Early life in Brooklyn; love of flying, French culture, and newspapers; Smith College, B.A. 1944; encouraging atmosphere of Smith; Columbia Law School graduate 1947; discouragement over gender discrimination at Columbia; insulting and intimidating professors at Columbia; high attendance of veterans at Columbia after war; passing of courses and bar exam; pursuing journalism over law; experiences in writing for Parade, Journal-American, New York Times; investigative reporting at Journal-American; joining fashion section of the Times; marriage to Selig Altschul, guru of aviation finance; author, The Beautiful People, The Chosen Instrument; female editor of Sunday Business section of the Times; head of Business World Quarterly magazine for the Times; interviewing public figures, people in business; deposition against the Times for sex discrimination lawsuit; opinions on gender roles, fashion, and business