I now finally understand the rationale behind it. FIRST is an inspiring and enlightening autobiography of an amazing woman. The book is smartly structured and is bounding with magnificent personal and professional details. Highly recommended.
Author Evan Thomas is the author of nine books including two NYT best sellers: John Paul Jones and Sea of Thunder. Thomas was a writer, correspondent, and editor for thirty-three years at Time and Newsweek, including ten years (1986–96) as Washington bureau chief at Newsweek, where, at the time of his retirement in 2010, he was editor at large.
Thanks to Netgalley, Evan Thomas and Random House for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher Random House
Published March 19, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
May 19, 2019
First: Sandra Day O'Connor was a meticulously researched biography by Evan Thomas. In addition to complete access to all of the documents and personal papers in Justice O'Connor's chambers at the Supreme Court and in the Library of Congress, there were countless interviews with Justice O'Connor and her family in Phoenix, as well as speaking with Justice O'Connor's law clerks and friends throughout the country. Seven justices spoke with Evan Thomas in their chambers, including John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kegan.
Sandra Day was born in El Paso, Texas in 1930 to parents, Harry and Ada Mae Day. Taken home to the Lazy B Ranch located in the southwest in Arizona bordering on New Mexico, the ranch had no electricity, telephone or hot water, but Sandra loved the Lazy B Ranch and the big sky and vistas. O'Connor always felt that in the unforgiving vastness of the high desert, she had learned to be selfless and self-reliant. Being alone for the first nine years of her childhood, she had wild creatures for pets, including a bobcat and a baby coyote. Chico was her favorite horse, patiently waiting for her to climb back on whenever she would tumble off. She was driving as soon as she could see over the steering wheel. Because of the remote location of the Lazy B Ranch, she spent time with her maternal grandmother in El Paso, attending school. She graduated from high school at age 16 and was admitted to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, falling in love with the architecture and academia. She went on to Stanford Law School, and was on the Stanford Law Review, graduating near the top of her class. She was classmates with Chief Justice William Rehnquist; they remained friends until his death.
After graduation, she married John O'Connor and after a stint in the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany, the O'Connor's decided to make their home in Phoenix, Arizona. John was able to find a job right away with a prestigious law firm while Justice O'Connor was asked if she could type; law firms weren't hiring women as lawyers. Not to be stopped, she began practice with a partner in a storefront law firm. Eventually, she went on to serve in the Arizona legislature elected to be the first female majority leader, which she always felt was invaluable to her tenure on the United States Supreme Court. From there she went on to serve as a judge in Arizona.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court. The president said, "she was a person for all seasons." Justice O'Connor saw herself as a bridge between an era where women were protected and submissive toward an era of true equality between the sexes. O'Connor was the most powerful Supreme Court Justice of her time. From October 1981 to January 2006, O'Connor was the controlling vote on many of the great societal issues, including abortion, affirmative action, voting rights and religious freedom. After retirement, she continued to be an ambassador and traveled throughout the United States and the world. On August 12, 2009, Justice O'Connor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, praising her for building "a bridge behind her for all young women to follow."
"Women's rights would become a quiet cause for Justice O'Connor--never frontally embraced as an activist on the model of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. . . .but slowly and surely furthered and fostered in her judicial opinions."
"While O'Connor's jurisprudence is not easily pigeonholed, her method of deciding cases falls into the philosophic tradition of pragmatism."
"The Court is an essential part of a long process of melding attitudes and mores with the law of the land. Rarely is there a last word. Sometimes the Court gets ahead of public opinion, or at least some well-entrenched sectors of opinion--notably in the 1954 school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education, and the 1973 abortion case, Roe v. Wade. (The country eventually caught up on desegregation; it remains divided on abortion)."
"For more than two decades, during tumultuous times, she had kept the Court centered."
"As you walk up the wide steps of the Supreme Court, you pass between two grand marble statues, on the right a man (Authority of Law) and on the left a woman (Contemplation of Justice). Until Sandra O'Connor arrived, every justice had been a man. She knew the burden she carried. . . More than an activist for women's rights, she had to play the role of Lady Justice, holding the scales. She brought to her job the wisdom that can come from personal suffering, from having a great love and losing it, from being a daughter and a mother as well as a role model for millions of women."
Sandra Day was born in El Paso, Texas in 1930 to parents, Harry and Ada Mae Day. Taken home to the Lazy B Ranch located in the southwest in Arizona bordering on New Mexico, the ranch had no electricity, telephone or hot water, but Sandra loved the Lazy B Ranch and the big sky and vistas. O'Connor always felt that in the unforgiving vastness of the high desert, she had learned to be selfless and self-reliant. Being alone for the first nine years of her childhood, she had wild creatures for pets, including a bobcat and a baby coyote. Chico was her favorite horse, patiently waiting for her to climb back on whenever she would tumble off. She was driving as soon as she could see over the steering wheel. Because of the remote location of the Lazy B Ranch, she spent time with her maternal grandmother in El Paso, attending school. She graduated from high school at age 16 and was admitted to Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, falling in love with the architecture and academia. She went on to Stanford Law School, and was on the Stanford Law Review, graduating near the top of her class. She was classmates with Chief Justice William Rehnquist; they remained friends until his death.
After graduation, she married John O'Connor and after a stint in the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany, the O'Connor's decided to make their home in Phoenix, Arizona. John was able to find a job right away with a prestigious law firm while Justice O'Connor was asked if she could type; law firms weren't hiring women as lawyers. Not to be stopped, she began practice with a partner in a storefront law firm. Eventually, she went on to serve in the Arizona legislature elected to be the first female majority leader, which she always felt was invaluable to her tenure on the United States Supreme Court. From there she went on to serve as a judge in Arizona.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court. The president said, "she was a person for all seasons." Justice O'Connor saw herself as a bridge between an era where women were protected and submissive toward an era of true equality between the sexes. O'Connor was the most powerful Supreme Court Justice of her time. From October 1981 to January 2006, O'Connor was the controlling vote on many of the great societal issues, including abortion, affirmative action, voting rights and religious freedom. After retirement, she continued to be an ambassador and traveled throughout the United States and the world. On August 12, 2009, Justice O'Connor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, praising her for building "a bridge behind her for all young women to follow."
"Women's rights would become a quiet cause for Justice O'Connor--never frontally embraced as an activist on the model of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. . . .but slowly and surely furthered and fostered in her judicial opinions."
"While O'Connor's jurisprudence is not easily pigeonholed, her method of deciding cases falls into the philosophic tradition of pragmatism."
"The Court is an essential part of a long process of melding attitudes and mores with the law of the land. Rarely is there a last word. Sometimes the Court gets ahead of public opinion, or at least some well-entrenched sectors of opinion--notably in the 1954 school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education, and the 1973 abortion case, Roe v. Wade. (The country eventually caught up on desegregation; it remains divided on abortion)."
"For more than two decades, during tumultuous times, she had kept the Court centered."
"As you walk up the wide steps of the Supreme Court, you pass between two grand marble statues, on the right a man (Authority of Law) and on the left a woman (Contemplation of Justice). Until Sandra O'Connor arrived, every justice had been a man. She knew the burden she carried. . . More than an activist for women's rights, she had to play the role of Lady Justice, holding the scales. She brought to her job the wisdom that can come from personal suffering, from having a great love and losing it, from being a daughter and a mother as well as a role model for millions of women."
March 14, 2019
“First” is a in-depth biography of one of the most remarkable women in American history. In many ways, Justice O’Connor has not received the recognition she deserves for being such a groundbreaking figure. Based on over a hundred interviews with friends, family members, fellow justices, and almost all of her law clerks, First offers a wide sweeping portrait of O’Connor from her beginnings on a dusty Arizona ranch hours from the nearest city to her final years when she left the Court to care for her husband as he suffered from late-stage Alzheimer’s.
The first part of the book traces her early years in the Day Ranch as O’Connor grew up and formed her values. The story follows her to Stanford where she met and dated future Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist. But, even graduating from a top university with stellar grades only garnered her job offers as a legal secretary, not as a lawyer. Their loss!
O’Connor worked her way from the bottom to become the Majority Leader of the Arizona Senate and then a judicial appointment to state court. Her struggles and success in the Arizona Legislature are detailed here but are not as compelling as the rest of her story.
The story then turns to what made her famous: her appointment to the Supreme Court by President Reagan. Like the Brethren, Evans details for us the inner workings of the High Court, but with O’Connor as the center hub of the story, not Brennan. Evans both humanizes O’Connor and her fellow justices. Major court decisions are discussed as are the inner court debates on how to decide the cases. The discussion is at a level which is complex enough to appeal to a legal audience and to lay readers as well (I think).
This biography is well-researched, well-detailed, and leaves one with an appreciation for what a remarkable person Justice O��Connor was and what a remarkable life she led.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.
The first part of the book traces her early years in the Day Ranch as O’Connor grew up and formed her values. The story follows her to Stanford where she met and dated future Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist. But, even graduating from a top university with stellar grades only garnered her job offers as a legal secretary, not as a lawyer. Their loss!
O’Connor worked her way from the bottom to become the Majority Leader of the Arizona Senate and then a judicial appointment to state court. Her struggles and success in the Arizona Legislature are detailed here but are not as compelling as the rest of her story.
The story then turns to what made her famous: her appointment to the Supreme Court by President Reagan. Like the Brethren, Evans details for us the inner workings of the High Court, but with O’Connor as the center hub of the story, not Brennan. Evans both humanizes O’Connor and her fellow justices. Major court decisions are discussed as are the inner court debates on how to decide the cases. The discussion is at a level which is complex enough to appeal to a legal audience and to lay readers as well (I think).
This biography is well-researched, well-detailed, and leaves one with an appreciation for what a remarkable person Justice O��Connor was and what a remarkable life she led.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.
April 19, 2019
This was one of those surprises - an available book at the library! Not one waved at me on FB or Audible or GR or Kindle sellers. . . .sometimes I worry that all I'm reading is what is being marketed at me. . . .so this was fun. A library book waiting for check-in, that I got to scoop up!
This was fantastic - it was SOC's (Sandra O'Connor) story from the very beginning to now - all she has been through, and although it is a biography and not autobiographical, I think it is as close as she would comfortably come in letting the public in, and that felt good to me. No big reveals or curtains to pull back leaving a trembling Oz.
The writing was good, not earthshaking - I didn't find myself stopping to savor words or sentences like you do with some books - and that's ok. I wanted her story and I got it, steady and square and reporter-like. It was a fair deal all the way around.
In these pages you get the view of what it took to be the first woman on the supreme court (and how many men it took to get her there, besides her own skills and smarts). Politics during the 60s - 90s are featured, the reader gets an inside view of Supreme Court justice interworkings, how to raise a family and be a judge and a caregiver - all at once - and well, If any of these are of interest to you, I recommend it highly!
This was fantastic - it was SOC's (Sandra O'Connor) story from the very beginning to now - all she has been through, and although it is a biography and not autobiographical, I think it is as close as she would comfortably come in letting the public in, and that felt good to me. No big reveals or curtains to pull back leaving a trembling Oz.
The writing was good, not earthshaking - I didn't find myself stopping to savor words or sentences like you do with some books - and that's ok. I wanted her story and I got it, steady and square and reporter-like. It was a fair deal all the way around.
In these pages you get the view of what it took to be the first woman on the supreme court (and how many men it took to get her there, besides her own skills and smarts). Politics during the 60s - 90s are featured, the reader gets an inside view of Supreme Court justice interworkings, how to raise a family and be a judge and a caregiver - all at once - and well, If any of these are of interest to you, I recommend it highly!
February 20, 2020
FIRST (2019) is a first-rate biography of America's first female Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. Author Evan Thomas skillfully blends O'Connor's life events (growing up on a ranch without electricity, finishing no. 3 in her law class at Stanford, struggling for opportunity as a brand-new woman attorney) with her climb within Arizona politics and appointment to the Court by Ronald Reagan. Interviews with countless former law clerks and friends add depth and insight to her life story and her ideology, which drifted a bit to the left during an era in which Republicans and Democrats still got along. All in all, it's a readable and highly recommended bio.
June 25, 2019
Since I heard Evan Thomas give a reading, I've wanted to read one of his nonfiction titles, and this one is a flat-out winner. I like his accessible writing style, and the levelheaded way he covers his biographical subject. He captures SDO's wry sense of humor, for instance. He also gives a lot of background information about the SCOTUS and helped me to understand everything in its context. I've admired SDO, and this sympathetic biography does her proper justice. I'll probably more of Evan Thomas's books somewhere down the line.
May 8, 2019
Evan Thomas' "First: Sandra Day O'Connor" is an intimate, unbiased, resourceful, and beautifully written portrait of the first woman Supreme Court Justice. Appointed to the court by President Reagan in 1981 one could easily make the case that she was the most important justice over the next twenty-five years. As Mr. Evan points out, it was her minimalist approach to the law and court opinions and her ability to relate present day society to the law that allowed the court from going too far to the left or the right... Protecting the rights of women and minorities, families and children from the radical ideas some of her fellow justices were trying to hammer into law or, in many cases totally remove the progress the country had made on issues of race and human rights.
I highly recommend this book. It is not only a look at the life of an amazing lady, but it also gives the reader an inside look into the Supreme Court that is easy to understand and process.
I highly recommend this book. It is not only a look at the life of an amazing lady, but it also gives the reader an inside look into the Supreme Court that is easy to understand and process.
November 6, 2021
https://thebestbiographies.com/2021/1...
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930- ) is best-known as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court. Almost as notable: she was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the US Senate, which seems unfathomable given today’s political climate. Less well known is that in her early professional career she was a politician, serving as a member of the Arizona state senate and becoming the first woman in the US to serve as a state’s Majority Leader.
This entertaining biography’s 405-page narrative proceeds in an organized, evenly-paced and almost entirely chronological fashion. Thomas’s writing style is unpretentious and easy to digest, he provides enough detail without weighing down the story and he mixes observations from diaries and interviews with historical context in a way that is both seamless and revealing.
Research for this book included interviews with several current and former Supreme Court justices, interviews with nearly all of O’Connor’s 108 law clerks and consultation with her – and her husband’s – diaries and memoirs. And although the book is largely complimentary of O’Connor, Thomas does expose her personality quirks including her need for control and occasional social insensitivity.
Individual moments of particular interest or excellence are too plentiful to exhaustively document but include the history of O’Connor’s selection as a Supreme Court nominee, various “behind the scenes” anecdotes and stories involving members of the court, and the exploration of weighty, ongoing issues such as abortion and affirmative action.
But the unexpected highlight for me is the attention this author gives to most of Sandra Day O’Connor’s fellow Supreme Court justices. His profiles of Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsberg are – not surprisingly – quite interesting. But his observations relating to David Souter, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer (among many others) adds a sense of vibrancy (and insight) to the narrative which most readers will find innervating.
This biography of Sandra Day O’Connor possesses few conspicuous flaws or shortcomings. Some readers may conclude it feels too much like popular, not weighty, history. And it can be so easy to read that it can almost exude a casual or breezy aura. But while it may not seem as consistently serious or profound as, say, a biography of Abraham Lincoln or Eleanor Roosevelt, it is difficult to imagine a better biography of O’Connor.
Overall, Evan Thomas’s biography of Sandra Day O’Connor proves consistently entertaining, revealing and enlightening. This book is likely to appeal to a wide variety of readers including almost anyone with an interest in national politics, the Supreme Court, women of exceptional achievement or readers who simply enjoy an illuminating, well-written biography. And in the end it’s hard to imagine a more compelling biography of this extraordinary woman.
Overall rating: 4½ stars
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930- ) is best-known as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court. Almost as notable: she was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the US Senate, which seems unfathomable given today’s political climate. Less well known is that in her early professional career she was a politician, serving as a member of the Arizona state senate and becoming the first woman in the US to serve as a state’s Majority Leader.
This entertaining biography’s 405-page narrative proceeds in an organized, evenly-paced and almost entirely chronological fashion. Thomas’s writing style is unpretentious and easy to digest, he provides enough detail without weighing down the story and he mixes observations from diaries and interviews with historical context in a way that is both seamless and revealing.
Research for this book included interviews with several current and former Supreme Court justices, interviews with nearly all of O’Connor’s 108 law clerks and consultation with her – and her husband’s – diaries and memoirs. And although the book is largely complimentary of O’Connor, Thomas does expose her personality quirks including her need for control and occasional social insensitivity.
Individual moments of particular interest or excellence are too plentiful to exhaustively document but include the history of O’Connor’s selection as a Supreme Court nominee, various “behind the scenes” anecdotes and stories involving members of the court, and the exploration of weighty, ongoing issues such as abortion and affirmative action.
But the unexpected highlight for me is the attention this author gives to most of Sandra Day O’Connor’s fellow Supreme Court justices. His profiles of Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsberg are – not surprisingly – quite interesting. But his observations relating to David Souter, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer (among many others) adds a sense of vibrancy (and insight) to the narrative which most readers will find innervating.
This biography of Sandra Day O’Connor possesses few conspicuous flaws or shortcomings. Some readers may conclude it feels too much like popular, not weighty, history. And it can be so easy to read that it can almost exude a casual or breezy aura. But while it may not seem as consistently serious or profound as, say, a biography of Abraham Lincoln or Eleanor Roosevelt, it is difficult to imagine a better biography of O’Connor.
Overall, Evan Thomas’s biography of Sandra Day O’Connor proves consistently entertaining, revealing and enlightening. This book is likely to appeal to a wide variety of readers including almost anyone with an interest in national politics, the Supreme Court, women of exceptional achievement or readers who simply enjoy an illuminating, well-written biography. And in the end it’s hard to imagine a more compelling biography of this extraordinary woman.
Overall rating: 4½ stars
December 25, 2018
First: Sandra Day O'Connor, by Evan Thomas, is the first biography I have read about Sandra Day O'Connor. Clearly, a lot of research went into the book, but unfortunately the writing is disorganized and lacks focus.
The introduction of her early life, her wonderful marriage to John, and her early career is well done. Her upbringing and marital support gave her the fortitude to face the sexist challenges of her time.
But beginning with the Supreme Court appointment, the book breaks down. The narrative bounces around chronologically, and it is full of details of court cases that did not serve to tell Sandra Day O'Connor's story. I felt the author needed to choose between a book about case law, or a book about SDC.
There are interesting nuggets in each chapter, but I was often skimming after chapter 7.
The description of her post-retirement years is quite unflattering. While it's important to be truthful, I think some interview comments could have been left out for the sake of graciousness. iCivics is a wonderful program, and perhaps more could have been said about that and less about her bossiness and rudeness.
An advance copy of this book was provided to me by Netgalley.
The introduction of her early life, her wonderful marriage to John, and her early career is well done. Her upbringing and marital support gave her the fortitude to face the sexist challenges of her time.
But beginning with the Supreme Court appointment, the book breaks down. The narrative bounces around chronologically, and it is full of details of court cases that did not serve to tell Sandra Day O'Connor's story. I felt the author needed to choose between a book about case law, or a book about SDC.
There are interesting nuggets in each chapter, but I was often skimming after chapter 7.
The description of her post-retirement years is quite unflattering. While it's important to be truthful, I think some interview comments could have been left out for the sake of graciousness. iCivics is a wonderful program, and perhaps more could have been said about that and less about her bossiness and rudeness.
An advance copy of this book was provided to me by Netgalley.
November 6, 2021
Until 1981, just over two hundred years after it came into existence, the United States Supreme Court had been comprised of only males. With Ronald Reagan nominating her, Sandra Day O'Connor broke that awful streak and became the first female Supreme Court Justice. Evan Thomas, an excellent writer, captures O'Connor with all of her virtues and flaws, recounting her norm-busting life from birth to old age. Speaking to so many of O'Connor's law clerks, fellow Justices, friends, and family members, as well as consulting her husband John's lengthy diary, Thomas comes as close as probably anyone ever will to understanding her complex personality.
O'Connor was born into a man's world and skillfully navigated her way through it, all the way from childhood to her retirement from the Court. She faced, and viewed, discrimination from the beginning, with her domineering father Harry Day ruling the Lazy B ranch in eastern Arizona with an iron hand, while her mother Ada remained in the background, firmly entrenched in a supporting role. Little Sandra had to prove herself, constantly, to her father. Even something as out of her control as getting a flat tire causing her to be late in bringing lunch to the ranch hands was her fault for not leaving earlier, according to Harry. He seemed to be severe and unsparing in his criticism, while withholding almost all praise. Noticeably, I got the same sense from O'Connor herself once she grew into adulthood.
Despite being near the top of her class at Stanford, no law firm would hire her, or even consider her, for anything more than being a secretary (and there was only one firm that considered her for that). Imagine that. You are accomplished, check off all the boxes, and graduate from a top law school, and no firm takes you seriously. All because you are a woman. No other reason. It's disgusting. It is just a reminder that this country has always been messed up in terms of treating people as equals. But O'Connor's solution was to plug ahead and at least pretend that did not bother her. O'Connor ended up volunteering at the District Attorney's Office because she could not get hired anywhere.
Thomas chronicles her long and wonderful marriage to her husband John, the somewhat high society life that they built in Phoenix, and Sandra's emergence into Arizona politics. She got into the Arizona legislature, eventually becoming Senate Majority Leader for a few years before running for a state court judgeship. It is not very common anymore for a Supreme Court Justice to have experience in elected office like she did, which gave her another unique perspective on the Court.
While Thomas certainly focuses a lot of attention on O'Connor's twenty-four years on the Supreme Court, he never gets bogged down in minutiae about individual cases. He provides enough information so that the reader can understand the particulars of a case, and then understand why O'Connor voted the way that she did. A lot of time is spent on abortion and affirmative action, but I did not feel these divisive issues were overdone at all. Thomas spent time on them because O'Connor spent a lot of time on them, and because they were and remain hot-button issues in American society. He spoke to many of her former Clerks, noting that most of them held her in high regard. I do wonder though about the ones who did not feel that way. Did he try talking to them too? No mention is made of them. He did briefly note that O'Connor was particularly distressed after a very low turnout when she tried to have a reunion of former Clerks. It made me wonder if there was something too domineering about her that turned some people away from her. Or perhaps it was simply that these people all led busy lives, and were scattered throughout the country, so it might not have been feasible for some to attend.
One of the aspects that makes this biography so good is that Thomas really tries to understand O'Connor the person, the discrimination that she faced, the difficulties with other Justices on the Court, her valiant yet stubborn attempt to keep caring for her husband John as he descended further and further into Alzheimer's, and her ability to remain inscrutable to most people. She comes across as tightly-wound, severe, bossy and somewhat frigid. Yet she enjoyed dancing, skiing, fly fishing, cooking, and exploring nature. She tried to invade her Clerks' personal lives (telling some when they should get married) yet showed she cared about them as more than just her Clerks for that term. She also had a keen sense of just what a Justice's role ultimately is: to help people, to make life better, or at least to try to make it more fair for people. She was blasted, I think unfairly so, by many on the right as not being conservative enough. O'Connor, while partisan, tried not to view her position that way, and usually attempted to look for compromise. Unfortunately, this noble sense failed her in the disputed 2000 presidential election, in which she was the swing vote that voted to halt the recount in Florida, thereby giving the state's electoral votes, and the presidency, to George W. Bush. Not surprisingly, O'Connor tried to avoid talking about the decision later, which just reinforces for me that she knew it was wrong.
The last few chapters are quite sad. John slipped further and further into the murkiness of Alzheimer's, with Sandra stubbornly trying to take care of him. She decided to retire from the Court to do so; but her decision was also influenced by William Rehnquist telling her that he was going to stay on for another full term. However, Rehnquist was sicker than he admitted to her, and died two months after she submitted her resignation. While she was still on the Court since her successor had not yet been confirmed, she did not rescind the resignation because she wanted to care for her husband. Six months after retiring, she ended up having John transferred to an assisted living facility for Alzheimer's patients anyways. So, in effect, she retired too early, and she rued her decision. John died a few years later, no longer recognizing her. Then a few short years after that, she herself developed the disease and also ended up in a wheelchair due to back problems. It is difficult not to feel very badly for her. She broke so many barriers, yet was deprived of an enjoyable retirement with her husband.
This is a wonderful biography, thorough in all of the most important areas. While Thomas is on the whole friendly towards O'Connor, he notes equally her good and bad qualities, and successfully shows her in the context of the times in which she lived. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the Supreme Court, a pioneering woman, or just a good solid biography.
Grade: A
O'Connor was born into a man's world and skillfully navigated her way through it, all the way from childhood to her retirement from the Court. She faced, and viewed, discrimination from the beginning, with her domineering father Harry Day ruling the Lazy B ranch in eastern Arizona with an iron hand, while her mother Ada remained in the background, firmly entrenched in a supporting role. Little Sandra had to prove herself, constantly, to her father. Even something as out of her control as getting a flat tire causing her to be late in bringing lunch to the ranch hands was her fault for not leaving earlier, according to Harry. He seemed to be severe and unsparing in his criticism, while withholding almost all praise. Noticeably, I got the same sense from O'Connor herself once she grew into adulthood.
Despite being near the top of her class at Stanford, no law firm would hire her, or even consider her, for anything more than being a secretary (and there was only one firm that considered her for that). Imagine that. You are accomplished, check off all the boxes, and graduate from a top law school, and no firm takes you seriously. All because you are a woman. No other reason. It's disgusting. It is just a reminder that this country has always been messed up in terms of treating people as equals. But O'Connor's solution was to plug ahead and at least pretend that did not bother her. O'Connor ended up volunteering at the District Attorney's Office because she could not get hired anywhere.
Thomas chronicles her long and wonderful marriage to her husband John, the somewhat high society life that they built in Phoenix, and Sandra's emergence into Arizona politics. She got into the Arizona legislature, eventually becoming Senate Majority Leader for a few years before running for a state court judgeship. It is not very common anymore for a Supreme Court Justice to have experience in elected office like she did, which gave her another unique perspective on the Court.
While Thomas certainly focuses a lot of attention on O'Connor's twenty-four years on the Supreme Court, he never gets bogged down in minutiae about individual cases. He provides enough information so that the reader can understand the particulars of a case, and then understand why O'Connor voted the way that she did. A lot of time is spent on abortion and affirmative action, but I did not feel these divisive issues were overdone at all. Thomas spent time on them because O'Connor spent a lot of time on them, and because they were and remain hot-button issues in American society. He spoke to many of her former Clerks, noting that most of them held her in high regard. I do wonder though about the ones who did not feel that way. Did he try talking to them too? No mention is made of them. He did briefly note that O'Connor was particularly distressed after a very low turnout when she tried to have a reunion of former Clerks. It made me wonder if there was something too domineering about her that turned some people away from her. Or perhaps it was simply that these people all led busy lives, and were scattered throughout the country, so it might not have been feasible for some to attend.
One of the aspects that makes this biography so good is that Thomas really tries to understand O'Connor the person, the discrimination that she faced, the difficulties with other Justices on the Court, her valiant yet stubborn attempt to keep caring for her husband John as he descended further and further into Alzheimer's, and her ability to remain inscrutable to most people. She comes across as tightly-wound, severe, bossy and somewhat frigid. Yet she enjoyed dancing, skiing, fly fishing, cooking, and exploring nature. She tried to invade her Clerks' personal lives (telling some when they should get married) yet showed she cared about them as more than just her Clerks for that term. She also had a keen sense of just what a Justice's role ultimately is: to help people, to make life better, or at least to try to make it more fair for people. She was blasted, I think unfairly so, by many on the right as not being conservative enough. O'Connor, while partisan, tried not to view her position that way, and usually attempted to look for compromise. Unfortunately, this noble sense failed her in the disputed 2000 presidential election, in which she was the swing vote that voted to halt the recount in Florida, thereby giving the state's electoral votes, and the presidency, to George W. Bush. Not surprisingly, O'Connor tried to avoid talking about the decision later, which just reinforces for me that she knew it was wrong.
The last few chapters are quite sad. John slipped further and further into the murkiness of Alzheimer's, with Sandra stubbornly trying to take care of him. She decided to retire from the Court to do so; but her decision was also influenced by William Rehnquist telling her that he was going to stay on for another full term. However, Rehnquist was sicker than he admitted to her, and died two months after she submitted her resignation. While she was still on the Court since her successor had not yet been confirmed, she did not rescind the resignation because she wanted to care for her husband. Six months after retiring, she ended up having John transferred to an assisted living facility for Alzheimer's patients anyways. So, in effect, she retired too early, and she rued her decision. John died a few years later, no longer recognizing her. Then a few short years after that, she herself developed the disease and also ended up in a wheelchair due to back problems. It is difficult not to feel very badly for her. She broke so many barriers, yet was deprived of an enjoyable retirement with her husband.
This is a wonderful biography, thorough in all of the most important areas. While Thomas is on the whole friendly towards O'Connor, he notes equally her good and bad qualities, and successfully shows her in the context of the times in which she lived. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the Supreme Court, a pioneering woman, or just a good solid biography.
Grade: A
October 14, 2021
Outstanding
This is the story of the first female justice of the US Supreme Court. Think about that agaon--the first woman ever!!!!
I loved how it built the story without political slant. Evan Thpmaa just told the story.
I. A better person for having read this book. It has my highest recommendation!
This is the story of the first female justice of the US Supreme Court. Think about that agaon--the first woman ever!!!!
I loved how it built the story without political slant. Evan Thpmaa just told the story.
I. A better person for having read this book. It has my highest recommendation!
December 4, 2019
First is a fascinating portrait of a complicated person. I knew very little about Sandra Day O'Connor when I picked up this book, other than the fact that she was the first female justice on the Supreme Court and a conservative who helped decide the controversial 2000 Bush v. Gore election in favor of the Republicans.
Sandra Day O'Connor's life was a study in contradictions. She grew up on a remote ranch in Arizona, learning to shoot, ride and rustle livestock, but attended a private girl's boarding school where she studied Latin and elocution. Brilliant and precocious, Sandra was accepted at Stanford University at 16 years old and graduated near the top of her law school class, yet she worried about finishing university without getting engaged. (One of her college beaus was William Rehnquist, who later served on the Supreme Court with her. He comes across as rather bumptious in Thomas' descriptions of their courtship...both romantic and judicial.)
As a married woman in Arizona, Sandra fought to find work at a time when law firms simply did not hire women, unless they wanted to be secretaries. Determined to get a job, she turned up at a local government office and said she would work for free, then proved so invaluable she was eventually paid. Sandra became active in local politics, and in 1973, became the first woman in the U.S. to serve as a state Senate Majority Leader. Yet she did not consider herself a feminist and refused to champion the Equal Rights Act in the Senate. In a 1970s speech distancing herself from 'bra-burning' feminists, she said "I come to you tonight wearing my bra and with my wedding band on." Ugh.
During the 1980 election, Reagan announced that he would nominate a woman to fill the next seat on the Supreme Court. Sandra, then serving as a state appeals court judge, was suggested by several politicians and two Supreme Court justices, including Rehnquist. Interestingly, she was not the most qualified candidate, but the most qualified was an African-American Democrat and the top Republican woman was considered too dull to appeal to the public's imagination. Sandra was conservative, personable, well-connected, intelligent, and qualified enough to make the shortlist.
The advisors sent to Arizona to vet her were charmed by her; she made them salmon mousse for lunch and played the gracious hostess. In Washington DC, she wooed senators and their wives. Ultimately, the Senate voted unanimously (99-0) to approve her nomination to the Supreme Court - something that is hard to imagine being repeated today. Nine out of ten American households watched her nomination on tv; she was an instant celebrity and an inspiration for girls at a time when few women held any leadership positions.
O'Connor became a critical swing vote on the Court, generally taking moderate positions on social issues. Wanting to hear all sides of an issue, she hired an equal number of liberal and conservative clerks. Unlike the ideological purists, O'Connor focused on the real world consequences of legal decisions, particularly the impact of laws on women and children. She placed an emphasis on civility, bringing the justices together over lunch and sending handwritten notes. Although tough and often relentless, she was always gracious and seldom spoke ill of anyone, even when attacked by critics or her fellow justices.
Despite her "Not a Feminist!" narrative, O'Connor was tireless in mentoring women and voted to end discrimination in numerous employment cases. (In one case, a firm tried to argue that it could deny promoting a qualified woman because she was "too masculine." O'Connor made short work of those arguments.) She was the swing vote that prevented Roe v. Wade from being overturned. That being said, she voted in favor of many state laws limiting abortion. Further, she generally disliked affirmative action and tended to vote against any laws that involved racial quotas; although she recognized the need to promote diversity, she wanted any such laws to be time limited.
By the 1990s, her influence was so great that the Supreme Court was often called "the O'Connor Court" and she was seen as a weathervane reflecting the nation's changing social mores. She gradually moved to the center-left and it would have been interesting to see how she responded to recent challenges to social liberties. Sadly, her husband John was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and began to decline rapidly. In 2005, Sandra retired from the court to spend time with him in Arizona. Ultimately, she was unable to care for him and placed him in a facility, returning to Washington. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, Sandra also developed Alzheimer's. These chapters were hard to read, it was such a sad ending to an extraordinary life.
I thought the author did an excellent job of giving the reader insight into Sandra’s values, personality and relationships, as well as the workings of the Supreme Court. (I was a little surprised at the amount of maneuvering behind the scenes, such as awarding the writing of the majority opinion to a wavering justice to ensure their vote.) If there is one flaw in this book, it is the sometimes overwhelming level of detail. It is as if the author decided that every fact, conversation and description he learned about O'Connor's life was necessary to tell her story. A little judicious (ahem) editing could have cut out 50-100 pages and still resulted in a richly detailed biography. But overall, this was an engaging and nuanced portrait of one of the most remarkable women of my lifetime.
Favorite quote by Sandra: Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability.
Sandra Day O'Connor's life was a study in contradictions. She grew up on a remote ranch in Arizona, learning to shoot, ride and rustle livestock, but attended a private girl's boarding school where she studied Latin and elocution. Brilliant and precocious, Sandra was accepted at Stanford University at 16 years old and graduated near the top of her law school class, yet she worried about finishing university without getting engaged. (One of her college beaus was William Rehnquist, who later served on the Supreme Court with her. He comes across as rather bumptious in Thomas' descriptions of their courtship...both romantic and judicial.)
As a married woman in Arizona, Sandra fought to find work at a time when law firms simply did not hire women, unless they wanted to be secretaries. Determined to get a job, she turned up at a local government office and said she would work for free, then proved so invaluable she was eventually paid. Sandra became active in local politics, and in 1973, became the first woman in the U.S. to serve as a state Senate Majority Leader. Yet she did not consider herself a feminist and refused to champion the Equal Rights Act in the Senate. In a 1970s speech distancing herself from 'bra-burning' feminists, she said "I come to you tonight wearing my bra and with my wedding band on." Ugh.
During the 1980 election, Reagan announced that he would nominate a woman to fill the next seat on the Supreme Court. Sandra, then serving as a state appeals court judge, was suggested by several politicians and two Supreme Court justices, including Rehnquist. Interestingly, she was not the most qualified candidate, but the most qualified was an African-American Democrat and the top Republican woman was considered too dull to appeal to the public's imagination. Sandra was conservative, personable, well-connected, intelligent, and qualified enough to make the shortlist.
The advisors sent to Arizona to vet her were charmed by her; she made them salmon mousse for lunch and played the gracious hostess. In Washington DC, she wooed senators and their wives. Ultimately, the Senate voted unanimously (99-0) to approve her nomination to the Supreme Court - something that is hard to imagine being repeated today. Nine out of ten American households watched her nomination on tv; she was an instant celebrity and an inspiration for girls at a time when few women held any leadership positions.
O'Connor became a critical swing vote on the Court, generally taking moderate positions on social issues. Wanting to hear all sides of an issue, she hired an equal number of liberal and conservative clerks. Unlike the ideological purists, O'Connor focused on the real world consequences of legal decisions, particularly the impact of laws on women and children. She placed an emphasis on civility, bringing the justices together over lunch and sending handwritten notes. Although tough and often relentless, she was always gracious and seldom spoke ill of anyone, even when attacked by critics or her fellow justices.
Despite her "Not a Feminist!" narrative, O'Connor was tireless in mentoring women and voted to end discrimination in numerous employment cases. (In one case, a firm tried to argue that it could deny promoting a qualified woman because she was "too masculine." O'Connor made short work of those arguments.) She was the swing vote that prevented Roe v. Wade from being overturned. That being said, she voted in favor of many state laws limiting abortion. Further, she generally disliked affirmative action and tended to vote against any laws that involved racial quotas; although she recognized the need to promote diversity, she wanted any such laws to be time limited.
By the 1990s, her influence was so great that the Supreme Court was often called "the O'Connor Court" and she was seen as a weathervane reflecting the nation's changing social mores. She gradually moved to the center-left and it would have been interesting to see how she responded to recent challenges to social liberties. Sadly, her husband John was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and began to decline rapidly. In 2005, Sandra retired from the court to spend time with him in Arizona. Ultimately, she was unable to care for him and placed him in a facility, returning to Washington. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, Sandra also developed Alzheimer's. These chapters were hard to read, it was such a sad ending to an extraordinary life.
I thought the author did an excellent job of giving the reader insight into Sandra’s values, personality and relationships, as well as the workings of the Supreme Court. (I was a little surprised at the amount of maneuvering behind the scenes, such as awarding the writing of the majority opinion to a wavering justice to ensure their vote.) If there is one flaw in this book, it is the sometimes overwhelming level of detail. It is as if the author decided that every fact, conversation and description he learned about O'Connor's life was necessary to tell her story. A little judicious (ahem) editing could have cut out 50-100 pages and still resulted in a richly detailed biography. But overall, this was an engaging and nuanced portrait of one of the most remarkable women of my lifetime.
Favorite quote by Sandra: Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability.
April 24, 2019
One of the reasons I read several books at the same time is to lessen the sense of loss I can experience when I finish an exceptionally good book, that feeling of, "Oh, no. It's all over. Now what do I do?"
It doesn't always work. In the case of" First: Sandra Day O'Connor" it didn't. I am bereft.
Author Even Thomas brought this wonderful woman into my life and made me respect her in ways I never had taken the time to before. While she was working hard for women to have the right to live the lives they wanted, I was bravely living that life. I was a stay at home mom while most of my peers continued to work outside the home while raising their children. In fact, there was a one year period when I was the only person home on my block during business hours.
Justice O'Connor was a hard woman to peg. She was a conservative who often sided with the liberal justices, and not for the same reasons they did. She believed in the rule of law, but judged individual cases in its own merits. To this day, it is not sure where she personally stood on abortion.
Her family life was happy and fulfilling. Nothing better can be said on that.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I have no hesitation in recommending "First: Sandra Day O'Connor" to my family, friends and fellow book lovers.
I want to thank Random House and Goodreads for giving me a copy of this book to read and review.
It doesn't always work. In the case of" First: Sandra Day O'Connor" it didn't. I am bereft.
Author Even Thomas brought this wonderful woman into my life and made me respect her in ways I never had taken the time to before. While she was working hard for women to have the right to live the lives they wanted, I was bravely living that life. I was a stay at home mom while most of my peers continued to work outside the home while raising their children. In fact, there was a one year period when I was the only person home on my block during business hours.
Justice O'Connor was a hard woman to peg. She was a conservative who often sided with the liberal justices, and not for the same reasons they did. She believed in the rule of law, but judged individual cases in its own merits. To this day, it is not sure where she personally stood on abortion.
Her family life was happy and fulfilling. Nothing better can be said on that.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I have no hesitation in recommending "First: Sandra Day O'Connor" to my family, friends and fellow book lovers.
I want to thank Random House and Goodreads for giving me a copy of this book to read and review.
May 29, 2019
I really enjoyed reading (listening) to this biography. I loved learning about SOC herself, but also about her experiences growing up in rural Arizona. My eyes were opened to the lack of opportunities for women in the legal field in the not so recent past. Finally, the perspective on the Justices she served with and the cases they heard was just fascinating to me.
December 28, 2020
I entered a giveaway for this book on a whim, and I am so glad that I did since it gave me the push that I needed to read it. I really enjoyed this biography of Sandra Day O'Connor and learning more about how she thought and why. I miss her pragmatic approach. While I didn't always agree with her, I have so much respect for her.
A wonderful book.
A wonderful book.
May 3, 2019
Well told. While not lingering on any faults of SOC they are pointed out. An amazing woman who was able to look at each case on merit and not get caught up in political dogma.
February 15, 2024
First is the second biography I’ve read on a Supreme Court justice (technically the third, counting President Taft), and the second of a woman Supreme Court justice. While there are similarities in the challenges they faced in their budding legal careers, few other similarities exist between Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the subject of my first biography on a justice.
Sandra’s childhood at the Lazy B nearly had this city slicker dreaming of the ranch life, and recalled my previously-read experience with the LBJ ranch to the east. Her lifelong strength and resolution was clearly instilled by her father and his “no excuses” approach to everything he did. Her remarkable romances with her future Chief Justice and her husband John are explored, as are her time behind the bench in Arizona and in the state senate.
The behind-the-scenes workings of the Supreme Court are revealed in juicy detail. Doors are thrown open to parts of the building itself that are inaccessible to the general public. Sandra’s own influence on the day-to-day functions of the Supreme Court justices and staff is a story in itself. Her relationships with most of the other justices that she worked with are presented in a way that allows the reader to feel her friendships personally—as well as her antagonisms.
Her thoughts and decisions in the legal setting are not overburdened with jargon, but are clear and understandable to the lay reader. The biggest issues are covered in detail, as she spent decades confronting abortion and affirmative action, and a few weeks fighting off Bush v. Gore.
Her time in SCOTUS spanned from the first black justice, Thurgood Marshall, to his ideologically and characteristically very different successor, Clarence Thomas. Though she was replaced by a male justice when she left, the court by that time still had three female members—and a women’s restroom nearby.
Author Evan Thomas was graciously granted full access to the written words, family tales, and medical background of Sandra and John, enabling him to tell a deeply personal story of the horrors of Alzheimer’s, another part of the book that could stand on its own. It is downright eerie that the disease descended on so many people close to Sandra: Her mother, her husband, and eventually herself—not to mention the man who appointed her, Ronald Reagan. The final chapters are painful to read in this regard.
Aside from a little repetition of minutiae and the author’s overreliance on the word “bibulous,” this book is practically flawless. A great journey, from cover to cover.
Sandra’s childhood at the Lazy B nearly had this city slicker dreaming of the ranch life, and recalled my previously-read experience with the LBJ ranch to the east. Her lifelong strength and resolution was clearly instilled by her father and his “no excuses” approach to everything he did. Her remarkable romances with her future Chief Justice and her husband John are explored, as are her time behind the bench in Arizona and in the state senate.
The behind-the-scenes workings of the Supreme Court are revealed in juicy detail. Doors are thrown open to parts of the building itself that are inaccessible to the general public. Sandra’s own influence on the day-to-day functions of the Supreme Court justices and staff is a story in itself. Her relationships with most of the other justices that she worked with are presented in a way that allows the reader to feel her friendships personally—as well as her antagonisms.
Her thoughts and decisions in the legal setting are not overburdened with jargon, but are clear and understandable to the lay reader. The biggest issues are covered in detail, as she spent decades confronting abortion and affirmative action, and a few weeks fighting off Bush v. Gore.
Her time in SCOTUS spanned from the first black justice, Thurgood Marshall, to his ideologically and characteristically very different successor, Clarence Thomas. Though she was replaced by a male justice when she left, the court by that time still had three female members—and a women’s restroom nearby.
Author Evan Thomas was graciously granted full access to the written words, family tales, and medical background of Sandra and John, enabling him to tell a deeply personal story of the horrors of Alzheimer’s, another part of the book that could stand on its own. It is downright eerie that the disease descended on so many people close to Sandra: Her mother, her husband, and eventually herself—not to mention the man who appointed her, Ronald Reagan. The final chapters are painful to read in this regard.
Aside from a little repetition of minutiae and the author’s overreliance on the word “bibulous,” this book is practically flawless. A great journey, from cover to cover.
July 28, 2020
I am leaving this book with mixed feelings. About halfway through I scribbled a note to myself:
"Whatever the opposite of hard-hitting is, that is this biography."
It is certainly a gentle look at the first ever female U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Meticulously researched, it clothes itself in soft, glowing language, praising Justice O'Connor for her moderate views and "interest in issues impacting women and children." It introduces her as a traditional lady who leveraged a sort of gendered affirmative action to make it to the Supreme Court and from there used her "real world experience" to seek equitable solutions.
It is, to be honest, a rather bland take. But to give to give the author his due, perhaps the problem lies with Justice O’Connor herself. Her legacy as an outcome-oriented moderate does not inspire the way Justice Scalia’s acerbic wit or RPG’s activism does. She managed to irritate both sides of the political spectrum as a justice, and I can’t help feeling the same problem emerges here in the bio.
There were elements of her story that strongly appealed to me. I appreciated reading about her early difficulties getting a job as a female attorney, her ability to juggle traditional roles with her career (an ability the book both holds up as a super power and yadas yadas over quite regularly), and the challenges she faced as a "first" in so many areas of her life.
But it glosses over, or perhaps more specifically emphasizes, odd things. For example, the bio spends a considerable amount of time on Justice O'Connor's relationship with her father, but seems to care less about her mother. (Who seems like quite the personality in her own right.) It frequently quotes conversations between Justice O'Connor and her close gal friends, but instead of digging into her female support network, continually stresses how much she "got along with guys" and "flirted but never went too far."
It wants to make abortion the central legacy of Justice O'Connor's term as a justice, but I never felt like it made a firm point. Justice O'Connor's lack of outspokenness on the issue means that even as the deciding vote in several big cases, her personal opinions remain rather unknown. And honestly, I feel it does Justice O'Connor a disservice to try and center her story on the issue. She clearly makes an unenthusiastic spokesperson for any position on abortion.
The same could be said for any number of controversies this bio tires to define her by. It almost begs apology for her vote in Bush v. Gore; it tries to make her moderate viewpoint sound like staunch support for gay rights or affirmative action.
But it doesn't matter the issue. Her refusal to draw lines in the sand means her moderate views manage to disappoint everybody at some level.
At the end of the day this was, I suppose, a nice biography. It certainly treats its subject kindly. It hints at more interesting controversies (like the fact that females interviewing for a clerk position with her felt they were more likely to succeed if they didn't wear pantsuits) and tries to drum up some drama with her relationships with the other justices. It ends on a rather sad note that gives the book the emotional punch it otherwise lacks.
But I feel more than anything, I was tantalized with traces of the woman Sandra Day O'Connor, but never entirely satisfied.
"Whatever the opposite of hard-hitting is, that is this biography."
It is certainly a gentle look at the first ever female U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Meticulously researched, it clothes itself in soft, glowing language, praising Justice O'Connor for her moderate views and "interest in issues impacting women and children." It introduces her as a traditional lady who leveraged a sort of gendered affirmative action to make it to the Supreme Court and from there used her "real world experience" to seek equitable solutions.
It is, to be honest, a rather bland take. But to give to give the author his due, perhaps the problem lies with Justice O’Connor herself. Her legacy as an outcome-oriented moderate does not inspire the way Justice Scalia’s acerbic wit or RPG’s activism does. She managed to irritate both sides of the political spectrum as a justice, and I can’t help feeling the same problem emerges here in the bio.
There were elements of her story that strongly appealed to me. I appreciated reading about her early difficulties getting a job as a female attorney, her ability to juggle traditional roles with her career (an ability the book both holds up as a super power and yadas yadas over quite regularly), and the challenges she faced as a "first" in so many areas of her life.
But it glosses over, or perhaps more specifically emphasizes, odd things. For example, the bio spends a considerable amount of time on Justice O'Connor's relationship with her father, but seems to care less about her mother. (Who seems like quite the personality in her own right.) It frequently quotes conversations between Justice O'Connor and her close gal friends, but instead of digging into her female support network, continually stresses how much she "got along with guys" and "flirted but never went too far."
It wants to make abortion the central legacy of Justice O'Connor's term as a justice, but I never felt like it made a firm point. Justice O'Connor's lack of outspokenness on the issue means that even as the deciding vote in several big cases, her personal opinions remain rather unknown. And honestly, I feel it does Justice O'Connor a disservice to try and center her story on the issue. She clearly makes an unenthusiastic spokesperson for any position on abortion.
The same could be said for any number of controversies this bio tires to define her by. It almost begs apology for her vote in Bush v. Gore; it tries to make her moderate viewpoint sound like staunch support for gay rights or affirmative action.
But it doesn't matter the issue. Her refusal to draw lines in the sand means her moderate views manage to disappoint everybody at some level.
At the end of the day this was, I suppose, a nice biography. It certainly treats its subject kindly. It hints at more interesting controversies (like the fact that females interviewing for a clerk position with her felt they were more likely to succeed if they didn't wear pantsuits) and tries to drum up some drama with her relationships with the other justices. It ends on a rather sad note that gives the book the emotional punch it otherwise lacks.
But I feel more than anything, I was tantalized with traces of the woman Sandra Day O'Connor, but never entirely satisfied.
June 3, 2019
"Sandra Day O'Connor is like the pilgrim in the poem she sometimes quotes, who has forged a new trail and built a bridge behind her for all young women to follow." p 397 President Obama on presentation of the Presidential Medal of Honor to Justice O'Connor
"She would find the sweet spot where the settlement of incredibly difficult issues could be accepted. That was her brilliance - at the time, it was the best thing a judge could have done. No one could have done it better. The country is stronger as a result." p 403 Justice Kagan about Justice O'Connor
I think Thomas has done a wonderful job capturing the essence of Sandra Day O'Connor and what she means to the country, the justice system, and to professional women. This book is well-written and very well-researched. One challenge in writing a relatively short one-volume biography is providing a broad enough view to capture the subject's entire life while giving enough details that it doesn't seem to be a recitation of facts. Thomas does this very well. Particularly, in discussing the various cases which came before the Supreme Court. He explains them well enough that someone like me with little knowledge of the law can understand the impact of the decisions. I would have liked more details about her personal and family life, but maybe that is something best left for a later time after she has left us. Highly recommended for people interested in the US legal system, or women's history.
"She would find the sweet spot where the settlement of incredibly difficult issues could be accepted. That was her brilliance - at the time, it was the best thing a judge could have done. No one could have done it better. The country is stronger as a result." p 403 Justice Kagan about Justice O'Connor
I think Thomas has done a wonderful job capturing the essence of Sandra Day O'Connor and what she means to the country, the justice system, and to professional women. This book is well-written and very well-researched. One challenge in writing a relatively short one-volume biography is providing a broad enough view to capture the subject's entire life while giving enough details that it doesn't seem to be a recitation of facts. Thomas does this very well. Particularly, in discussing the various cases which came before the Supreme Court. He explains them well enough that someone like me with little knowledge of the law can understand the impact of the decisions. I would have liked more details about her personal and family life, but maybe that is something best left for a later time after she has left us. Highly recommended for people interested in the US legal system, or women's history.
January 2, 2019
**Netgalley provided me with a DRC of this work
In exchange for an honest review**
Superb.
Top five of the biographies I’ve read in the past five years.
The cyclical storytelling of this phenomenal account of SOC’s life, does not feel like the momentous (nearly) 500 page monster that it is, because it flows so wonderfully.
Each segment is hinted at in the chapter’s title page, and the photographs included drew me into each section, anticipating the details.
This book had so many pieces of incredible history, lovely, thought-provoking insights and a rich blend of sentiment and shocking, political revelations to keep historians, political junkies and curious readers all transfixed.
I loved reading about Day O’Connor’s tough side: forgetting to buckle in her son and her grabbing him from the side of the road, dusting him off, and continuing to drive; loving outdoor adventure; telling certain justices what to do; doing aerobics days after cancer surgery....
But her heart also was evident in anecdotes about helping her staffers who were working moms, weeping over the death of her father and retirements of friends, her fear of being forced to slow down after breast cancer...and sentencing people to prison sentences in her younger days.
This is very well-written and profound. A biographical gem.
In exchange for an honest review**
Superb.
Top five of the biographies I’ve read in the past five years.
The cyclical storytelling of this phenomenal account of SOC’s life, does not feel like the momentous (nearly) 500 page monster that it is, because it flows so wonderfully.
Each segment is hinted at in the chapter’s title page, and the photographs included drew me into each section, anticipating the details.
This book had so many pieces of incredible history, lovely, thought-provoking insights and a rich blend of sentiment and shocking, political revelations to keep historians, political junkies and curious readers all transfixed.
I loved reading about Day O’Connor’s tough side: forgetting to buckle in her son and her grabbing him from the side of the road, dusting him off, and continuing to drive; loving outdoor adventure; telling certain justices what to do; doing aerobics days after cancer surgery....
But her heart also was evident in anecdotes about helping her staffers who were working moms, weeping over the death of her father and retirements of friends, her fear of being forced to slow down after breast cancer...and sentencing people to prison sentences in her younger days.
This is very well-written and profound. A biographical gem.
September 20, 2023
I don’t do the dishes I throw them in the crib.
September 7, 2019
I don’t think this book has enough meat on it to win an academic award like a Pulitzer, but it definitely has enough to be competitive in a fan based award (ala Good Reads) biography.
The book tells some fun stories, such as how William Rehnquist proposed to Sandra Day before either of them had graduated from law school. Can you imagine how different history would have been had she accepted?
Or how when SOC (as she was later called), was offered the job as a secretary at a big league law firm despite graduating at the top of her class from Stanford Law School.
Or the time where the Attorney General called her to ask her to come to Washington to discuss a federal job (Supreme Court), to which SOC asked if it was for a secretarial position. Guess what law firm the AG had been a partner for!
Then there was the fact that while he initially opposed the idea of a female Supreme Court Justice, Chief Justice Burger saw the writing on the wall. Burger realized that it was only a matter of time before somebody appointed a woman to the Court. He liked SOC, so he did everything in his power as Chief Justice to ensure that she had the credentials needed to be appointed (and then campaigned behind the scenes to get her appointed.)
Not to mention (future Chief) Justice William Rehnquist who violated protocol to actively campaign for the women he once proposed to!
The book goes through her tenure as Justice---she was involved in a record number (?) of 5-4 court cases wherein her vote was the deciding vote. She ruled on many important cases and her two mottos seemed to be (echoing Chief Justice Warren) “Is it fair?” and “Make a decision and move on.”
Much of the book utilizes her husband John O’Connor’s diary. While SOC occasionally kept a journal, her husband regularly kept one. While they talked about many things, SOC didn’t always tell John how she’d rule. Apparently in some places in his journal, he indicated that SOC would support Roe v Wade, but in other places he was convinced that she’d over turn it.
Thomas also indicates the first time that SOC and the notorious RBG crossed paths. RBG had taken a case to the Supreme Court. SOC was told to write the majority opinion, when RBG read the opinion to her husband, RBG’s husband asked, “Did you write it?” (Later after RBG joined the court, SOC would be asked to write the majority opinion on a Virginia Military Institute case---SOC would refuse saying that this was one RBG’s. The case is one of RBG's more important opinions.)
I really enjoyed this book, but of course I like legal history and particularly Supreme Court History.
The book tells some fun stories, such as how William Rehnquist proposed to Sandra Day before either of them had graduated from law school. Can you imagine how different history would have been had she accepted?
Or how when SOC (as she was later called), was offered the job as a secretary at a big league law firm despite graduating at the top of her class from Stanford Law School.
Or the time where the Attorney General called her to ask her to come to Washington to discuss a federal job (Supreme Court), to which SOC asked if it was for a secretarial position. Guess what law firm the AG had been a partner for!
Then there was the fact that while he initially opposed the idea of a female Supreme Court Justice, Chief Justice Burger saw the writing on the wall. Burger realized that it was only a matter of time before somebody appointed a woman to the Court. He liked SOC, so he did everything in his power as Chief Justice to ensure that she had the credentials needed to be appointed (and then campaigned behind the scenes to get her appointed.)
Not to mention (future Chief) Justice William Rehnquist who violated protocol to actively campaign for the women he once proposed to!
The book goes through her tenure as Justice---she was involved in a record number (?) of 5-4 court cases wherein her vote was the deciding vote. She ruled on many important cases and her two mottos seemed to be (echoing Chief Justice Warren) “Is it fair?” and “Make a decision and move on.”
Much of the book utilizes her husband John O’Connor’s diary. While SOC occasionally kept a journal, her husband regularly kept one. While they talked about many things, SOC didn’t always tell John how she’d rule. Apparently in some places in his journal, he indicated that SOC would support Roe v Wade, but in other places he was convinced that she’d over turn it.
Thomas also indicates the first time that SOC and the notorious RBG crossed paths. RBG had taken a case to the Supreme Court. SOC was told to write the majority opinion, when RBG read the opinion to her husband, RBG’s husband asked, “Did you write it?” (Later after RBG joined the court, SOC would be asked to write the majority opinion on a Virginia Military Institute case---SOC would refuse saying that this was one RBG’s. The case is one of RBG's more important opinions.)
I really enjoyed this book, but of course I like legal history and particularly Supreme Court History.
May 30, 2019
The ending of this book bothered me because, like almost all women, Sandra Day O'Connor put her husband's needs ahead of her own - and may have influenced the destiny of this nation, and not for the good. After O'Connor's husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she juggled his care with her duties on SCOTUS, often bringing him to work with her. (I question her doing that, because undoubtedly her law clerks had to help out, which meant O'Connor was taking advantage of her position. Why not hire a sitter to come with him every morning?) Anyway, when that situation became untenable, she resigned, only to have to put him in an assisted living facility within six months. The author interviewed people close to O'Connor who insinuated that she regretted her resignation, both because she missed her work and because she felt that she had inadvertently opened the door for the swing to extreme conservatism.
Otherwise, an interesting look at the first female justice's life and a fascinating peek into how the highest court of the land operates. I enjoyed the descriptions of the various justices' eccentricities and interactions. Got some quirky characters there.
Otherwise, an interesting look at the first female justice's life and a fascinating peek into how the highest court of the land operates. I enjoyed the descriptions of the various justices' eccentricities and interactions. Got some quirky characters there.
July 2, 2019
In an effort to push myself to read more non-fiction, I returned to my reading “roots.” Back in elementary school, I read every biography about a woman on the shelves in my school library. So I jumped at the chance, and was fortunate to receive, a copy of through NetGalley just after publication several months ago. After racing through the first few chapters, it somehow got set aside and was recently unearthed. I am so glad it was not forgotten.
This look at the first female Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States was everything I had hoped – it was well written and informative and equally Interesting and inspiring. Not only did this book honor the work of Justice O’Connor but it brought to life the workings of our court system without inflammation. It has also added to my reading life and I will return to the biography shelves for future reading although, fortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to read every single one featuring a woman as I did way back when.
FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This look at the first female Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States was everything I had hoped – it was well written and informative and equally Interesting and inspiring. Not only did this book honor the work of Justice O’Connor but it brought to life the workings of our court system without inflammation. It has also added to my reading life and I will return to the biography shelves for future reading although, fortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to read every single one featuring a woman as I did way back when.
FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 14, 2019
I read this two weeks after reading Jane Sherron De Hart's Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life. While I enjoyed learning more about O'Connor's life, I could not help to compare the two works and this one felt lacking. It seem to focus more on O'Connor's private life than how she moved up the legal ladder to her position as Arizona's assistant Attorney General. I wanted to learn more about landmark cases she argued. O'Connor is a figure I knew little about, except for her pioneering role as first female Supreme Court Judge. I hoped this book would make me appreciate her the way I appreciate RBG, but alas, it was not meant to be.
May 30, 2019
It’s hard for me not to love a book about a girl from a cattle ranching family who became a lawyer. But this is a well written biography that moves along at a good pace. I think anyone who is interested in law, politics, and the supreme court’s place in all that would find it interesting.
August 8, 2019
Honestly, I wish everyone in the United States would read this book right now.
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