Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers

By Kay Bailey Hutchison

Book Overview

United States senator Kay Bailey Hutchison examines the lives of sixty-three pioneers in military service, journalism, public health, social reform, science, and politics--all American women.

Following in the footsteps of her national bestseller, American Heroines, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison celebrates female accomplishment in all walks of life. From the Nobel Prize to the halls of Congress, the trailblazers profiled in these skillfully drawn biographical portraits have battled tremendous odds to achieve success--if not always recognition--in their respective fields. Whether committed to a chosen cause or thrust into a public role by personal circumstance, these courageous women have all woven the thin threads of opportunity into sweeping tapestries of achievement.

Mixing historical portraits with modern success stories, Senator Hutchison shows how American women from all periods of history have contributed to the strength and progress of our nation--and no history of the nation can be written without them.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061140287
• ISBN13: 9780061140280
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

From a liberal Democrat

We have been and are on different sides with many issues. But my state's Senator and I do share an interest in promoting women's accomplishments. Too often women's achievements have been and continue to be marginalized in the history books. This ultimately allows women's place in society to be erased. For if women's past was not accurately recorded, how will we then understand what needs to be done in the future? And with what urgency will it get accomplished if at all? Hutchison also deserves credit for including women who probably might not be conservative and/or Republican in this collection. Such a move might reach her still wavering Party and ideological interest group constituents who want to court the women's vote only through certain channels. But there is instead a scholarly mix here. It's good leisure and/or inspirational reading material. Since it's not election time, we know this particular book came out because she wanted to share still comparatively-hidden information with the American people as opposed to publishing for the sake of it. The only point Texas's Senator seems out to prove is that women have accomplishments which must be documented and recognized.