Fire in My Soul - by Joan Steinau Lester (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

The Washington Post [A]n engaging narrative of the life and times of a remarkable individual.

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.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Chair, Department of African and African-American Studies, Harvard University Norton is an inspirational figure to us all. Hers is a truly fascinating story, and I am delighted that [Joan Lester has] chosen to tell it in such an engaging way.

Maya Angelou Eleanor Holmes Norton knows law, people, and life...[and] Joan Lester knows remarkably well how to...let Norton speak.

About the Author

Joan Steinau Lester, Ed.D., is an award-winning journalist and author of four critically acclaimed books. Her writing has appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including Essence, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Northern California.