Fire in My Soul (Paperback)
Description
Impassioned civil rights activist, champion of women's rights, hard-driving legislator -- U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton is known in Washington as the "Warrior on the Hill." Fire in My Soul is the story of Norton's extraordinary political career, told from a personal perspective.
Author Joan Steinau Lester met Norton in 1958 while they were both students at Antioch College. Fire in My Soul charts their longstanding friendship and tells of Norton's rise to leadership -- from her early on-campus activism to demanding a Senate hearing for Anita Hill to standing before the Supreme Court to uphold first amendment rights. Filled with scores of Lester's conversations and correspondence with Norton, interviews with Norton's colleagues and confidantes, and dozens of original photographs, Fire in My Soul is a compelling biography of one of the greatest political pioneers in American history.
About the Author
Dr. Joan Steinau Lester is an award-winning commentator, syndicated op/ed columnist, and author of The Future of White Men and Other Diversity Dilemmas and Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action Guide. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She has been regularly featured on National Public Radio and Public Radio International.
Praise for Fire in My Soul…
Maya Angelou Eleanor Holmes Norton knows law, people, and life. I am glad that I am a woman during the same time that [she] is. She makes me proud of us. Joan Lester...knows remarkably well how to get out of the way and let Norton speak.
Gloria Steinem Read Fire in My Soul to meet a woman who, in a just world, would have been President of the United States; to learn the power of good families in bad worlds; and to find a friend whose life teaches courage and compassion. Dr. Joan Lester has written an honest and irresistible book.
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr Senior Managing Director Lazard, Freres & Co., LLC and of Counsel Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP No person has been more crucial to the cause of free speech and civil rights than Eleanor Holmes Norton. This fascinating book is the story of one remarkable woman's journey to a distinguished career, spanning some of the most critical years in American history. I couldn't put it down.
Marian Wright Edelman President, Children's Defense Fund Eleanor Holmes Norton has spent her entire life committed to service and leadership. Fire in My Soul is a richly detailed and personal portraitand shows just how the junior high class president and Dunbar High student leader grew up to be the congressional representative for her hometown and one of our nation's most outspoken and persistent witnesses for justice. Read it and be inspired by this extraordinary woman.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault Journalist and author of In My Place Eleanor Holmes Norton's compelling biography is the story of a true American original, giving even those of us who have known her a long time greater understanding of why she's so good at "telling like it is."
