Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I'm still mad at RBG.

Appointed by Clinton in 1993, Ruth was only the second female on the Supreme Court (That's right, kids: the mens used to think that mixing a career and family was too much for us. It wasn't until 1993 that we had enough juice to play in the most powerful court. Did you vote for Hilary?).

Ruth Bader Ginsberg has acquired a bit of a cult following since then, perhaps because our perceptions of both petite, reticent women, and elderly women don't always square with the powerhouse legal mind and workhorse Ruth so obviously is. The book, Notorious RBG, came out of a Tumblr started by two women who admired her work, particularly her dissenting opinions when the Supreme Court eroded the Voting Rights Act. show more (http://notoriousrbg.tumblr.com/)

Notes about the book: structurally, it reminded me of a cross between the 'Dummies' series of books and a biography. The biographical bits were broken down by subject focus, such as her very early years, academic life, family life, her work pre-Supreme Court, her relationships with other Court members, and her relationship with her husband. Being older and of a more traditional literary discipline, I tend to like my biographies to follow along a more chronological order. I feel it builds a better conceptual idea of how someone becomes who they are. Instead, it jumped around, mentioning her academic work in that section, but then talking more about the personal sacrifices in the family section. So it didn't work as well for me.

I appreciated the authors' attempts to make law more interesting and to provide some historical context, but inclusions often made the topical sections feel even more disjointed. For instance, one chapter has a timeline of major decisions affecting women, and one has a short brief she wrote with red notations on the side, commenting on Ruth's paper. I greatly appreciated the collected pictures, both personal and professional.

So here's the deal: I'm irritated as hell she didn't step down during President Obama's second term, particularly as a person who believed that cultural change comes from small, progressively stacked, well-founded decisions. The trend of the country was obvious. She had faced two cancer diagnosis and turned 80 his second term. Had she retired as Sandra Day O'Connor did after dealing with breast cancer, she would have had a solid 20 years on the court and a remarkable career by anyone's definition. But no one--not even powerhouses--lives forever, and I felt like she had a duty to her feminist, populist and legal principles to ensure a better successor than one we will be likely to get.

However, in context of her life, it absolutely makes sense from her perspective, that of a woman who is passionately dedicated to law. She worked while her children were young, at one point trading positions with her husband so he could stay home with the kids and support her. I can't remember, but believe she either worked the day he passed or the day of his funeral. She was meticulous, thoughtful, and prepared. I think she's an amazing person, but a truly noble act would have been to help shift the court away from the conservative legal minds who erode her own goals. show less

After finishing Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I feel like you should take my feminist card away from me, for I had no idea just how influential RBG was in punching through the glass ceiling and establishing equal rights for caretakers of any gender. In fact, I had no knowledge of her past or her positions while on the Supreme Court. I only knew her as one of the lone liberals on the highest court of the land and someone hundreds of thousands of women adore. Now I understand why.

The remarkable thing about RBG is that hers is no Cinderella story. She did not kiss a prince and get to sit on the highest court in the country. She fought and worked for every success. She broke through gender barriers, battled show more sexism in the workplace, fought against gender stereotypes with every forward movement of her career. She did so with unwavering dedication to not only her career and her beliefs but to her family. She made sacrifices and learned the importance of compromise.

Moreover, she never expected drastic changes to occur overnight. Her work with the ACLU is just a microcosm of the philosophy she actually applied to her education and career: slow changes over time will be more successful than sudden drastic ones. She shows this with her fight to obtain her law degree to teaching law to her stint as a judge in various courts around the nation. She continues to apply the same philosophy in her decisions/dissents on the Supreme Court. It is a valuable lesson in this day and age where life seems to change daily. Ms. Carmon and Ms. Knizhnik do an excellent job of pulling together the remarkable details of her life and showing how she has faced every challenge with the same gentle grace and spine of steel that we still see today.

The audiobook version of this biography is engaging and well-narrated. My only complaint is that I missed seeing pictures. I found myself searching for pictures of a younger RBG and her beloved Marty so that I could not only put a face to the name but to also see the woman behind the robe. For that reason, I think this is one book best served in print. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ms. Arndt’s narration or the audio performance; it is just missing that extra something that the pictures in biographies bring.

Listening to this biography of Justice Ginsburg after the 2016 election is like a punch in the gut. Not only do you get the impression that Ginsburg would have already retired by now had HRC won, you have to wonder just how different our world would be right now with both RBG and HRC serving the government at the same time. It is enough to make my heart ache at the lost possibilities. However, if you learn one thing from Notorious RBG it is that RBG still has not given up fighting for equal rights and a better world for all, and neither should we. All hail RBG, indeed. show less

Quite a good biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from her childhood, education, personal life and marriage to her Supreme Court cases. Excerpts from many of her opinions and dissents are included, with commentary/annotation from former clerks or other people close to the case. There are a few timelines as well, and charts of cases on similar topics (e.g. Women's Rights Cases). RBG believes that incremental progress is more stable than large, sudden gains, which may be rolled back later.

Inequality in the form of sexism has affected RBG's life in both her own education and career and as a cause she has championed as a lawyer, as a professor, at the ACLU, and from the bench. She regretted O'Connor's departure from the Court, leaving show more Ginsburg as the only woman, and welcomed Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Social media memes and comics are sprinkled throughout, but the book is more substantive than its cover might lead one to believe. It was published in 2015, so there is one quote about RBG cautiously anticipating a Hillary Clinton presidency. Alas.

Quotes

"Generally, change in our society is incremental, I think. Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time." (60)

In 1970, when [Captain Susan] Struck got pregnant, she refused to quit or get an abortion, the only options the military offered her....
[RBG] couldn't help but notice the hypocrisy of a country that banned abortion except when it was convenient for the military. (64)

RBG firmly believed that for women to be equal, men had to be free [to take on traditionally women's roles, e.g. childcare]. (71-72)

"I thought, 'This is my dream of the way the world should be,' When fathers take equal responsibility for the care of their children, that's when women will truly be liberated," RBG explained in 1993 to the in-house paper at the Supreme Court. (123)

[all Supreme Court justices are given their pick of art from Washington museum collections!] (165)

"In my life, what I find most satisfying is that I was a part of a movement that made life better, not just for women. I think gender discrimination is bad for everyone, it's bad for men, it's bad for children." (176) show less

The estate of Notorious B.I.G. gave permission to use chapter titles inspired by his lyrics. That’s pretty fantastic. More fantastic? This book. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an impressive woman who I wish I knew more about when I was younger. She is tougher than I am, that’s for sure, and she’s spent her life quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) breaking down barriers. She writes opinions that recognize the humanity of our fellow citizens, and pens deliberate dissents that point out when the majority on the court get it so very, very wrong.

The book is made a bit in the style of the Jon Stewart book from years ago; it’s in hardcover, it has a lot of great pictures, and its chapters are short enough that you can digest them in show more pieces, or enjoy them all in one long sitting. Included are excerpts from her rulings and dissents, annotated (my favorite one was simply “burn”) with the assistance of legal scholars.

Ms. Carmon and Ms. Knizhnik were able to speak to Justice Ginsburg for this book, so it provides what I think is a real feel for who the Justice is not just as a member of the Supreme Court, but as a woman in this world. It isn’t as dense as a traditional biography, but that’s not its purpose. It has a very clear point of view, and it is one that I really appreciated reading. My husband is reading it next (he actually bought it, for the feminist book club we’re participating in this month), and I hope to either pass this copy along to others or, more likely, purchase it and gift it to my friends in the coming years. show less

Notorious RBG is a fan biography of the legendary Supreme Court Justice. Written in lively, loving prose, the book includes excerpts from her major cases, both those she presented to the court and those she has written as part of a course. A bit gossipy at times, we get glimpses into her personal life that bely her reputation as a no nonsense professional who lacks a sense of humor. And we cry with her as her great love, Marty, dies early, a champion of his forward thinking, feminist wife. She is a role model for so many women, including me.

I needed this book this weekend. The Notorious RBG is a little bit biography and a little bit adoring fangirl dissertation, with a little nod to the Notorious B.I.G., like the chapter titles are all lyrical references. It jumps around a lot and uses the informal “RGB” in nearly every reference to the Supreme Court Justice, but in a time when it seems the world is upside down and rights are being stripped away at alarming rate, it’s important to remember how far we’ve come toward equality, largely due to the tireless work of unstoppable women like RBG. She’s a tiny, soft-spoken women who loves opera and travel, doesn’t sleep, and can do 25 push-ups (and not the “girly” kind, her trainer is apt to share.) She’s been show more involved in many of the last half-century’s major equality cases and she doesn’t want to slow down. She’s a fair jurist who considers the law above personal politics and we certainly need more level-headed, intelligent and thoughtful justices like her. 4/5 stars ⭐️ show less

This book is a joy to read - beautiful, educational, inspirational, and lovingly written by enthusiastic young admirers of this fascinating woman.

"Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead lead others to join you." RBG has spent her entire life working for equality for everyone. She argued that discrimnitation based on sex hurts both women and men. She tirelessly, case by case worked on removing each obstacle, building precedents, following her principle of incremental change. RBG is not a revolutionist - she works within the system, and chips away at laws standing in the way of personal freedom and equal opportunity, one at a time, educating us, and her fellow justices, along the way.

RBG has graduated as show more one of only nine women at Columbia law school. She was top in her class but could not get a job as a lawyer, so she went into public service at ACLU and never looked back. Since she became a supreme court justice, she has been a consensus maker, a leader, an educator, defender of hard-fought freedoms, and for a while, as the only woman on the court, a representative of women's perspective in a male-dominated world.

The personal details of her life are also fascinating. Her husband was very supportive of her carreer - a rarity at the time - and they enjoyed a harmonious, happy and equal love affair for fifty-six years. She is an opera-lover, and a long-time close friend of justice Antonin Scalia - showing how deep respect and friendship can exist between people of opposing political views. The bits about her style and her workout are also fun. She is eighty-two and can do twenty push-ups!

The fans inject some modern, hip anecdotes and pictures of "The Notorious R.B.G." internet phenomenon. The charts with side-bars and arrows, the layout, the embedded pictures all exude a young and fresh vibe - which is quite amazing, considering the book is about an octogenarian and lots of law.

I loved this book and highly recommend it to everyone! Tip: get the print edition. The layout is designed for print and loses quite a bit in both e-book and audio form. show less