Conversations with RBG : Ruth Bader Ginsburg on life, love, liberty, and law

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Title:

Conversations with RBG : Ruth Bader Ginsburg on life, love, liberty, and law

Alternate title:

Conversations with Ruth Bader Ginsburg : Ruth Bader Ginsburg on life, love, liberty, and law

Author:

Rosen, Jeffrey, 1964- author.

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 1933-2020 author.

Summary:

This is a remarkable and unique book, an informal portrait of Justice Ginsburg, drawing on a series of her conversations with Rosen, starting in the 1990s and continuing through the Trump era. Rosen, a veteran legal journalist, scholar, and president of the National Constitution Center, shares with readers the justice's observations on a variety of topics, and her intellect, compassion, sense of humor, and humanity shine through.

Edition:

First edition.

Contents:

Her landmark cases -- Marriage between equals -- Roe -- The Bill of Rights and Equal Protection -- Sisters in law -- Nino -- The two chiefs -- When a dissent sparked a meme -- The cases she would overturn -- Measured motions -- #MeToo and a more perfect union -- Margaret Atwood meets RBG -- The heroic legacy.

Physical Description:

x, 259 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Interviews.

Biographies.

Personal Subject:

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 1933-2020

Subject Term:

Judges -- Interviews.

Women judges -- Interviews.

Women judges -- Biography.

Author(s):

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 1933-2020

Publisher:

Henry Holt and Company,

Publication Date:

2019

ISBN:

9781250235169

Publication Information:

New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Call Number:

923 GINSBUR

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003451013	Adult Nonfiction	923 GINSBUR	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In her own words, Ruth Bader Ginsburg offers an intimate look at her life and career, through an extraordinary series of conversations with the head of the National Constitution Center.

This remarkable book presents a unique portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, drawing on more than twenty years of conversations with Jeffrey Rosen, starting in the 1990s and continuing through the Trump era. Rosen, a veteran legal journalist, scholar, and president of the National Constitution Center, shares with us the justice's observations on a variety of topics, and her intellect, compassion, sense of humor, and humanity shine through. The affection they have for each other as friends is apparent in their banter and in their shared love for the Constitution--and for opera.

In Conversations with RBG , Justice Ginsburg discusses the future of Roe v. Wade , her favorite dissents, the cases she would most like to see overruled, the #MeToo movement, how to be a good listener, how to lead a productive and compassionate life, and of course the future of the Supreme Court itself. These frank exchanges illuminate the steely determination, self-mastery, and wit that have inspired Americans of all ages to embrace the woman known to all as "Notorious RBG."

Whatever the topic, Justice Ginsburg always has something interesting--and often surprising--to say. And while few of us will ever have the opportunity to chat with her face-to-face, Jeffrey Rosen brings us by her side as never before. Conversations with RBG is a deeply felt portrait of an American hero.

Author Notes

Jeffrey Rosen is the author of nonfiction books, including the recent Louis D. Brandeis and William Howard Taft . He is the president and chief executive officer of the National Constitution Center, a law professor at George Washington University, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic . He was previously the legal affairs editor of The New Republic and a staff writer for The New Yorker .

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

George Washington University law professor Rosen (William Howard Taft) shines a flattering light on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in this discerning work. In a series of conversations held between 2010 and 2019, which Rosen has condensed and rearranged by theme, Ginsburg discusses the gender discrimination cases she argued before the Supreme Court as a volunteer ACLU lawyer in the 1970s; her appointment to the D.C. circuit court in 1980; and her recovery from three broken ribs and lung cancer surgery during the Supreme Court's 2018--2019 term. Ginsburg rearticulates her previous criticisms of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision (she believes it should have been restricted to the Texas law in question, and based on equal protection rather than privacy rights), but remains "skeptically hopeful" it will not be overturned. Ginsburg also speaks to the legal aspects of the #MeToo movement ("you need to build fairness into the system") and offers her assessment of the court's newest members, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh (they're both "very congenial"). Rosen's helpful notes and straightforward interview style allow Ginsburg's exceptional legal mind to take center stage. The justice's many admirers, as well as readers interested in constitutional law, will find this book to be full of valuable insights. (Nov.)

Library Journal Review

As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b. 1933) has grown in popularity over the past several years, many books and films about her have emerged. This new volume seeks to set itself apart by sharing original conversations between the Supreme Court Justice and Rosen (law, George Washington Univ.), president and chief executive officer of the National Constitution Center, who frames many of the conversations through his own experiences with her. Each chapter begins with some context, anecdote, or narrative, often about the Justice's love of opera, her judicial experience, or her personal life. Parts of their conversations are presented verbatim. Ginsburg's passages are powerful and enlightening, but what this book offers about Ginsberg's personal history and judicial philosophy has largely been addressed in other books and interviews. VERDICT Libraries with patrons keenly interested in the Supreme Court, especially those serving law, political science, and American history students, will find this a compelling addition. For those eager to add a new resource on the Justice, this book provides a solid introduction to her life and thoughts on the American legal system.--Sarah Schroeder, Univ. of Washington Bothell