Bar None

Bar None is the story of Valery Orr's personal struggle against an unfair legal system, one stacked in favor of women and minorities. And she wasn't willing to play along. Instead, she fought against the perverse spoils system in government contracting, one at odds with the ideas of our country's founding. Her journey included three trips to the United States Supreme Court, and whose efforts resulted in precedential rulings that today form a bulwark against using the power of government to play favorites among its own citizens. Her upbringing gave her strength to persevere through that twelve-year struggle: a childhood continuing four generations of Colorado cattle ranchers, dating back to her great-grandfather's 1883 homestead in the bleak antebellum frontier. A story both personal and universal, Bar None reveals the injustices of legislative deference to white guilt, the struggles to overcome the barriers of racial and gender preferences, and the eventual triumphs of a woman who only ever wanted to be judged on the quality of her own hard work. Laced with humor, grit, and charm--but never stridency--Bar None shows that pioneer spirit and personal accountability are timeless.