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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
5.0
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Sandra Day O'Connor was selected to the Supreme Court when I was eight years old, so I remember it in the news, but not much else. I didn't even know when she retired. Therefore, almost everything I read was new to me.
Thomas does a good job with the narrative, although at a certain point I found myself getting annoyed (or maybe jealous) at how good Sandra Day O-Connor was at everything she tried.
Too often biographies only concentrate on the work life, but I'm always curious about the home life as well. One of the most impressive things I found in reading the book is how well her three sons turned out. Often you read stories of very successful people and find that their home life suffered. But that's not the case here. She had a very supportive and equally successful husband, and by all accounts their kids turned out great.
I disagree with the reviewers who say the book got bogged down with court cases. I thought they fit the narrative Thomas was writing. They showed how Day O'Connor slowly moved to the left on issues, and how many times she was the swing vote during her tenure.
Sandra Day O'Connor was selected to the Supreme Court when I was eight years old, so I remember it in the news, but not much else. I didn't even know when she retired. Therefore, almost everything I read was new to me.
Thomas does a good job with the narrative, although at a certain point I found myself getting annoyed (or maybe jealous) at how good Sandra Day O-Connor was at everything she tried.
Too often biographies only concentrate on the work life, but I'm always curious about the home life as well. One of the most impressive things I found in reading the book is how well her three sons turned out. Often you read stories of very successful people and find that their home life suffered. But that's not the case here. She had a very supportive and equally successful husband, and by all accounts their kids turned out great.
I disagree with the reviewers who say the book got bogged down with court cases. I thought they fit the narrative Thomas was writing. They showed how Day O'Connor slowly moved to the left on issues, and how many times she was the swing vote during her tenure.
stephie209's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
jackgoss's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
3twirlygirls's review against another edition
4.0
Great insight into the Justice’s life and viewpoint - I learned so much!
bookish_smorgasbord's review against another edition
5.0
Well-researched and engaging read about the first woman on the United States Supreme Court.
papidoc's review against another edition
5.0
Outstanding biography of our first female Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor. I listened to it as an audiobook, and the narrator did a terrific job as well.
Among other things, I was fascinated to see how her political and judicial thinking evolved over her years on the court, starting quite conservative, and gradually becoming more centrist, and even in some instances, quite liberal. And yet, certain aspects of her values and thinking remained very stable. I suspect that is true for most of us, for what good would added age and experience do us if our thinking didn't evolve along with it? And likewise, of what worth or personal guidance would our core values be if they didn't remain reasonably stable throughout our lives? SOC is a good example of one for whom her core values were "a guide and a stay" throughout her life, but who's thinking about how to apply them to the issues of the day evolved.
There is much else to recommend this biography, but I'll leave that to other readers to discover for themselves. Highly recommended!
Among other things, I was fascinated to see how her political and judicial thinking evolved over her years on the court, starting quite conservative, and gradually becoming more centrist, and even in some instances, quite liberal. And yet, certain aspects of her values and thinking remained very stable. I suspect that is true for most of us, for what good would added age and experience do us if our thinking didn't evolve along with it? And likewise, of what worth or personal guidance would our core values be if they didn't remain reasonably stable throughout our lives? SOC is a good example of one for whom her core values were "a guide and a stay" throughout her life, but who's thinking about how to apply them to the issues of the day evolved.
There is much else to recommend this biography, but I'll leave that to other readers to discover for themselves. Highly recommended!