"Margaret Chase Smith served thirty-three years in the U.S. Congress (1940 to 1973). Her congressional tenure spanned the administrations of six presidents and three major wars, and marked significant changes in the roles of women in all aspects of American life. For most of her twenty-four years as a senator Smith served as the only woman. She was the first woman to seek the nomination of a major political party for the presidency of the United States.".

"By the time she left office, Senator Smith was the most powerful woman in American politics. From her positions on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee, she exercised considerable influence over a broad range of military, foreign, and domestic policies. Yet, Smith did not view herself as a feminist; in fact, she disparaged feminism.

For her, success required a special combination of hard work, masked ambition, and proper womanly behavior." "No Place for a Woman is the first biography to analyze Smith's life and times by using politics and gender as the lens through which we can understand her impact on American politics and American women."--BOOK JACKET.