"Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Biography" contains a short insight into the life and career of one of the best-known justices of the US Supreme Court.
Chapter 1: Early Life shares some information about Ruth’s parents Celia and Nathan, who were immigrants who had to find their place in America, moving there just a few months prior to Ruth’s birth. Ruth grew up in a loving home during the Great Depression. Both of her parents provided for the family and her mother taught her about the importance of education and compassion from her early age. Her mother dies just before her high school graduation and Ruth attends Cornell University where she meets her future husband Martin Ginsburg.
Chapter 2: Education shares information about Ruth’s struggle with discrimination while attending Harvard Law School and her finally getting her degree at Columbia Law School. Despite being the top of her class, Ruth comes across various difficulties while searching for a job. Chapter 3: Marriage and Children talks about Ruth’s marriage, her relationship with her supportive husband and her children. Her son James takes on an artistic route, while her daughter, Jane, as well as granddaughter both follow in Ruth’s footsteps with careers in law.
Chapter 4: Early Career shares Ruth’s battle against discrimination based on her gender and religion. She works as a clerk for the US District Court of New York and later gets a position as an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Law. Chapter 5: Joining the Fight for Gender Equality recounts Ruth’s work with the ACLU and her battle against gender inequality. She is stunned by the ingrained ignorance of her male colleagues who don’t see an issue with the inequality.
Chapter 6: Speaking Before the Highest Court recounts Ruth’s work in a tenured position at Columbia Law School and her writing of law articles and submitting of drafts to go to the Supreme Court. Chapter 7: Appointment to US Court of Appeals shares how Ruth’s work against gender inequality gets noticed by the president Jimmy Carter, who appoints her to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in the year 1980. During her appointed work Sandra Day O’Connor gets a position as the first female to serve the US Supreme Court.
Chapter 8: Second Woman on the US Supreme Court shares the crowning point in Ruth’s career with her appointment as the second female in history as the justice in the US Supreme Court by the president Bill Clinton.
Chapter 9: The Ginsburg Precedent recounts Ruth’s confirmation and her decision on focusing on the credentials of the nominee instead of their personal views. Some viewed her calculated approach with a critical eye, nevertheless, she was not the only nominee who used this approach, and some members of the Senate even agreed with this approach where the person’s credentials are highlighted.
Chapter 10 contains some of the most notable cases during Ruth’s career and position in the Supreme Court. Chapter 11: Health and Fitness gives some insight into Ruth’s personal battle with cancer, ageism, and her approach to fitness.
Chapter 12: A Pop Culture Icon shares Ruth’s integration into the mainstream pop culture with her outspokenness and relentless fight for what she believes in. She is seen as a force to be reckoned with, as a legend. Her autobiographical book My Own Words was a bestseller in 2016. The biography concluded that Ruth won’t retire and will most likely follow in the footsteps of some of her colleagues who were dedicated to their work until the very end. This prediction came true in September 2020, when Ruth lost her battle with cancer.
