For more than ten years, Jan Cleere has written about the women who influenced the growth and development of Arizona in her column “Western Women” that appears monthly in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. The famous, infamous and those not so well known are featured, each with a compelling story of surviving and thriving under less than ideal circumstances. Warriors, basket weavers, ranchers, artists, innkeepers, school teachers, politicians and entrepreneurs from a remarkable variety of backgrounds and cultures influenced the growth of Arizona.