Why Must Read Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life?

This is a quite remarkable bio of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. One remarkable aspect is the mere size of the book--nearly 700 pages of text and notes. And this is important, because the author can go into very extensive detail on whatever facet of RBG's life is under examination. So often books on the Justice zip through her important cases as a litigator in an almost superficial manner. Not here; the author analyzes what gave rise to each case, what Ginsburg's strategy was, how she designed her briefs and oral arguments, and how the Justices reacted to her presentations. It is almost like looking over her shoulder as the cases unfold. In addition the book is remarkable because it also constitutes a feminist legal history of the 1970's to the present. This is because RBG made so much of that history herself before she became a judge on the D.C. Circuit and Justice on the Supreme Court. The author is a distinguished emerita professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she concentrates on feminist legal history, Gender Issues, and Women's History. So the reader really gets a very helpful dose of these subjects as the biography unfolds. Finally, the book is somewhat unique in emphasizing the key role in Ginsburg's development of values and perspectives from her growing up Jewish in Brooklyn, which shaped her entire life. Several other aspects also stand out. The author's treatment of RBG's period as head of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project, while a Columbia law professor, demonstrates Ginsburg as the master strategist, figuring in what order test cases should be litigated to develop the most impact. Unlike Thurgood Marshall when he was litigating for the NAACP, and was the big kahuna who directed most of the cases, RGB had a range of other groups and litigators whom she had to try and coordinate into a meaningful strategy. The book also demonstrates how campaigns are organized to secure Court of Appeals and Supreme Court nominations. This discussion highlights the happy relationship Ginsburg had with her tax-expert spouse Marty (as we in DC referred to him), who participated in gaining particularly the Clinton Supreme Court nomination for her. The author (a non-lawyer) does a solid job on looking at Ginsburg's work as a judge. I must say though that RBG's 13 years on the DC Circuit are not in my opinion sufficiently developed, with the exception of the role she played in bringing both the liberal and republican factions together despite their deep divisions. The author does a much grander job on her Supreme Court decisions. Particularly outstanding is her discussion of the Virginia Military Institute case which probes every aspect. Intra-court dynamics are also examined during both the Rehnquist and Roberts courts. A number of key cases are examined, including the Violence Against Women Act case, Bush v. Gore, the Voting Rights Act litigation, and the impact of the Ledbetter dissent which produced Congressional legislation. The important interplay between affirmative action and Ginsburg's perpetual unsuccessful efforts to get the Court to adopt a strict standard under the equal protection clause in sex discrimination cases was something the author illuminates which I had not been aware of. The author wraps up with the 2016 term, by which point Ginsburg is the senior associate justice and the leader of the opposition to the conservative majority on the Court. The challenges posed by the Trump administration as regards immigration, as well as the Gorsuch appointment mean that RBG can never relax her vigilance to do what she feels is right. At 84, it is apparent her many years of service have at times been exhausting, but she always bounces back. Let's hope that continues. An outstanding effort and essential resource for anyone interested in Ginsburg or the Supreme Court. 110 pages of notes support the text and are extremely detailed; read them along with the discussion to which they refer. Also, 93 excellent photos are sprinkled throughout the text adding insight. The bibliography contains references to author interviews, archival sources, case summaries and journal articles and books. And once again Knopf has turned to Berryville Graphics in Virginia to do their usual outstanding job in printing the book. A winning achievement all around.