What was it in Sandra Day O'Connor's background and early life that helped make her the woman she is today-the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and one of the most powerful women in America? In this beautiful, illuminating, and unusual book, Sandra Day O'Connor, with her brother, Alan, tells the story of the Day family and of growing up on the harsh yet beautiful land of the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona. Laced throughout these stories about three generations of the Day family, and everyday life on the Lazy B, are the lessons Sandra and Alan learned about the world, about people, self-reliance, and survival, and the reader will learn how the values of the Lazy B shaped them and their lives. Sandra's grandfather first put some cattle on open grazing land in 1886, and the Lazy B developed and continued to prosper as Sandra's parents, who eloped and then lived on the Lazy B all their lives, carved out a frugal and happy life for themselves and their three children on the rugged frontier. As you read about the daily adventures, the cattle drives and roundups, the cowboys and horses, the continual praying for rain and fixing of windmills, the values instilled by a self-reliant way of life, you see how Sandra Day O'Connor grew up. This fascinating glimpse of life in the American Southwest in the last century recounts an interesting time in our history, and gives us an enduring portrait of an independent young woman on the brink of becoming one of the most prominent figures in America today.
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Sandra Day O’Connor began her public service in Phoenix as the majority leader of the Arizona Senate before becoming a judge. In 1981, President Reagan nominated her as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a position she served until 2006. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of Lazy B, a memoir about growing up in the Southwest, and The Majesty of the Law, a reflection on American law and life. Currently, she serves as chancellor of the College of William and Mary, and is on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Alan Day’s upbringing branded him a cowboy from the day he was born. He was part of the third generation to grow up on the Lazy B cattle ranch straddling the high deserts of southern Arizona and New Mexico. The ranching and cowboy lifestyle appealed to him so greatly that after graduating from the University of Arizona, he returned to manage Lazy B for the next forty years. During his career, he received numerous awards for his dedicated stewardship of the land. In 1988, Alan purchased a ranch in the Sand Hills of South Dakota, which became the first government sponsored wild horse sanctuary and home to over a thousand wild mustangs. He trained the entire herd using a herd modification program that he developed on Lazy B to train cattle.