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American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country

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Traversing the diverse footprints of America's influential women seems a daunting order for one book. American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country by United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison navigates the lives and accomplishments of America's remarkable women, spanning from Mary Austin Holley to Sandra Day O'Connor and Amelia Earhart to Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The book reads like a collection of short stories, so it's perfect for the reader-on-the go. Read a chapter an evening, and be enlightened by a brief biography of an influential American woman, then commentary on the significance of her historical impact. Hutchison keeps the narrative light and lively, and she infuses the biography with her perspective on her subjects' lasting contribution.
Diversity of subject strengthens this book. Senator Hutchinson groups the chapters into similar sections, such as "Pioneers and Preservationists," "Education for Everyone," "Conquering the Skies," and "Public Lives, Public Service." While Hutchinson is a political conservative, her biographical praise crosses back and forth across the ideological aisle - she gives equal admiration to Geraldine Ferraro and Madeline Albright as she does to Elizabeth Dole and Condoleezza Rice. And, her esteem reaches beyond politics. She commends healthcare pioneer Clara Barton, astronaut Sally Ride, and artist Mary Cassatt.
The colloquial writing proves a little distracting. One more word-cutting and cleaning edit would have improved the work. However, Hutchinson voice is the book's finest attribute, and that remains clear throughout the biographies. Her admiring observations provide a personal touch to the history. An extraordinary woman herself, Hutchinson is the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. The book highlights her own resourcefulness and intelligence and reveals her affection for her home state. She's a little partial to the ladies of Texas in her subject choice, but what Texan isn't?
Don't read this book if you're looking for a challenging and intellectual dose of history - go buy a textbook instead. But, read American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country for an enriching, entertaining and comprehensive tour of the lives and accomplishments of 45 outstanding American women.

Senator Hutchison is a woman who has risen above stereotypes to become the first woman in Texas elected to the Senate. That says a lot in a land where men still open doors for women and call women "ma'am" or "miss" even though you may be a complete stranger. Put aside your political beliefs and you will have a book highlighting women who conquered the "glass ceiling" despite what was the norm of the times. These women may be from Timbuktu for all we know, but they are women whom our daughters can learn how to reach beyond gender stereotypes. Of course Senator Hutchison will include more women from Texas than from elsewhere, she grew up in Texas. These are women who influenced her and helped her achieve the "first" status as well. Again, putting aside politics, this book is a good book on the power of women who can rise despite criticism and social norms.

THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING BOOKS OF ITS KIND THAT I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME."AMERICAN HEROINES" IS A VERY SPECIAL BOOK AND REALLY SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN MOST HIGH SCHOOLS SO MOST STUDENTS CAN GET TO KNOW WHAT GREAT DEEDS THESE WONDERFUL WOMEN PERFORMED TO SHAPE AND MOLD THIS GREAT NATION OF OURS. UP UNTIL NOW ALOT OF THESE WOMEN AND THE GREAT THINGS THEY HAVE DONE HAVE GONE UNOTICED BUT SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISONS BOOK "AMERICAN HEROINES" HAS GIVEN A NEW LIGHT TO ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL WOMEN AND WHAT GREAT THINGS THEY DID. IF YOUR LOOKING FOR A GREAT GIFT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL:A FRIEND, FAMILY MEMBER, A SOLDIER SERVERING OVER SEAS THEAN GET THEM "AMERICAN HEROINES" BY KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON IT WOULD MAKE A PERFECT GIFT FOR THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE IN YOUR LIFE. AND WHO EVER YOU GIVE THIS BOOK TO THEY CAN LEARN ABOUT SOME VERY SPIRITED PEOPLE HELPED SHAPED THIS GREAT COUNTRY.

Think of this book as more of a reference book than a cover-to-cover read. The book is made up of the heart-warming life stories of a collection of famous women in America. The book's index is available on Amazon where you can find all of the women who are covered in this book.

Firsts. That's what this book is about. Women who faced the challenge to use their talents and skills to gain offices and honors that had never before been attained by a woman.

The first native-born American to be canonized (Elizabeth Seton); the first woman publisher (Elizabeth Palmer Peabody); the first woman to gain international recognition as a major artist (Mary Cassatt); the first woman to be elected to both houses of Congress (Margaret Chase Smith); the first African American to serve as National Security Advisor (Condoleezza Rice); the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting (Marguerite Higgins). Those are just some of the firsts you meet on these pages.

Other heroines excelled in sports, broke color barriers or became known in music, nursing and government. By building on the stories of past heroines with interviews with women today, the reader learns what characteristics shaped these women into the heroines they have become and the qualities that made them great. The book includes an index and a section of suggested reading in case you want to know more about any particular heroine. A worthwhile read.

This is a well written book and very interesting. I recommend it to everyone.

In reading Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-TX) book, American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country, I found a large error. The error was in her reference to NASA astronaut, Dr. Sally Ride;

1. On page 207, 2nd paragraph Senator Hutchison writes: "Fast forward to June 18, 1983, and Dr. Ride became the first female astronaut for a mission into outer space."

2. Continuing on page 207, 3rd paragraph: "In 1983, she became the first women in space..."

Dr. Ride was not the first woman to fly in outer space; she was the first "American" woman to fly in outer space and the third woman in outer space. The two other women that preceded her were Valentina Tereshkova (Vostok 6 in 1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (Soyuz T-7 in 1982), both from the former Soviet Union. Some may argue that it is correct to say that Dr. Ride was the first women "astronaunt" as the former Soviet Union women were referred to as "cosmonaunts." I do not agree, still incorrect information.

One review of the book said that Senator Hutchinson's "combines biography and social history to shed light on what she calls the indomitable spirit of American women which has shaped both the country's history and its society." Dr. Sally Ride's contribution to space flight and American women should be celebrated and she is an important a role model for women but it is also important that her accomplishments be presented correctly.

It is unfortunate that this information was not researched more thoroughly or corrected by the editor. Several online encyclopedias contain the correct information.
[...]

Book only appealed to me because of the all but to brief sections on Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Madeleine Albright, because these are two very independent women I admire.

The book is a tad 'slap together'and many of the questions the Senator asks are lame. There is no even flow or lay out and in some ways I think the book is like a dinner party with to many odd guests and to many choices in food. Some of the time you come away satisfied, but often one is left hungry or wondering where the rest of the story is.

I recommend Lazy B : Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest by Justice O'Connor and Madam Secretary: A Memoir by Madeleine Albright former Secretary of State who is still very much admired and respected in Europe, Asia and the middle east. Each tells the story of these independent thinking women who are both excellent role models for women of all ages and of a progressive mindset.

That Kay Bailey Hutchinson is working to burnish her political credentials is evident in this thin tome. Her choices of American heroines are safe, politically correct and generally right-wing. Many of those chosen have had business or social relationships with Ms. Hutchinson, giving the impression that she is shoring up her own base. Without doubt, many of the women profiled - especially the Texans - have risen above female stereotypes and oversome other obstacles, but they seem bland and predictable. REALLY "spirited women who shaped our century" are conspicuously missing.

It would be tempting simply to compare Hutchinson's book with that of another Senator----John F. Kennedy. Kennedy would of course successfully go on to the presidency in 1960 after rising to national prominence in the 1950's with Profiles in Courage. Certainly, there are some similarities between these two titles and authors.

Kennedy was also roundly critiqued for writing a book about `leadership' when he (certainly unlike brother Ted) had not been in the Senate leadership---or even in elective office----for a substantial period of time.

While Hutchinson certainly could also find herself facing similar allegations today, her own work adds the layer of gender analysis which had obviously not been made available to Kennedy in the 1950's.

Hutchinson's book has the benefit of being written well after the revival of American feminism. Feminism has subsequently encouraged many women to increase their public sector participation, find `role models' for themselves, and make further progress on behalf of future generations. Whatever personal-political label she now claims (if any), Bailey had also participated in some of the feminist movement's activities-another claim which Kennedy could not make with his own earlier book. Whereas he was attempting to court swing voters who would not have recognized him unless he was representing their state, Hutchinson is also attempting to court women's rights advocates who might perhaps discount her interest in gender equity issues because of her state and party identification.

The feminist movement is technically non-partisan, but the institutionalization of feminist and anti-feminist interest groups has entrenched the political parties. Hutchinson is hardly the only Republican woman serving in the senate (she is joined by four others) but she does take a more economically/socially moderate voting record than her New England counterparts Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. This in turn causes state and national feminist PACS to give their "Republican" money only to the `gypsy moths' and avoid the southern Republicans. Unfortunately, those feminist groups also overlook the common ground they do have with Hutchinson on women's rights.

As a member of the Texas legislature, Hutchinson co-authored a rape reform bill with Sarah Weddington (who would later gain fame for successfully arguing Roe v. Wade) which reformed that state's rape prosecution laws. Removing the burden of proof from the survivor...etc, the Bailey-Weddington law successfully challenged the historical idea that `good' women were not raped; rape was a crime of power---not lust or morals. Hutchinson also helped to pass the displaced homemakers bill, women who could no longer financially afford to be homemakers (whether because of divorce, breadwinner death, or the rising costs) deserved transition assistance such as college tuition credit breaks.

Finally, Hutchinson came out against Admiral Frank Kelso's full retirement with military honors because she believed the women who had accused him of sexual harassment; her own personal experiences had subsequently built up her empathy for women in similar situations.

This is hardly the resume of an anti-woman right wing extremist.

Certainly Hutchinson has been careful with these `woman activist' credentials. Local and state reproductive rights groups have criticized her position on abortion for being `multiple choice'. Bailey wants to continue portraying herself as a `moderate' while also being acutely aware the social conservatives who control the Texas Republican Party are not open to any compromise on abortion. Because they consider abortion (and even some kinds of birth control) `murder,' these groups eye Hutchinson with suspicion-is she really their `friend'?

Since women's history remains generally underreported in Texas, I actually had considered the through inclusion of women's history important to the central premise of Hutchinson's book. Hutchinson understands that increases in women's political participation did not happen out of the goodness of somebody's heart, but instead took many years to see fruition. The individuals who are profiled in this book are only a fragment of the masses who were once formally excluded from political participation. Such a legal expansion had taken many years to achieve, and our democratic nation is still dismantling cultural vestiges against women's public sector participation according to interspersed narratives about the Senator's own life.

The interweaving of her own personal life story (although definitely needing better editing for continuity purposes) throughout this book definitely serves a purpose. It is supposed to remind critics/potential critics that Hutchinson personally does not want to return to the `good old days' when women's issues were only regarded as private-personal issues. She approaches it differently, but appears to share some common ground with left-wing feminists who have advocated for greater gender equity in both government and the general society, including former United States Representatives Bella Abzug and Patricia Schroeder.

The fact that two women have served as secretary of state (and are both included in this book) illustrates how far we have come from 1955 when the only women in presidential cabinets had served in `outer cabinet' positions. Frances Perkins was the first female cabinet secretary in 1933 (Labor), by the publication of Kennedy's book, Oveta Culp Hobby lead Eisenhower's Department of Health Education and Welfare Such expansion of women's leadership roles also demonstrates how the national definition of `leadership' itself has expanded.

I question whether some of the profiles which were included in this book would genuinely share Hutchinson's gender consciousness (however self-labeled). Even if they are not attacking it, it seems like some of these other women are not grateful for the gender/racial revolutions which made their public sector participation a reality.

Considering that Iraq's ever-mounting casuality level is being facilitated through her promotion of false evidence about Iraq's (ultimately non-existent) `weapons of mass destruction' program, including Condoleezza Rice among the leadership profiles is not wise. Because Rice's claim had comprised the backbone of the Bush administration's rationale for invading Iraq, the subsequent truth substantially undercuts her public weight for this---and other public policies. This person, who thought nothing of American troops deployed with fabricated evidence, does not convincingly demonstrate values and morals herself.

It is important that we can recognize that women are not automatically better or more ethical leaders than their male counter parts. Although this proposition honestly is still being advanced by the editors of some other `women in politics' titles, it is generally now in disfavor. Speaking only for myself, I would rather have a male public official in office with whom I agreed with on the issues than a woman public official with whom I did not agree with, but still increased women's numerical representation in government-such as Hutchinson herself. Even if she is confirmed by the Senate as the next Secretary of State, Rice is not likely to be remembered as an ethical individual who did the right thing for America.

I do however applaud Hutchinson for wanting to show that talented women can (and do) cross all ideological and/or party affiliations. At this point, the only people who are considering books on women's leadership to be `extremist' are themselves extremist in their scornful view of all women's public sector potential. Women's public sector participation (and their interest in politics) is not a passing fad, but has become a necessity for the national good.