She was the First. Every young girl should know who she is. This is a wonderful look into the life of a remarkable woman who loved and worked for her family, strived for excellence in all things and didn't view men as less than women or even as competition. Her willingness to fight the important battles while walking away from the unnecessary ones is an admirable quality. This will be required reading for my daughters. ( )

I'm afraid the first half of her life dragged for me - too much detail. And Thomas seems to emphasize especially in the first half her conservative, "Junior League," "family-first" demeanor; when I looked up an interview with her on You Tube to remind myself how she really looked and talked, her directness and sharpness came as a stark contrast to the Sandra he had depicted for me.

The book picked up and things started swinging when she joined the Supremes. The copious detail was now welcome rather than tedious.

I already knew the sad ending to her story, having read Jeffrey Toobin's THE NINE years ago, but it was even more heart-wrenching to read here. In short, O'Connor left the court while still in her prime, with her husband succumbing to Alzheimer's, for both love of and duty towards him. Within months, he sunk lower than what she could deal with alone. She had to put him in a home. Top it off, her longtime friend (and sometime college boyfriend!), Chief Justice William Rehnquist, passed away around the same time.

While she would never again be as powerful a figure, in such a challenging and rewarding and influential a role, as she was as an active SCOTUS Justice, O'Connor succeeded for a while in finding true fulfilment spearheading efforts to teach civics to middle school children. You can still see the fruits of her labor online at www.icivics.org. Today, Justice O'Connor is still with us, 90 years old as of this writing (born 1930), but suffering dementia herself.

Sad all around. But admire her for her never-ending drive and her pragmatic jurisprudence. In stark contrast to Justices Scalia and Alito, who believed that law should be treated like a catechism, O'Connor seemed to realize that we are all "just muddling along," in the words of one of her clerks quoted here. "It was, wait a minute, we're not doing this as an intellectual exercise. We're doing this to run society. It's just us people running things."

Try to take heart that we had people like Sandra Day O'Connor "running things" for a while, and could one day again. ( )

Evan Thomas gives an excellent account of an incredible lady. ( )

This book outlines the life and career of Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice. Although O'Connor is a fascinating subject, the book was a bit dry and repetitive. It had almost a defensive quality to it, as if the author was trying to justify or explain away O'Connor and her career. Overall, not a book I would re-read or recommend. ( )

FIRST - Sandra Day O’Connor

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 ( )