Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest

by Sandra Day O'Connor

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 U.S. 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 reader 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 read 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, History, Biography Memoir, Politics, Autobiography

318 pages, Leather Bound

First published January 22, 2002

About the author

Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist. She served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 until her retirement from the bench in 2006. The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, she served as a crucial swing vote in some cases due to her case-by-case approach to jurisprudence and her somewhat moderate political views. However, during her time on the Court, she voted with the conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist more than with any other justice.

Reviews

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest was a delightful memoir written by Sandra Day O'Connor and her brother H. Alan Day. The ranch had been in their family since their grandfather H.C. Day acquired the land in 1880 in an area covered by the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico and buying a herd of cattle. It is not only the story of their family but a remarkable and illuminating history of the American Southwest. There are wonderful black-and-white photographs of the family as well as individual highlights of the colorful cowboys who worked on the Lazy B Ranch, some for their entire lifetimes.

In several biographies that I have read about Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, she always spoke of the invaluable lessons she learned during those first nine years growing up on the harsh but beautiful land of the Lazy B Ranch before she was first sent away to school. Reading this memoir gives one a better understanding how her childhood instilled in her the values allowing Sandra Day O'Connor to thrive and attain the honor of being the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 serving until her retirement in 2006.

The epigraph to the Preface alludes to its uniqueness:

"There is something about living in big empty space, where people are few and distant, under a great sky that is alternately serene and furious, exposed to sun from four in the morning till nine at night, and to a wind that never seems to rest--there is something about exposure to that big country that not only tells an individual how small he is, but steadily tells him who he is."

--- WALLACE STEGNER, "Finding the Place: A Migrant Childhood"

And one of my favorite passages describing the area surrounding the Lazy B Ranch:

"The Lazy B Ranch straddles the border of Arizona and New Mexico along the Gila River. It is high desert country--dry, windswept, clear, often cloudless. Among the Gila the canyons are choked with cottonwoods and willows. The cliffs rise up sharply and are smooth beige sandstone. The water flowing down the riverbed from the Gila Wilderness to the northeast is usually only a trickle. But sometimes, after summer rains or a winter thaw in the mountains, the river becomes an angry, rushing, mud-colored flood, carrying trees, brush, rocks, and everything else in its path. Scraped into the sandstone bluffs are petroglyphs of the Anasazi of centuries past. Their lives and hardships left these visible traces for us to find, and we marvel at their ability to survive as long as they did in this harsh environment. High up on one of the canyon walls is a small opening to a cave. A few ancient steps are cut out of the bluff leading to it."

[Mimi (a.k.a Ellen) · Rating 2 out of 5]

am convinced that Sandra Day O'Connor did not write this book herself as its observations are devoid of any depth and is written on a grade-school level. While the book offers a much appreciated glimpse into the Arizona of days gone by, it reads as a series of disconnected events without any personal reflection on the part of the author. I expected much more from a former Supreme Court justice.

[Jan C · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was surprised by this book. I guess I thought that because she is a conservative that it would show in this book. Maybe it does but this was written by the former justice and her brother about growing up on a ranch on the Arizona-New Mexico border.

It was a hard life but one where she and her brother and sister learned about life. As children they helped with the chores of a ranch and were expected to do them right.

So it was a very enjoyable book and a look at a vanishing way of life. When I was in college in Idaho, I went home for the weekend several times with friends who grew up on ranches. I, thus, had a small view pf this life. It was totally foreign to this person from suburbia.

[Feisty Harriet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This memoir about growing up on a large ranch in the dry, dry country of Arizona and New Mexico. This is primarily about ranch life, the cowboys and ranch hands, their backgrounds, talking care of the animals and the land, the struggle of O'Connor's parents thru their lives to survive and become financially independent. The Day patriarch was tough, stubborn, and unmoving, and there are no apologies for him in this book, just a nodding of heads that "that's just his way." Honestly, it's pretty dry and O'Connor doesn't give much insight into her future life as a Supreme Court Justice. But, you will learn about life on a massive ranch. So, there's that. Also? You will learn that when Supreme Court Justice O'Connor was a girl she had a horse named Swastika, named after the brand on his rump. And she makes zero apologies for that and she doesn't CHANGE THE NAME OF THE DAMN HORSE when she wrote her memoirs. You can't undo the name your (probably racist) father gave the white pony, but when you write your memoirs you sure as hell can call the horse Swash or Snowflake or Roger or ANYTHING but Swastika. I mean, COME ON.

[Mark Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir by the first woman justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Sandra Day O’Connor and her brother H. Alan Day took this east coast native to a foreign terrain along the expansive Arizona/New Mexico boarder. Maybe it was my past appreciation of Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour western novels combined with my current passion for memoirs, autobiographies and biographies that created my mind to drift with appreciation.

From coast to coast the heart of America is full of great folks living in harmony with the land and nature that provides for them. This book sheds light into the lifestyle of a very unique accomplished family surrounded by horses with ownership of a large cattle farm. Their testament is full of rugged hard work, challenges, accountability, respect, discipline, responsibility, perseverance, hardship, ingenuity, a thirst for limited government along with many memories and a definite slice of history.

[Michael Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gift from my daughter "since I like to read biographies". This fast and enjoyable read was not so much a biography as a picture about growing up on a ranch in a loving family surrounded by natural pleasures, hard work and an extended family of ranch hand or cowboys. She turned out very well as did her siblings. A refreshing perspective in this day of possessions and things ahead of family.

[Nicholle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My jolabokaflod book this year (thanks Michelle!). A simply-written memoir about life on a cattle ranch. Reminded me of an earlier generation of "Its Head Came Off By Accident" by Muffy Mead-Ferro.
---
Extreme Book Nerd Challenge 2019 - A nonfiction book

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of what it is like to grow up on a ranch. Amazing that a former ranch kid grows up to be Supreme Court justice. Charming.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tagline exactly explains this book: Growing up on a cattle ranch in the American southwest. This isn't so much a personal memoir by Sandra Day O'Connor as a factual history of the Southwest told by focusing in on one family. The book looks at a vanishing way of life and a piece of history through short but detailed remembrances of a specific event or person. The stories aren't always very exciting, but they feel very real. You get the sense that the story of Sandra and Alan, DA and MO, is one that many ranchers would identify with. And it's a look into a life and past that seems very different from modern (or maybe just suburban/city) mores - the stories about knocking over wild horses for sport, for example, just seemed cruel. If you like the idea of stepping into that history, you will probably like this book.

That said, I didn't feel like I was left with a better sense of Sandra Day O'Connor. It was certainly interesting to learn about Sandra's beginnings, and it makes me curious to know how much her ranching days impacted her later judicial philosophy. However---while the book is clearly intensely personal, and discusses people very dear to Sandra---it lacks personal reflection. The events are presented very factually, without an explanation of how Sandra (or Alan) felt about the events or how the events impacted them. If you want to learn about Sandra Day O'Connor's life, this is a great background, but you'll have to look elsewhere for her life story.

[Jen B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't quite remember how Lazy B ended up on my to read list, and I'm sure I didn't realize that the author was Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor until I started reading... But Lazy B is an interesting, well-written memoir about growing up on a ranch -- it clearly, rationally and with bridled emotion describes the wonder, frustrations, stewardship, trials and personalities that comprise life in an unforgiving climate and the uncertain livelihood of ranching.

When I was reading Lazy B, I envied the Day family for their experience of this life, one that doesn't quite exist in the same manner anymore. I enjoyed the pictures sprinkled throughout the book, and the chapters were detailed but short enough that I was always under the impression of making great progress.

Sandra and Alan must have done a lot of work to bring forth the memories captured in Lazy B, but what struck me most was the careful balance of relating the stories and opinions without diving into a distracting level of emotion. Overall, Lazy B reads rather matter-of-factly, but in the end you know exactly how the authors feel about the end of that particular brand of ranching. This book makes me want to read up more on Sandra as a Supreme Court Justice, because now that I know where her roots are, I want to know the spread of her branches and the color of her leaves.

[May-Ling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book read almost like historical fiction more than a memoir. I've actually been lucky enough to hear Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speak in person. As a result, I think I like the book more than I would otherwise because it's like I could hear her reading it. This memoir is written as if its dictated and you can actually tell that in the writing style, which is kind of a weird thing because it's a book. You want the language to be more readable then this book delivers. Another thing that's kind of strange about the Lazy B is that it's written by Sandra and Alan, yet all of his portions are written from the perspective of Sandra. I know that she is the more famous person, but it feels bizarre to hear his personal stories told through her eyes and I wish it was more of a partnership of authors. It is fascinating to read the background of such a famous person, especially because she had humble beginnings on a ranch. Clearly they weren't a poor family, but they certainly were resourceful, economical and lived through hard times. You really see where someone can develop work ethic strength and resolve to get the to the place that she did in life.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Sandra Day O'Connor and her brother Alan Day's memoir of their childhood on a cattle ranch in the arid, open high desert country south of the Gila River on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. ("When the big rain came that lasted 40 days and 40 nights, Southern Arizona got half an inch.")
It resonated with me because for part of my childhood, I grew up on a ranch. Totally different climate--I was on the humid Gulf Coast of Texas--but we had the same orientation to our animals--the cattle, horses, and dogs--and the weather that you only have on a farm or a ranch.
The most powerful thing about the book to me was to be reminded how much sheer knowledge ranchers and farmers have that is invisible to the rest of us--and as Wallace Stegner said, "that what would pass for heroics in a softer world was only chores around here." People working with cattle get hurt all the time--and usually don't even stop, because they need to get the job done right then.
I don't think the book would have found a publisher if O'Connor weren't famous, but I enjoyed revisiting "the world of my fathers."

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming and delightful ode to a life and a time gone by. A heartfelt account of what it's like growing up on an isolated desert ranch in Arizona and New Mexico. It was hard work and bliss according to the first woman Supreme Court Justice and her brother. We hear about the eccentric and accomplished cowboys, the real West, as well as all the animals from horses to bobcats. Lots of field craft about herding cows too. Sandra actually left to go to school in El Paso but she loved the ranch and was always returning to it with her friends and children. Sadly the ranch had to be sold. It was a combination of no one in the family stepping up to pursue this way of life as well as all the anxiety, politics, and difficulties associated with grazing. I discovered this book in a bookstore in Tubac, AZ after driving through the area of the ranch. There are lots of pictures and it reads and feels like a family album.

[Julie Wisneski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will open your eyes to life on a cattle ranch during the first half of the 20th century. What's amazing is how the Day family made it through the Great Depression while maintaining a successful ranch.

[Reena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, honest and loving memoir by the formidable first woman Supreme Court justice of the United States about growing up on a cattle ranch in the American southwest, specifically Arizona, on the border of New Mexico. It’s an eye opening account of a way of life that’s long gone but has left indelible marks on the American spirit.

I was fascinated by her descriptions about that life of cattle, and corralling and branding and cowboys and men and women who lived and died taming a merciless land and nature on a daily basis. The family and cattle hands - lonely cowboys who preferred nature to people - raised animals for their livelihood and yet were closer to the cattle than we are. They invented out of necessity and combined a native intelligence, common sense with a life of hard work and honor. Growing up in that environment, feedback and learning came daily in the form of natural consequences - regular, honest and disinterested - not the manufactured variety we city slickers have learned to provide our children while cocooning them in unnatural environs. More in that elsewhere...

How Sandra Day (later O’Connor) went from being a cattle rancher’s daughter who’s just as comfortable on horses as with a book to law school at Stanford and on to an illustrious legal career is another wonder and of secondary importance in the book; but her attachment, respect and real love for that cattle ranch life come thorough loudly, leaving me in awe of it all. Somehow one is left feeling those men and women were more real, more honest and, if you will, even better people than we are.

At the end she recounts how the ranch is shut down because of onerous regulations from bureaucrats who understand little of that life or of the natural resources they’re trying to protect. That last goodbye made me tear up, almost feeling like we turned our back on what was an essential American-ness.

[Noralo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book I would ever have chosen for myself. A book club I'm interested in trying out is reading it, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. I'm not a nonfiction person and expected this to be a slog, but the writing was easy and fluid. A testament to its usefulness is that I read the first ten pages, put the book down, and then the final Jeopardy question that night was in the category of American Women and mentioned a law school in Arizona named after her. So ten pages in, I was already winning!

The book was mildly interesting, in that, she really explains ranch life in detail to the uninitiated. But why? Other than that personal nostalgia, this book seems pretty meaningless. There were no insights about how this led to Sandra Day O'Connor's position on the Supreme Court, and very few insights about being a woman on a ranch. In the final chapters, you get an idea that this book was meant to convince us of the need for ranches and public grazing laws, for land stewardship. But the rest of the book did nothing to support this notion. Kind of surprising for a Supreme Court Justice to do such a poor job illuminating the premise of her book.

[Theresa]

Gretchen Rubin recommended this book and once again it's boring. Too descriptive. I want to know what are the beginnings of a Supreme Court Judge.

[MrsWhiteLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful account of ranch life in the early twentieth century, and the values and life lessons it afforded.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at an indie book store on our trip to Bainbridge Island. I loved hearing about the family and growing up on the farm. The pictures really helped tell the story. A lot of hard physical work. A great read.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a ranch girl, this book speaks to my heart. The characters, the determination, the community all rings true.

[Michael Huckaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading, well written slice-of-life novel of growing up on a large southwest cattle ranch by a girl who grew up to be a Supreme Court Justice. Interesting character sketches of their day to day life, cowboys and acquaintances.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story that Sandra Day O'COnnor, the first woman supreme court justice, tells about her life. I like memoirs and find it interesting to see what memories people select to describe themselves. Sandra Day Oconnor's book is not particularly well written and rather superficial, leading to more questions about her life than she answers. The entire description of what should have been a fascinating life on a huge ranch was very distant and almost like it didn't happen to her at all. She was most engaged when describing her life at college and meeting her husband. There are some interesting episodes about her brother Alan - especially the story of hauling home a sick cow during a thunderstorm when he was only 13 years old that reveal much more about her family than anything she tells about herself. Probably the most revealing incident, and the only one with any detail,is the description of her father lassoing her and her cousin while they are swimming in a big water tank; I got a start of a feel for her father and for her relationship with her father.

The book is not chronological and instead of describing an actual incident, she talks generally about what things were like when they had round ups or when they went to town, etc. Very little good detail. But, it was her life and it certainly tells us that she is a private person with a fascinating background.

ANd quick to read

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know whether to give this a one or a two star rating. I read it because I like learning about the southwest and it was about growing up on an Arizona ranch. I was not reading it out of interest in Sandra Day O'Connor as a Supreme Court Justice. That was good because there is nothing in this book to indicate why or if this person gained sufficient ethics, insight, and compassion to warrant her appointment to the Supreme Court. It was entirely about growing up on a ranch (which is to grow up in a privileged position I believe. It's certainly growing up as big fish in a small pond). It was also entirely without any depth of observation. There seemed to be an expectation that ranch life in and of itself was somehow better that urban or suburban life and created a higher moral people. I don't think that's true. I think that's plain old snobbery. If it is true, it is not illuminated by anything in this book. There is some cruelty to animals recounted. The only politics is an explanation as to why its actually good for the southwest to have big cattle ranches on it. There's some validity to her thinking on this which in a nutshell is that since the government doesn't take care of the land, individual property owners probably will do better.

[Armelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly puzzling collection of memories about growing up on a huge ranch in the southwest in the middle of the 20th century.

Although it is by - and to a degree about - Sandra Day O’Connor, she actually spent much of her childhood in El Paso, living with her grandparents so she could be closer to good schools.

The book is more about her parents, the ranch itself, and the cowboys and ranch hands who worked there.

It’s an interesting picture of a time and place. The chapters are short, and there are pictures at the beginning of each chapter. The chapters are often about one person: her father, or her mother, or one of the long time cowboys.

It isn’t all pretty. The cowboys lived rough and tumble lives, and while they may have been loyal employees, and even friends, of the Day family, they didn’t always make the best decisions in their personal lives.

Many horses die.

[Sarah Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is Sandra Day O’Connor’s homage to her ranch beginnings in a remote stretch of Southeastern Arizona. How could I not read an ode to a once had sparse desert living, written from a front row seat in DC? The writing is bland at times, but also strong and simple. The first chapters are each devoted to a cowboy or character that shaped life on the ranch before and after Sandra and her two siblings were born. The later describe in detail singular cattle drives, a story of the day the truck almost got washed away in a flash flood, etc. that serve as turning points in the survival of the ranch, and the etching of her and her younger brothers’ character. One of the things I like most about this book is what isn’t said explicitly. By simply highlighting small events each in their own chapter, the author demonstrates what seems to have been an isolated and monotonous life that lent itself easily to taking full stock of people and small victories. I liked too her comparison between the things that get you ahead on the ranch (honesty, physical ability, individual capability) versus in DC (verbal ability to relay ideas, knowledge base, network).

[Kassi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, the only way I'd recommend this book is if you are familiar with the area that the Lazy B is located, in southern Arizona. OR if you have some interest in cattle ranching. My husband is from the area near the Lazy B so we are familiar with the locations and some of the people mentioned in this book. We found some of the stories shared to be interesting because of that fact. I also grew up around cattle ranching having a father VERY similar to DA... So I could relate to some of those stories.
Otherwise, the writing, sadly isn't done very well. It was easy to get bored with whatever they were talking about at the time. I almost gave up on the book several times but decided to read the whole thing.
It is amazing that Sandra Day O'Connor came from a meager ranching background to become the first woman on the Supreme Court. But when you read the book you find she didn't really spend much time in the area being schooled almost entirely in El Paso, TX. Still, it's interesting to read the history if you're familiar already with the area or the people.

[Philip Blen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire book is made up of remembrances. Some a paragraph long, some memories a page. A chapter might be about cowboys falling off horses. No point, other then they fell off, either bruised or not. Or taking pride in sinking a fence post correctly. There are chapters, 2-4 pages about each parent. A couple of pages about each cowboy. And on and on.

Yes, the life of the cowboy was tough, and her parents made ends meet in a difficult situation. And eventually found financial stability. There are snippets of her growing up, but Sandra must not of wanted to reveal much about herself. Or maybe what she remember of her childhood was simply random memories.

It is hard to believe Alan Day could not construct a more interesting book of Sandra's childhood from family and friends Maybe Sandra would not allow him?

Just made the half way point, and not sure how much longer I will continue. Probably till I can swing into Powell's Books and get something else to read.

[Yenta Knows · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this hoping for insight into the mindsets of ultra conservative republicans. I can see how ranch life nurtured the admirable skills of self reliance, persistence, and hard work. But although the authors speak admiringly of the cowboys' competence and good humor there's plenty of just plain dysfunction: alcoholism, wife beating, gambling, bad temper, immaturity, impulsiveness, foolish pride.

I'm also underwhelmed by the authors' insights into public policy. Near the end they assert that the best use of the arid southwest is to be ranched by competent ranchers. This is after they've written hundreds of pages on the extreme challenges of ranching successfully. And two pages after they describe selling their own ranch to others whom, they warn, will probably fail.

I also have to wonder if this book truly displays Sandra's intellectual abilities. If it does, I shudder at the damage this lightweight did during her many years on the Supreme Court.

[Lexish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so different than I thought it would be, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I expected a narrative-style memoir similar to Justice Sotomayor's book; instead, each "chapter" highlighted a particular person from (or aspect of) Sandra Day O'Connor's childhood growing up on a ranch out west. The tone struck me as very personal and honest, as though you were sitting listening to her tell you about the time that such-and-such happened. I had no idea this was the life she had lived. Readers hoping to hear about her path to the Supreme Court will be disappointed, though. This memoir is only about her childhood, with mentions of college/law school/her swearing-in so brief as to make it clear that this book is about the people in her early life and not about her professional career. Definitely a worthwhile read.

[Stephanie Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I withheld one star because of the folksy and often repetitive writing. It was distracting especially in the first half of the book. (I suspect that this labor of love written by two family members - one being *the* Sandra Day O'Connor - was given a wide berth, editorially speaking, by the publisher.) As confirmed in the acknowledgements at the end, it is obvious that several chapters are a verbatim transcript of oral recollections. Oral histories do not smooth reading make.

That said, I love the high deserts of Arizona and New Mexico and this was an engaging and intimate portrait of a way of life that is all but gone. The final chapters describing the last days of the ranch and its sale nearly had me in tears. And I'm not a book/movie crier. I'm a big fan of Southwestern memoirs and history so if that's not your deal, you may not be as moved.