Notorious RBG, A Book Review

It’s hard to not sound like a fan girl when discussing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but there’s good reason to be her fan!  It may sound like an exaggeration to say she paved the way for gender equality in the law, but when you study women jurisprudence you can see how vital she is to this movement.

So imagine how excited I was to be able to review Notorious RBG*!?  Super excited. However, I’m going to calm down my inner fan girl and give this book an appropriate review.

The book is written by journalist Irin Carmon and attorney, Shana Knizhnik. I have often wanted to read more about RBG, but honestly the thought of reading a dry biography on a legal scholar (even RBG) wasn’t an exciting prospect for me. However, I knew that the person behind the Notorious RBG tumblr would not disappoint and I was right; the tone and voice of the book is fantastic. It presents her story in a funny, sometimes sarcastic, sharp, concise format. It’s totally millennial, which I love. They were able to make pointed observations in a humorous ways while still showcasing the importance of the work done by RBG. And her work is so important–the book delves into her life story (work, marriage, and health); path to SCOTUS; as well as the actual work and objectives behind the cases she litigated in front of the Supreme Court. I also appreciate a breakdown of her important briefs and opinions, with running commentary from other legal scholars.

Attorneys will find inspiration from RBG’s practice of litigating piecemeal cases to breakdown injustice little by little. And non-attorneys will be interested in the legal issues because the book condenses and breaks down the issues in plain English.

For those advocating for women’s rights, or “equal citizen stature under the law” as RBG prefers to call it–this will be fuel to your fire. It shows how far we’ve come, but there is still so much work to do with current legislation and inequalities imposed on women. The book ends with RBG’s current role as the Great Dissenter, which is inspiring and infuriating at the same time.

RBG fans, both old and new, will love the story of her life. Aside from how impressed and entertained I was by the style of the book, I was more captivated by RBG herself. Again, not to sound like a fanatic, but do you even know how much she did for us?! This is a woman who was asked by her law school professor why she felt she had the right to take the place of a man in law school. A woman who graduated top of her class, but could not clerk because Judges refused to hire women; who was demoted from her job for being pregnant–she could have just kept her head down and enjoyed a modest success in her field, but instead she made it her purpose to help society catch up with the “We the People” part of the Constitution. Her premise being that We the People includes everyone, and so we should all, women included, have equal justice under the law. I am so impressed and grateful for her work.  Further, it is obvious that RBG just gets it–in her first brief to SCOTUS, she credited Pauli Murray, something she did not have to do, but she acknowledged the work that came before her. Then later in her practice she stopped comparing race and gender inequalities, understanding the myriad forms of oppression found within each group (hello intersectional feminism!).

So as you can tell, I’m super impressed by this book and more so by the work of Justice Ginsburg. If you need extra ammunition to remind you of the importance of a law degree and how impactful you can be as an attorney–get this book!

It’s out October 27th and you can pre-order it now!

*I received an advance copy of Notorious RBG, but have not received any compensation for my review. The review is my honest opinion.