Lazy B

Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest

By: Sandra Day O'Connor, H. Alan Day

Narrated by: Sandra Day O'Connor

Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

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 US 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 listener 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 hear 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.

PLEASE NOTE: This is the abridged edition.

©2002 Sandra Day O'Connor and H. Alan Day (P)2002 Random House, Inc., Random House Voices, an Imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"The authors' delight enhances this quiet account of a bygone era." (Publishers Weekly)

"This engaging memoir...paint[s] a loving but cleareyed portrait of a distinctive and vanished American way of life." (New York Times Book Review)

Wonderful and endearing

Read by the judge, this book is insightful and heartwarming. Her telling reminds me of the love of family, nature, cattle and critters; hard lessons learned; and rugged independence I witnessed on the ranch where my mom was raised.

Listened to it twice

I first listened to this a couple of years ago. Last month I was caught overseas with no new books to listen to, so I listened to this again and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had the opportunity to visit the area of the Lazy B a while back, and it was really nice to fit the story into the places I had been.

loved this

loved it family oriented good book 📖 just good listening to the best supreme court justice ever

a good memoir of ranchlife

I really enjoyed this book and the stories within. pretty well written and read by one of the authors with dignity and clarity. The only downside is since it's an audiobook there are no pictures or illustrations.

interesante

me gustó mucho y aprendí sobre la vida en un rancho y todo el trabajo q lleva mantener una propiedad de ese tipo

Humble Story

Excellent story showcasing a humble family and southwestern ranch lifestyle. A quality book that is inspiring and entertaining.

It's just like she said!

Sandra gives a first person account of life on a ranch in Arizona near the New Mexico border. It reminded me so much of my time there... She reads the book as well so you feel like your grandma is telling you stories about when she was little. I would recommend this book to anyone who misses their life on a ranch.

Well written and narrated by Sarah Day O’Connor

This book was a pleasant surprise, in both content and the structure. Very well-versed, sharp, and simply written, the story offers a childhood description of Sarah Day and her brother Allan, as if seen by the eyes of children. I recommend this book to anyone.

Wonderful history of life in the Southwest during the 19th century.

I loved the history. Her political views make so much sense understanding her history. A really unique lifestyle, even at that time.

I wanted it to be good...

I really wanted this to be good. I am a big fan of Sandra Day O'Connor, but this was really bad. It was formulaic and seemed more like ramblings than a real story. It seemed strangely impersonal. For example she would say "here was this person. Here is their name. Here is what they were like. Here is what they taught me." I found it very boring and super frustrating. My husband was in the car with me for a long drive when we were listening to this book and after 6 chapters he started yelling, "Show don't tell!" It was so hard to listen to that we gave up about half way through. It is too bad. If the book had been written well it might have been interesting.