Sandra Day O'Connor

On July 1 1981 President Ronald Reagan interviewed Sandra Day O'Connor as a candidate for the United States Supreme Court. A few days later he called her. Sandra I'd like to announce your nomination to the Court tomorrow. Is that all right with you? Scared and wondering if this was a mistake the little-known judge from Arizona was on her way to becoming the first woman justice and one of the most powerful women in the nation.Born in El Paso Texas O'Connor grew up on the Lazy B a cattle ranch that spanned the Arizona-New Mexico border. There she learned lifelong lessons about self-reliance hard work and the joy of the outdoors.Ann Carey McFeatters sketches O'Connor's formative years there and at Stanford University and her inability to find a job--law firms had no interest in hiring a woman lawyer. McFeatters writes about how O'Connor juggled marriage a career in law and politics three sons breast cancer and the demands of fame.In this second volume in the Women's Biography Series we learn how O'Connor became the Court's most important vote on such issues as abortion affirmative action the death penalty the role of religion in society and the election of a president decisions that shaped a generation of Americans.