Barbara F. Vucanovich: From Nevada to Congress, and Back Again

When Barbara Vucanovich ran for Congress in 1982, she was sixty-one years old, and it was her first try for a political office. She campaigned as a "tough grandmother," and her commonsense approach to politics reflected her personal values. Representing Nevada's newly created Second Congressional District, she became the first Nevada woman elected to a federal office. During her fourteen years in the US House of Representatives, she remained committed to both her constituents and the conservative ideals of her party. In this engaging memoir, written with her daughter, Patricia, Vucanovich reflects with candor and modesty on her political career and the long road that led to it-her years as mother of a growing family, businesswoman, and community volunteer and her introduction to managing a political campaign with Paul Laxalt's 1964 run for the Senate.