About the Book

In American Heroines, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison tells the story of her journey from a small town in Texas to the U.S. Senate. Inspired by tales of her ancestors’ struggles on the frontier, she persevered despite cultural attitudes that expected women to follow, not lead. Hutchison entwines her story with those of other women from the past and present, women who overcame the resistance and prejudice of their times and accomplished things that no woman — and sometimes, no human — had done before.

This fascinating book chronicles the lives of trailblazing women like Margaret Chase Smith

and Oveta Culp Hobby, the first women to serve as Cabinet Secretaries; war correspondent Margaret Bourke-White; Ruth Simmons, the first black woman to be president of an Ivy League college, and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.

As a young girl, Hutchison dreamed of an America where the qualifier “the first woman” had become obsolete. The profiles contained in American Heroines illustrate how her dream is coming true, one courageous step at a time.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison grew up in La Marque, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas and UT Law School. She was twice elected to the Texas House of Representatives. In 1993, she was the first woman to be elected to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. In 2006, she was elected Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. She lives in Dallas with her husband, Ray, an attorney, their daughter, Bailey, and son, Houston.

“An interesting blend of biography, history, and personal memoir ... Hutchinson’s lively personal writing makes this an accessible and important volume.” — Booklist

Critical Praise

“Compellingly themed…mix of social history, thumbnail biography and personal recollection.” — Publishers Weekly

“An interesting blend of biography, history, and personal memoir... Hutchison’s lively personal writing makes this an accessible and important volume.” — Booklist

“An ideologically diverse and highly readable compilation.” — Augusta Chronicle

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Product Details

• ISBN: 9780060566364
• ISBN 10: 0060566361
• Imprint: Harper Perennial
• On Sale: 02/28/2006
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.900 in (d)
• Pages: 400
• List Price: $14.95
• BISAC1 : HISTORY / United States / General
• BISAC2 : HISTORY / Essays
• BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical
• BISAC4 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Feminism & Feminist Theory
• BISAC5 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General
• BISAC6 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies
• BISAC7 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies
• BISAC8 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Essays
• BISAC9 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women
• BISAC10 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs