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Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life
The first full life—private, public, legal, philosophical—of the 107th Supreme Court Justice, one of the most profound and profoundly transformative legal minds of our time; a book fifteen years in work, written with the cooperation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself and based on many interviews with the justice, her husband, her children, her friends, and her associates.
In this large, comprehensive, revelatory biography, Jane De Hart explores the central experiences that crucially shaped Ginsburg’s passion for justice, her advocacy for gender equality, her meticulous her desire to make We the People more united and our union more perfect. At the heart of her story and abiding beliefs—her Jewish background. Tikkun olam , the Hebrew injunction to “repair the world,” with its profound meaning for a young girl who grew up during the Holocaust and World War II. We see the influence of her mother, Celia Amster Bader, whose intellect inspired her daughter’s feminism, insisting that Ruth become independent, as she witnessed her mother coping with terminal cervical cancer (Celia died the day before Ruth, at seventeen, graduated from high school).
From Ruth’s days as a baton twirler at Brooklyn’s James Madison High School, to Cornell University, Harvard and Columbia Law Schools (first in her class), to being a law professor at Rutgers University (one of the few women in the field and fighting pay discrimination), hiding her second pregnancy so as not to risk losing her job; founding the Women's Rights Law Reporter , writing the brief for the first case that persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down a sex-discriminatory state law, then at Columbia (the law school’s first tenured female professor); becoming the director of the women’s rights project of the ACLU, persuading the Supreme Court in a series of decisions to ban laws that denied women full citizenship status with men.
Her years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, deciding cases the way she played golf, as she, left-handed, played with right-handed clubs—aiming left, swinging right, hitting down the middle. Her years on the Supreme Court . . .
A pioneering life and legal career whose profound mark on American jurisprudence, on American society, on our American character and spirit, will reverberate deep into the twenty-first century and beyond.
In this large, comprehensive, revelatory biography, Jane De Hart explores the central experiences that crucially shaped Ginsburg’s passion for justice, her advocacy for gender equality, her meticulous her desire to make We the People more united and our union more perfect. At the heart of her story and abiding beliefs—her Jewish background. Tikkun olam , the Hebrew injunction to “repair the world,” with its profound meaning for a young girl who grew up during the Holocaust and World War II. We see the influence of her mother, Celia Amster Bader, whose intellect inspired her daughter’s feminism, insisting that Ruth become independent, as she witnessed her mother coping with terminal cervical cancer (Celia died the day before Ruth, at seventeen, graduated from high school).
From Ruth’s days as a baton twirler at Brooklyn’s James Madison High School, to Cornell University, Harvard and Columbia Law Schools (first in her class), to being a law professor at Rutgers University (one of the few women in the field and fighting pay discrimination), hiding her second pregnancy so as not to risk losing her job; founding the Women's Rights Law Reporter , writing the brief for the first case that persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down a sex-discriminatory state law, then at Columbia (the law school’s first tenured female professor); becoming the director of the women’s rights project of the ACLU, persuading the Supreme Court in a series of decisions to ban laws that denied women full citizenship status with men.
Her years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, deciding cases the way she played golf, as she, left-handed, played with right-handed clubs—aiming left, swinging right, hitting down the middle. Her years on the Supreme Court . . .
A pioneering life and legal career whose profound mark on American jurisprudence, on American society, on our American character and spirit, will reverberate deep into the twenty-first century and beyond.
752 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2018
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10626 people want to read
About the author
Jane Sherron De Hart
7 books22 followersA specialist in U.S. women's history, Jane S. De Hart is Professor Emerita in History at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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September 24, 2020
I generally avoid speaking directly about political issues in my public life, but recent events have made me reconsider my stance.
I always considered myself a rather balanced person and I am STILL always willing to consider dissenting opinions on any subject so long as they are well-formed, respectful, and not explicitly designed to incite violent reactions.
I am American by birth, ideology, and natural gravity even if I no longer live within its borders. That doesn't mean I remain unmoved or less deeply invested in the amazing devolution of my home country.
I am an avid reader of news articles, social media, and I pay close attention to political trends, big decisions, and all the implications. I've been doing it since the late '80s. I never wanted to side with any particular party because none were all that admirable. So I kept my eyes open, tried to remain objective, and made up my mind on individual issues throughout current events and events from history that NEVER SEEM TO HAVE AN END.
One thing I can say, however, is that I've always respected Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Everything she stood for, fought for, and cleverly defended, I can easily say, "She speaks for me."
This book tells me, in particular, nothing new about the big judgments, from women's rights to modern-version desegregation. Nor does it lessen the horror that I feel, as RBG felt, to the devaluation of human life, the loss of reproductive rights, or the loss of the separation of church and state.
It does, however, re-instill an urgency, an immediacy, and the necessity to FIGHT FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN.
Me, I believe in cooperation, honesty, real justice, equality, and inclusiveness. I never thought I'd have to even SAY it. I thought, as an American, that all of that was a GIVEN.
It isn't.
Not by a long shot.
And if you know and respect RBG, you know how close to the edge we all stand before we lose it all.
Work together. Think together. Do everything we can to protect our liberties. We're all in this together. Don't let the few dictate the reality of our good majority.
Losing RBG was hard enough. We must all step up and be rational. Think strategically. Look toward the long-term goal. Don't let the Machiavellians drag the rest of us through the mud.
Peace.
I always considered myself a rather balanced person and I am STILL always willing to consider dissenting opinions on any subject so long as they are well-formed, respectful, and not explicitly designed to incite violent reactions.
I am American by birth, ideology, and natural gravity even if I no longer live within its borders. That doesn't mean I remain unmoved or less deeply invested in the amazing devolution of my home country.
I am an avid reader of news articles, social media, and I pay close attention to political trends, big decisions, and all the implications. I've been doing it since the late '80s. I never wanted to side with any particular party because none were all that admirable. So I kept my eyes open, tried to remain objective, and made up my mind on individual issues throughout current events and events from history that NEVER SEEM TO HAVE AN END.
One thing I can say, however, is that I've always respected Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Everything she stood for, fought for, and cleverly defended, I can easily say, "She speaks for me."
This book tells me, in particular, nothing new about the big judgments, from women's rights to modern-version desegregation. Nor does it lessen the horror that I feel, as RBG felt, to the devaluation of human life, the loss of reproductive rights, or the loss of the separation of church and state.
It does, however, re-instill an urgency, an immediacy, and the necessity to FIGHT FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN.
Me, I believe in cooperation, honesty, real justice, equality, and inclusiveness. I never thought I'd have to even SAY it. I thought, as an American, that all of that was a GIVEN.
It isn't.
Not by a long shot.
And if you know and respect RBG, you know how close to the edge we all stand before we lose it all.
Work together. Think together. Do everything we can to protect our liberties. We're all in this together. Don't let the few dictate the reality of our good majority.
Losing RBG was hard enough. We must all step up and be rational. Think strategically. Look toward the long-term goal. Don't let the Machiavellians drag the rest of us through the mud.
Peace.
September 26, 2020
What a lady!
I had known of "the notorious RBG" for a while, but had never looked too much into her biography. A fact I have now changed after her passing. It actually saddens me that it took her death to prompt me to read this book. Alas, better late than never.
This is not an official biography. Which is to say that RBG didn't write it herself and hadn't commissioned it either. But don't let that dissuade you. The author is a historian and it shows as much in her meticulous research that went into the making of this book as in her writing style. This book could be boring; it could be just a rattling off of numbers and names and places and talking points. But it isn't. Instead, the author managed to give us a unique blend of a history book from anything happening from 1933 (and a few years before as we learn a thing or two about RBG's parents and older siblings) - politically, socially, economically, ... - until 2018 when this book was handed over for print. Thus, we're missing the last 2 years of RBG's life, sadly, but the book is comprehensive enough to make up for that.
As a lover of history, I really enjoyed how the author put RBG's life choices into context (taking the family into account as much as outside circumstances such as McCarthyism for example). It makes for a long read, certainly, but it also manages to draw a deliciously detailed picture of a girl that refused to be told she couldn't openly grieve for her mother because the Jewish prayer for mourning had to be read by men (if no male relatives are alive, strangers have to do as even those are valued more than female relatives in Orthodox Judaism); a devoted daughter; a young woman that married the man who didn't feel threatened by her intelligence, perseverance and success; a young woman who did not care how few women were admitted to such prestigious universities as Harvard; a wife who did her own studies along with her husband's when he first fell sick with cancer; a loving mother that managed to successfully juggle work and family; an ambitious lawyer and (later) judge; an inspiring teacher; a tireless fighter for what she felt was right and just (such as gender equality); a tougher-than-life advocate for disadvantaged people (regardless of their backgrounds).
Along the way we also meet the people who inspired her, who helped her (most notably her parents-in-law who also didn't care about social convention and supported her ambitions as much as possible), taught her, but also the ones she inspired in turn and the ones that were either envious or even afraid of her and her tenacity. *chuckles*
The one I loved most, was her husband, Marty - who was not only not afraid of such a strong-willed wife but also was by her side, always, campaigning for her, helping take care of the children (he was the better cook anyway *lol*) and generally was a wonderful human being apparently.
For anyone wanting a short summary:
RBG attended James Madison High School, whose law program later dedicated a courtroom in her honor.
Her mother, sadly, died of cancer two days before RBG's graduation (in my status update announcing her passing I made the mistake of saying that Celia had died the day before but that pertained to the funeral, not the actual death).
RBG attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she met Martin D. Ginsburg, the man she would marry a month after her graduation (she had a bachelor of arts degree in government and was the highest-ranking female student in her graduating class).
She and her husband moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was stationed as a Reserve Officers' Training Corps officer in the Army Reserve after his call-up to active duty.
At age 21, she worked for the Social Security Administration office in Oklahoma, where she was demoted after becoming pregnant with her first child (ah yes, the good old days when a female got demoted for getting pregnant). She gave birth to a daughter in 1955.
After the birth of their daughter, her husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. During that time, RBG attended class and took notes for both of them, typed her husband's dictated papers and cared for their daughter and her sick husband - all while making the Harvard Law Review.
In the fall of 1956, RBG enrolled at Harvard Law School, where she was one of only nine women in a class of about 500 men. The Dean of Harvard Law reportedly invited all the female law students to dinner at his family home and asked them why they were at Harvard Law School and taking the place of a man - what a lovely chap!
When her husband took a job in New York City, RBG transferred to Columbia Law School and became the first woman to be on two major law reviews: the Harvard Law Review and Columbia Law Review. In 1959, she earned her law degree at Columbia and tied for first in her class.
At the start of her legal career, RBG encountered difficulty in finding employment. You can guess why.
In 1960, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter rejected Ginsburg for a clerkship position due to her gender (nope, he did not hide the reason, he didn't have to back then). She was rejected despite a strong recommendation from Albert Martin Sacks, who was a professor and later dean of Harvard Law School.
Columbia Law Professor Gerald Gunther pushed for Judge Edmund L. Palmieri of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to hire RBG as a law clerk, threatening to never recommend another Columbia student to Palmieri if he did not give her the opportunity and guaranteeing to provide the judge with a replacement clerk should she not succeed. Later that year, RBG began her clerkship for Judge Palmieri and she held the position for two years.
From 1961 to 1963, Ginsburg was a research associate and then an associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure.
She learned Swedish to co-author a book with Anders Bruzelius on civil procedure in Sweden. RBG conducted extensive research for her book at Lund University in Sweden (where she was amazed at the 20-25% women in the field and the fact that one of the judges was eight months pregnant and still working - it strongly influenced her decision to push for more gender equality in the US).
Her first position as a professor was at Rutgers Law School in 1963. But RBG was informed she would be paid less than her male colleagues because she had a husband with a well-paid job. She stayed until 1972 after receiving tenure from the school in 1969.
In 1970, she co-founded the Women's Rights Law Reporter, the first law journal in the US to focus exclusively on women's rights.
In 1972, Ginsburg co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and became the Project's general counsel in 1973.
From 1972 to 1980 she taught at Columbia Law School, where she became the first tenured woman and co-authored the first law school casebook on sex discrimination.
She also spent a year as a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University from 1977 to 1978.
On April 14, 1980, RBG was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (vacated by Judge Harold Leventhal after his death). She was confirmed by the US Senate on June 18, 1980, and received her commission later that day. Her service terminated on August 9, 1993, due to her elevation to the US Supreme Court.
She was nominated by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993 and was generally viewed as belonging to the liberal wing of the Court. She was only the second female to serve on the Supreme Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. Following O'Connor's retirement in 2006 and until Sonia Sotomayor joined the Court in 2009, RBG was also the only female justice on the Supreme Court.
Other achievements include (but are not limited to) administering Vice President Al Gore's oath of office (on his request) to a second term during the second inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1997. RBG was only the third woman to administer an inaugural oath of office.
She is also believed to be the first Supreme Court justice to officiate at a same-sex wedding, performing the 2013 ceremony of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and John Roberts, a government economist.
The Supreme Court bar formerly inscribed its certificates "in the year of our Lord", which some Orthodox Jews opposed and asked RBG to object to. She did so, and due to her objection, Supreme Court bar members have since been given other choices of how to inscribe the year on their certificates.
RBG and her husband celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on June 23, 2010. Martin Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic cancer 4 days later.
A note on her religion:
Although RBG was raised in a Jewish home, she became non-observant when she was excluded from the minyan for mourners after the death of her mother.
There was a "house full of women" but RBG, as a woman, was excluded because Orthodox Judaism requires that 10 Jewish men over the age of 13 be present for a minyan - women are excluded from being counted (so the gender discrimination didn't stop). Following her attendance at a bat mitzvah ceremony in a more liberal stream of Judaism where the rabbi and cantor were both women, she noted that her attitude might be different.
In March 2015, RBG and Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt released "The Heroic and Visionary Women of Passover" - an essay highlighting the roles of five key women in the saga.
In addition, RBG decorated her chambers with an artist's rendering of the Hebrew phrase from Deuteronomy, "Zedek, zedek, tirdof" ("Justice, justice shall you pursue") as a reminder of her heritage and professional responsibility.
RBG was diagnosed with cancer in 1999; she underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During the process, she did not miss a day on the bench.
Because she was physically weakened by the cancer treatment, she began working with a personal trainer: Bryant Johnson, a former Army reservist attached to the Special Forces, trained Ginsburg twice weekly in the justices-only gym at the Supreme Court. RBG was able to complete 20 push-ups in a session before her 80th birthday (yep, I got beaten by a woman that could have been my grandmother).
About 10 years after the first bout, cancer came back in 2009. RBG had surgery on February 5, was released from hospital on February 13 and went back into session on February 23.
As I said, the book ends in 2018 after the election of President Trump and after going into details about some of the legal cases he started (for example due to the travel ban he declared). For anyone interested in the rest:
In 2018, she fell in her office (apparently she broke or at least bruised her ribs but was back at work after just one day off). In the hospital, a scan revealed new cancer. On December 21, RBG underwent a left-lung lobectomy. For the first time since joining the Court more than 25 years earlier, RBG missed an oral argument on January 7, 2019 while she recuperated. She returned to the Supreme Court on February 15.
In August 2019, the Supreme Court announced that RBG had recently completed three weeks of focused radiation treatment. By January 2020, she was cancer-free, however, by May 2020, RBG was once again receiving treatment for a recurrence of cancer.
She died from complications of the latest bout of cancer yesterday, on September 18, 2020, at age 87.
Yes, this is the short of it, the bullet points. This book, however, gave me SO MUCH MORE. It details the decades and the law suits, the change in politics, the economy, and society itself and how RBG helped bring about many of the changes or fought them (you get anything from abotion rights, gender equality, marriage equality to data gathering, Guantanamo, the War on Terror, Trump's travel ban and separated incarceration of children).
More than that though, you get a feeling for who RBG was as a person, as if you had a conversation with her or as if you had been at one of her lectures and that, more than anything, is the author's genius that made me fall in love with the book so much.
It showed the woman’s brilliance, her intellect, her grande style, her respect for everyone. For more details on that, see my status updates while I was reading the book.
RBG was a true lady (in the original sense of the word) and I teared up a number of times (in equal measure from rage and sadness) but also laughed (hint: personal trainer) while reading this book. All good things must come to an end, of course, and she has accomplished so incredibly much over the span of her lifetime, but her passing is one of those losses that are or should be felt and acknowledged throughout the world. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
P.S.: No, I don't partake in hero's worship or personality cults. This is not that. But honour where honour is due and RBG certainly did set standards and was a rare creature.
P.P.S.: For anyone wanting to watch instead of read about RBG, there are two movies that come highly recommended:
1) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4669788/... On the Basis of Sex (the fictionalized account of RBG's early career)
2) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7689964/... RBG (a documentary)
I had known of "the notorious RBG" for a while, but had never looked too much into her biography. A fact I have now changed after her passing. It actually saddens me that it took her death to prompt me to read this book. Alas, better late than never.
This is not an official biography. Which is to say that RBG didn't write it herself and hadn't commissioned it either. But don't let that dissuade you. The author is a historian and it shows as much in her meticulous research that went into the making of this book as in her writing style. This book could be boring; it could be just a rattling off of numbers and names and places and talking points. But it isn't. Instead, the author managed to give us a unique blend of a history book from anything happening from 1933 (and a few years before as we learn a thing or two about RBG's parents and older siblings) - politically, socially, economically, ... - until 2018 when this book was handed over for print. Thus, we're missing the last 2 years of RBG's life, sadly, but the book is comprehensive enough to make up for that.
As a lover of history, I really enjoyed how the author put RBG's life choices into context (taking the family into account as much as outside circumstances such as McCarthyism for example). It makes for a long read, certainly, but it also manages to draw a deliciously detailed picture of a girl that refused to be told she couldn't openly grieve for her mother because the Jewish prayer for mourning had to be read by men (if no male relatives are alive, strangers have to do as even those are valued more than female relatives in Orthodox Judaism); a devoted daughter; a young woman that married the man who didn't feel threatened by her intelligence, perseverance and success; a young woman who did not care how few women were admitted to such prestigious universities as Harvard; a wife who did her own studies along with her husband's when he first fell sick with cancer; a loving mother that managed to successfully juggle work and family; an ambitious lawyer and (later) judge; an inspiring teacher; a tireless fighter for what she felt was right and just (such as gender equality); a tougher-than-life advocate for disadvantaged people (regardless of their backgrounds).
Along the way we also meet the people who inspired her, who helped her (most notably her parents-in-law who also didn't care about social convention and supported her ambitions as much as possible), taught her, but also the ones she inspired in turn and the ones that were either envious or even afraid of her and her tenacity. *chuckles*
The one I loved most, was her husband, Marty - who was not only not afraid of such a strong-willed wife but also was by her side, always, campaigning for her, helping take care of the children (he was the better cook anyway *lol*) and generally was a wonderful human being apparently.
For anyone wanting a short summary:
RBG attended James Madison High School, whose law program later dedicated a courtroom in her honor.
Her mother, sadly, died of cancer two days before RBG's graduation (in my status update announcing her passing I made the mistake of saying that Celia had died the day before but that pertained to the funeral, not the actual death).
RBG attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she met Martin D. Ginsburg, the man she would marry a month after her graduation (she had a bachelor of arts degree in government and was the highest-ranking female student in her graduating class).
She and her husband moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was stationed as a Reserve Officers' Training Corps officer in the Army Reserve after his call-up to active duty.
At age 21, she worked for the Social Security Administration office in Oklahoma, where she was demoted after becoming pregnant with her first child (ah yes, the good old days when a female got demoted for getting pregnant). She gave birth to a daughter in 1955.
After the birth of their daughter, her husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer. During that time, RBG attended class and took notes for both of them, typed her husband's dictated papers and cared for their daughter and her sick husband - all while making the Harvard Law Review.
In the fall of 1956, RBG enrolled at Harvard Law School, where she was one of only nine women in a class of about 500 men. The Dean of Harvard Law reportedly invited all the female law students to dinner at his family home and asked them why they were at Harvard Law School and taking the place of a man - what a lovely chap!
When her husband took a job in New York City, RBG transferred to Columbia Law School and became the first woman to be on two major law reviews: the Harvard Law Review and Columbia Law Review. In 1959, she earned her law degree at Columbia and tied for first in her class.
At the start of her legal career, RBG encountered difficulty in finding employment. You can guess why.
In 1960, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter rejected Ginsburg for a clerkship position due to her gender (nope, he did not hide the reason, he didn't have to back then). She was rejected despite a strong recommendation from Albert Martin Sacks, who was a professor and later dean of Harvard Law School.
Columbia Law Professor Gerald Gunther pushed for Judge Edmund L. Palmieri of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to hire RBG as a law clerk, threatening to never recommend another Columbia student to Palmieri if he did not give her the opportunity and guaranteeing to provide the judge with a replacement clerk should she not succeed. Later that year, RBG began her clerkship for Judge Palmieri and she held the position for two years.
From 1961 to 1963, Ginsburg was a research associate and then an associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure.
She learned Swedish to co-author a book with Anders Bruzelius on civil procedure in Sweden. RBG conducted extensive research for her book at Lund University in Sweden (where she was amazed at the 20-25% women in the field and the fact that one of the judges was eight months pregnant and still working - it strongly influenced her decision to push for more gender equality in the US).
Her first position as a professor was at Rutgers Law School in 1963. But RBG was informed she would be paid less than her male colleagues because she had a husband with a well-paid job. She stayed until 1972 after receiving tenure from the school in 1969.
In 1970, she co-founded the Women's Rights Law Reporter, the first law journal in the US to focus exclusively on women's rights.
In 1972, Ginsburg co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and became the Project's general counsel in 1973.
From 1972 to 1980 she taught at Columbia Law School, where she became the first tenured woman and co-authored the first law school casebook on sex discrimination.
She also spent a year as a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University from 1977 to 1978.
On April 14, 1980, RBG was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (vacated by Judge Harold Leventhal after his death). She was confirmed by the US Senate on June 18, 1980, and received her commission later that day. Her service terminated on August 9, 1993, due to her elevation to the US Supreme Court.
She was nominated by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993 and was generally viewed as belonging to the liberal wing of the Court. She was only the second female to serve on the Supreme Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. Following O'Connor's retirement in 2006 and until Sonia Sotomayor joined the Court in 2009, RBG was also the only female justice on the Supreme Court.
Other achievements include (but are not limited to) administering Vice President Al Gore's oath of office (on his request) to a second term during the second inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1997. RBG was only the third woman to administer an inaugural oath of office.
She is also believed to be the first Supreme Court justice to officiate at a same-sex wedding, performing the 2013 ceremony of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and John Roberts, a government economist.
The Supreme Court bar formerly inscribed its certificates "in the year of our Lord", which some Orthodox Jews opposed and asked RBG to object to. She did so, and due to her objection, Supreme Court bar members have since been given other choices of how to inscribe the year on their certificates.
RBG and her husband celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on June 23, 2010. Martin Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic cancer 4 days later.
A note on her religion:
Although RBG was raised in a Jewish home, she became non-observant when she was excluded from the minyan for mourners after the death of her mother.
There was a "house full of women" but RBG, as a woman, was excluded because Orthodox Judaism requires that 10 Jewish men over the age of 13 be present for a minyan - women are excluded from being counted (so the gender discrimination didn't stop). Following her attendance at a bat mitzvah ceremony in a more liberal stream of Judaism where the rabbi and cantor were both women, she noted that her attitude might be different.
In March 2015, RBG and Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt released "The Heroic and Visionary Women of Passover" - an essay highlighting the roles of five key women in the saga.
In addition, RBG decorated her chambers with an artist's rendering of the Hebrew phrase from Deuteronomy, "Zedek, zedek, tirdof" ("Justice, justice shall you pursue") as a reminder of her heritage and professional responsibility.
RBG was diagnosed with cancer in 1999; she underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During the process, she did not miss a day on the bench.
Because she was physically weakened by the cancer treatment, she began working with a personal trainer: Bryant Johnson, a former Army reservist attached to the Special Forces, trained Ginsburg twice weekly in the justices-only gym at the Supreme Court. RBG was able to complete 20 push-ups in a session before her 80th birthday (yep, I got beaten by a woman that could have been my grandmother).
About 10 years after the first bout, cancer came back in 2009. RBG had surgery on February 5, was released from hospital on February 13 and went back into session on February 23.
As I said, the book ends in 2018 after the election of President Trump and after going into details about some of the legal cases he started (for example due to the travel ban he declared). For anyone interested in the rest:
In 2018, she fell in her office (apparently she broke or at least bruised her ribs but was back at work after just one day off). In the hospital, a scan revealed new cancer. On December 21, RBG underwent a left-lung lobectomy. For the first time since joining the Court more than 25 years earlier, RBG missed an oral argument on January 7, 2019 while she recuperated. She returned to the Supreme Court on February 15.
In August 2019, the Supreme Court announced that RBG had recently completed three weeks of focused radiation treatment. By January 2020, she was cancer-free, however, by May 2020, RBG was once again receiving treatment for a recurrence of cancer.
She died from complications of the latest bout of cancer yesterday, on September 18, 2020, at age 87.
Yes, this is the short of it, the bullet points. This book, however, gave me SO MUCH MORE. It details the decades and the law suits, the change in politics, the economy, and society itself and how RBG helped bring about many of the changes or fought them (you get anything from abotion rights, gender equality, marriage equality to data gathering, Guantanamo, the War on Terror, Trump's travel ban and separated incarceration of children).
More than that though, you get a feeling for who RBG was as a person, as if you had a conversation with her or as if you had been at one of her lectures and that, more than anything, is the author's genius that made me fall in love with the book so much.
It showed the woman’s brilliance, her intellect, her grande style, her respect for everyone. For more details on that, see my status updates while I was reading the book.
RBG was a true lady (in the original sense of the word) and I teared up a number of times (in equal measure from rage and sadness) but also laughed (hint: personal trainer) while reading this book. All good things must come to an end, of course, and she has accomplished so incredibly much over the span of her lifetime, but her passing is one of those losses that are or should be felt and acknowledged throughout the world. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
The struggle to repair the world never ceases.
P.S.: No, I don't partake in hero's worship or personality cults. This is not that. But honour where honour is due and RBG certainly did set standards and was a rare creature.
P.P.S.: For anyone wanting to watch instead of read about RBG, there are two movies that come highly recommended:
1) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4669788/... On the Basis of Sex (the fictionalized account of RBG's early career)
2) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7689964/... RBG (a documentary)
November 27, 2018
It's hard not to know who Ruth Bader Ginsburg is, she's become a bit of a cult personality. With this book we got to see how growing up formed her into the woman she is today, how along the way she had great support and did things that mattered to her and her family, which then translated to how she is on the bench as a judge. I like that she is not willing to give up, that she wants to fight for what is right and is doing so in the minority currently. I've heard it said that she will do her best to stay on the bench until a better president is able to replace her. I pray for that every night.
February 12, 2019
4, or maybe 4.5 stars
I've read several books about RBG. This is, by far, the most comprehensive and complex... probably not for the reader with just a passing interest.
Full review on my blog:
http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/20...
I've read several books about RBG. This is, by far, the most comprehensive and complex... probably not for the reader with just a passing interest.
Full review on my blog:
http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/20...
January 17, 2020
RBG is the OG women's rights warrior, and I'm beyond relieved that she is starting 2020 off cancer free!
All I can say is, she better hold on until the next resident moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
This book was the most comprehensive of all the RBG books I've read, even Ginsburg's My Own Words (4 stars). I should have spaced them out more however, as it felt a little repetitive at times—and good heavens, does it really need to be 700+ pages?
If you're looking for an in depth look, this is it. It's just a little dry ... and long.
Personally, I enjoyed Notorious RBG the most (5 stars), but maybe it's because I read it first.
At the end of the day, I think I OD’d on RBG books, too many, too soon even for a hardcore fan.
All I can say is, she better hold on until the next resident moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
This book was the most comprehensive of all the RBG books I've read, even Ginsburg's My Own Words (4 stars). I should have spaced them out more however, as it felt a little repetitive at times—and good heavens, does it really need to be 700+ pages?
If you're looking for an in depth look, this is it. It's just a little dry ... and long.
Personally, I enjoyed Notorious RBG the most (5 stars), but maybe it's because I read it first.
At the end of the day, I think I OD’d on RBG books, too many, too soon even for a hardcore fan.
May 22, 2019
This book deserves 5 stars for its subject. Ruth Ginsburg is one of the true heroes of our time.
The book is a little heavy on caselaw, but I enjoyed reading about the arguments surrounding some of the decisions.
The nightmares caused by this book are that she will last another 20 months, and the damage the McConnell Republicans are doing to the judicial system. The appointments they are making will affect this country for a long time.
The book is a little heavy on caselaw, but I enjoyed reading about the arguments surrounding some of the decisions.
The nightmares caused by this book are that she will last another 20 months, and the damage the McConnell Republicans are doing to the judicial system. The appointments they are making will affect this country for a long time.
January 6, 2021
In this comprehensive biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life, we get a vivid account of this extraordinary woman. The author explores with detail important experiences that shaped her life and her passion for justice. She advocated for gender equality and human and civil rights justice.
Ginsburg’s Jewishness was a central tenet to her understanding of justice being based on the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam” which means “repair the world”. DeHart describes in detail Ginsburg’s background from Brooklyn, New York that shaped her values and perspectives in life. She explores her important cases as a litigator and feminist history of the 1970’s to the present because it was important to RBG before she became a judge on DC circuit and justice to the Supreme Court. Her discussion of Virginia Military Institute case reviews every aspect of the case and the intra-court dynamics of the Rehnquist and Roberts courts. Many cases are examined including the Violence Against Women case, Bush versus Gore, Voting Rights Act litigation and The Ledbetter dissent which produced legislation among others.
The author is a distinguished emeritus professor of history at University of California Santa Barbara. Her well researched and outstanding book is an essential resource for anyone interested in Ginsburg or the Supreme Court. It is highly recommended.
Ginsburg’s Jewishness was a central tenet to her understanding of justice being based on the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam” which means “repair the world”. DeHart describes in detail Ginsburg’s background from Brooklyn, New York that shaped her values and perspectives in life. She explores her important cases as a litigator and feminist history of the 1970’s to the present because it was important to RBG before she became a judge on DC circuit and justice to the Supreme Court. Her discussion of Virginia Military Institute case reviews every aspect of the case and the intra-court dynamics of the Rehnquist and Roberts courts. Many cases are examined including the Violence Against Women case, Bush versus Gore, Voting Rights Act litigation and The Ledbetter dissent which produced legislation among others.
The author is a distinguished emeritus professor of history at University of California Santa Barbara. Her well researched and outstanding book is an essential resource for anyone interested in Ginsburg or the Supreme Court. It is highly recommended.
November 18, 2018
This very thorough biography managed to do something I thought was impossible: make me admire Ruth Bader Ginsburg more than I already did. I already knew about her impact on the law through her advocacy, but I gained an even greater appreciation for her vision and skill in helping to build legal precedent that would solidify equal protection under the law for all. I'm in awe of her brilliance, her stamina, and her ability to play the long game.
March 22, 2019
While I love all things RBG, I had a really hard time getting through this one. It felt mired down in case law and didn’t really give me much insight into RBG as a person.
June 12, 2022
This book was read earlier in 2022, but I neglected to write a review at the time. This is by far the most comprehensive book on RBG's life I've read (which are many) and is highly recommended. This historical significance of Ginsburg's life knows no bounds. She was a gentle woman standing for her principles and the law without resorting to political pressure and never was "bought" as so many working along her have been (and continue to be). Her ethics and wise decisions were impeccable. Of note was her enduring relationship with her husband, Morty. RIP Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You are missed.
October 16, 2018
I am a huge admirer of Ruth Bader Ginsburg so I was extremely excited to read this biography, and thankfully it overall lived up to my lofty expectations. This offers a compelling and full history of RBG’s life, though I would have preferred to have read more about her inner thoughts at times as opposed to feeling more of an observer in her life. Still, Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life should please history and judicial fans alike.
July 18, 2022
Well-written and massively researched. Her biography deftly combines clarifying detail on individual cases with a long view of Ginsburg's career. Ginsburg has always been fascinating and the book does her credit. Law turns out to be much more fascinating than I thought.
Want to read
October 25, 2018Description: In this large, comprehensive, revelatory biography, Jane De Hart explores the central experiences that crucially shaped Ginsburg's passion for justice, her advocacy for gender equality, her meticulous jurisprudence: her desire to make We the People more united and our union more perfect. At the heart of her story and abiding beliefs--her Jewish background. Tikkun olam, the Hebrew injunction to "repair the world," with its profound meaning for a young girl who grew up during the Holocaust and World War II. We see the influence of her mother, Celia Amster Bader, whose intellect inspired her daughter's feminism, insisting that Ruth become independent, as she witnessed her mother coping with terminal cervical cancer (Celia died the day before Ruth, at seventeen, graduated from high school).
From Ruth's days as a baton twirler at Brooklyn's James Madison High School, to Cornell University, Harvard and Columbia Law Schools (first in her class), to being a law professor at Rutgers University (one of the few women in the field and fighting pay discrimination), hiding her second pregnancy so as not to risk losing her job; founding the Women's Rights Law Reporter, writing the brief for the first case that persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down a sex-discriminatory state law, then at Columbia (the law school's first tenured female professor); becoming the director of the women's rights project of the ACLU, persuading the Supreme Court in a series of decisions to ban laws that denied women full citizenship status with men.
Her years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, deciding cases the way she played golf, as she, left-handed, played with right-handed clubs--aiming left, swinging right, hitting down the middle. Her years on the Supreme Court . . .
A pioneering life and legal career whose profound mark on American jurisprudence, on American society, on our American character and spirit, will reverberate deep into the twenty-first century and beyond.
December 21, 2020
This detailed and sweeping account of the life and jurisprudence of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguably one of the most influential Justices in the history of the US Supreme Court. In more recent times she was celebrated as a pop culture icon, a testament to the powerful presence and reputation she forged over a lifelong commitment to equal justice for all. Justice Ginsburg was thought of as a champion for many liberal ideals, but that is to overlook her careful scholarship on every case that came before her and her decisions over her time on the bench especially before arriving at SCOTUS. Perhaps it is one reason why she was respected by lawyers, politicians, court watchers, and people from various political beliefs. She was principled, respectful, and powerful. And she was opinionated, make no mistake. Mindful of the role that dissenting opinions can play in shaping future legislation to remedy shortcomings in law, she was careful to set forth a path for the future to address these unanswered inequities.
I could go on. There is so much to dig into in this sweeping account of her life and life work. It sometimes bogged down in the detailed analysis of cases in a few chapters, but I was willing to overlook this as an effort to fully cover the complexity and long reach of the issues and impact of the rulings. The chapters on her early life, the influence of her mother and the Brooklyn community where she was raised, the uphill battle she faced to get into law school and be accepted as one of the few women law students, and her enduring relationship with the man she would marry, Marty Ginsburg, the love of her life and number one supporter, set the stage for the woman she became as she stepped into her own as a professional, mother, mentor, friend, and jurist.
This book is an extraordinary effort undertaken by the author with great focus and scholarship. As much for the subject as well as the effort, four stars with a rounding up to five. Like RBG, this book endures.
I could go on. There is so much to dig into in this sweeping account of her life and life work. It sometimes bogged down in the detailed analysis of cases in a few chapters, but I was willing to overlook this as an effort to fully cover the complexity and long reach of the issues and impact of the rulings. The chapters on her early life, the influence of her mother and the Brooklyn community where she was raised, the uphill battle she faced to get into law school and be accepted as one of the few women law students, and her enduring relationship with the man she would marry, Marty Ginsburg, the love of her life and number one supporter, set the stage for the woman she became as she stepped into her own as a professional, mother, mentor, friend, and jurist.
This book is an extraordinary effort undertaken by the author with great focus and scholarship. As much for the subject as well as the effort, four stars with a rounding up to five. Like RBG, this book endures.
February 6, 2019
Ruth Bader Ginsberg is an amazing woman and her dedication to equal rights and its impact on generations present and future is worth studying. However, mistakenly I thought this book would be a biography. Instead, after the first few chapters, the book became a litany of case law which highlighted the author’s negative opinions and conclusions about conservative viewpoints. The book should be retitled “Analysis of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s Legal Accomplishments” to properly give credit to the subject matter of the book. And, if I am going to read a history book, which this was, I would prefer the author’s opinions be left out.
January 25, 2019
I'm giving this four stars because of its subject matter, who personally deserves five; however, this book is not for everyone. It is probably a great read for anyone who holds a law degree; it does not read like a novel or even remotely like a typical celebrity biography. It is pretty dense in legal terms and citation of court cases and less about her personal life. For me, it was admittedly a struggle to get through. My admiration of RBG and all she's done in her career pushed me to finish.
February 4, 2019
Excellent book! I knew I would be impressed by the life RBG has lived, but I really appreciated how much I learned about her excellence in the craft of writing an opinion as a justice, she is a master of pulling together threads from previous cases to weave an iron-clad justification for her opinions, it's fascinating! Her intelligence simply can"t be overstated.
January 4, 2019
Too long. too much legaleze.
January 4, 2021
I highly recommend this biography that balances Ginsburg's personal and legal life. De Hart does a good job in explaining complex cases.
March 9, 2022
Fitting to have finished this audiobook on International Women’s Day. RBG is an incredibly inspiring woman who donned many hats in her professional and personal life with grace, thoughtfulness, and balance.
It took me a long time to get through this audiobook as I had to borrow it from the library which had a several month wait - it is also 24hrs long. It is a very detailed account of RBG’s life which includes lengthy descriptions of many US landmark cases which RBG had direct participation in or indirect influence during her career. It was very interesting to hear the author/RBG’s perspective of the US political climate during her life and time on the bench.
Unfortunately, given the amount of time it took me to get through this biography, I am unable to recall most of Her Honour’s history in great detail - but as a young Canadian female lawyer, I am inspired by RBG’s dedication to the practice of law and her fight for equality.
It took me a long time to get through this audiobook as I had to borrow it from the library which had a several month wait - it is also 24hrs long. It is a very detailed account of RBG’s life which includes lengthy descriptions of many US landmark cases which RBG had direct participation in or indirect influence during her career. It was very interesting to hear the author/RBG’s perspective of the US political climate during her life and time on the bench.
Unfortunately, given the amount of time it took me to get through this biography, I am unable to recall most of Her Honour’s history in great detail - but as a young Canadian female lawyer, I am inspired by RBG’s dedication to the practice of law and her fight for equality.
August 26, 2023
I always try to pick one “Everest book” a year! This was incredible. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an incredible woman and I am forever grateful for her tenacity and dedication to the law. Though legal jargon heavy, I so enjoyed the sections about her personal life. She truly did it all and her husband Marty did an incredible job to support her. I learned so much about the Supreme Court and other previous justices. RBG forever.
May 31, 2019
I definitely have a crush in RBG. And Marty Ginsburg. Excellent read!
January 12, 2021
Loved this book. In awe as I grew in understanding more about the truly remarkable accomplishments of RBG.
October 10, 2020
This was a wonderful read at a difficult time, a close look at one of those rare Supreme Court justices whose name people will know in America’s future. Physically small, RBG’s legacy will be larger than her life, some aspects of which she guarded. Sherron De Hart has crafted an enjoyable story about a person dedicated to law: As student, teacher, lecturer, judge, and justice. Her dedication to the research for this book is even more impressive after learning of the destruction of some of her work in California wildfire a decade ago.
RBG: A Life begins as historic biographies do, with a detailed look at its subject’s early life and family, and slowly follows her through her college and challenging law school years, when she was among few women, but was fortunate to have a few mentors and role models. The story then covers her teaching years, before fast-forwarding through her decade as a circuit judge. All the while she is fighting for equality between the sexes—and we read of her efforts on behalf of men nearly as often as for women.
The author’s fears and opinions take over the storyline in the last third of the book, as it nears present day (published late 2018), and we read less of Ginsburg’s particular role and activities. Surprising but not terribly distanced from the book’s namesake, the end grows harder to re-live through events and Court cases that just happened, especially for a reader who shares the same fears and opinions.
RBG: A Life begins as historic biographies do, with a detailed look at its subject’s early life and family, and slowly follows her through her college and challenging law school years, when she was among few women, but was fortunate to have a few mentors and role models. The story then covers her teaching years, before fast-forwarding through her decade as a circuit judge. All the while she is fighting for equality between the sexes—and we read of her efforts on behalf of men nearly as often as for women.
The author’s fears and opinions take over the storyline in the last third of the book, as it nears present day (published late 2018), and we read less of Ginsburg’s particular role and activities. Surprising but not terribly distanced from the book’s namesake, the end grows harder to re-live through events and Court cases that just happened, especially for a reader who shares the same fears and opinions.
June 24, 2021
An extensively researched and comprehensive biography of the notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG). Because I'm neither American, nor interested in law, my knowledge of RBG was very superficial. I knew she was a Justice at the US Supreme Court, and an icon for gender equality.
In this book, Ms. De Hart exhaustively retells RBG's life from the very beginning. From her childhood with her immigrant parents, to the heart-breaking and traumatic death of her mother to cancer, to the numerous prejudices and limitations that she had encountered and eventually surpassed as she had begun her career in law, to her infamous arguments for gender equality at the Supreme Court, to her eventual appointment to Court itself and finally to the early year of Trump's presidency.
Perhaps, if I were a lawyer or if I understood the nuances of court arguments, I would enjoy this book more, as there are extensively researched arguments and decisions involving various cases that RBG herself had argued at the Court or decided for the Court. But, alas, I am not. Therefore, some of those legalistic arguments are confusing to me. What's not confusing is how tirelessly RBG had fought for gender equality (as well as equality in general) throughout her life. And our world is a better place because of her efforts.
4 Star.
In this book, Ms. De Hart exhaustively retells RBG's life from the very beginning. From her childhood with her immigrant parents, to the heart-breaking and traumatic death of her mother to cancer, to the numerous prejudices and limitations that she had encountered and eventually surpassed as she had begun her career in law, to her infamous arguments for gender equality at the Supreme Court, to her eventual appointment to Court itself and finally to the early year of Trump's presidency.
Perhaps, if I were a lawyer or if I understood the nuances of court arguments, I would enjoy this book more, as there are extensively researched arguments and decisions involving various cases that RBG herself had argued at the Court or decided for the Court. But, alas, I am not. Therefore, some of those legalistic arguments are confusing to me. What's not confusing is how tirelessly RBG had fought for gender equality (as well as equality in general) throughout her life. And our world is a better place because of her efforts.
4 Star.
November 20, 2018
Benefit #1: I learned to understand the significance of some of the events I lived through and was enabled to remember them more clearly. For women, these were stirring times.
Benefit #2: I learned something about the process of law and its "philosophy" if that is the correct term, Though we had junior year Civics in high school, we really learned--or at least so it seems to me--little about how the Constitution informs (or is supposed to) our laws. How do judges decide if X is a law or act that is "Constitutional"?
Benefit #3: Meeting through this book with one outstanding and wise and morally responsible woman. She managed despite all the patriarchy that we had then (which today is somewhat less) to get her education, learn how to function among men decidedly opposed to a woman doing so, and come to grace our Supreme Court. Than you Justice Ginsberg. You have practiced the best you could and could see tikkun slam. May you continue to be an inspiration to us all. Thank you for your sacrifices and for never giving up.
Benefit #2: I learned something about the process of law and its "philosophy" if that is the correct term, Though we had junior year Civics in high school, we really learned--or at least so it seems to me--little about how the Constitution informs (or is supposed to) our laws. How do judges decide if X is a law or act that is "Constitutional"?
Benefit #3: Meeting through this book with one outstanding and wise and morally responsible woman. She managed despite all the patriarchy that we had then (which today is somewhat less) to get her education, learn how to function among men decidedly opposed to a woman doing so, and come to grace our Supreme Court. Than you Justice Ginsberg. You have practiced the best you could and could see tikkun slam. May you continue to be an inspiration to us all. Thank you for your sacrifices and for never giving up.
January 3, 2019
This book is a cross between a biography and a law school textbook. I was continually drawn back to my ConLaw class reading about the cases RBG litigated and decided. The nice part about this book is that every part is humanized. No case is just a case. There is a client, the public interest, two (or more) attorneys, and several judges who hear the matter, and all are highlighted on almost every case. Having only ever worked for individual judges, i had never realized how much teamwork goes into deciding cases and drafting opinions on the Supreme Court. RBG was and is truly a rockstar for everything she has done for our country and continues to do. It was a real treat to be reminded not only that things haven’t always been as good as they are for women, but to see the tenacity of those who got us to where we are; i can only hope there are people out there as willing to carry the banner in the future.
June 3, 2019
I read this book right after finishing First: Sandra Day O’Connor and they were fantastic together. It was fascinating to get another perspective on a woman’s climb to the Supreme Court and see the ways they are similar to and different from each other. They had very different backgrounds growing up but faced similar sexism in law school and their early careers. Both had incredible marriages to supportive, intelligent men.
RBG: A Life had much more detail about the legal issues so I’m glad I read SOC’s book first (pun intended) to ease me into it. I am now completely fascinated by the Supreme Court. I definitely plan to read more about the Court in general and the other Justices.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for someone interested in law. For someone JUST interested in RBG, you might want a shorter book.
RBG: A Life had much more detail about the legal issues so I’m glad I read SOC’s book first (pun intended) to ease me into it. I am now completely fascinated by the Supreme Court. I definitely plan to read more about the Court in general and the other Justices.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for someone interested in law. For someone JUST interested in RBG, you might want a shorter book.
January 2, 2019
It would be five stars if it were a memoir and not a biography. I’d say this should be 4.5. No one but the Notorious RBG herself gets a five star rating on a book about her life from me. Love her—may she live on forever!
July 5, 2018
If you’re a fan of RBG, this is a great biography of an amazing jurist and person.
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