Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life and Work

Détails de Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life and Work

I happened to see James Holzhauer, the record shattering Jeopardy! champion, explain his method for boning up for the game show. He said that he did a lot of studying in the children's department of his library, and he didn't understand why more people didn't do this, because the information was presented clearly, was interesting, and there were pictures. Within a few days I had the opportunity to review this book about Ruth Ginsburg, and I jumped at it. I'm so glad I did.Victoria Ortiz tells the story of Ginsburg's life by combining civil rights cases with Ginsburg’s biography. Each case illustrates key civil rights issues like marriage equality, equal pay, civil rights, and free speech. In the author’s hands the issues, the facts of the case, and its path to the highest court in the land are presented as an interesting and easy to understand story, and incidents in Ginsburg’s own life that help to explain why she felt the way she did about the cases are highlighted. This is done while keeping Ginsburg’s life story in chronological order. There are many black and white photographs of both the plaintiffs and Ginsburg at every age from age 2 through the current date (spoiler: she was an adorable 2 year old). We see her at camp, in college, teaching, together with her family, and even on an elephant ride with fellow Justice Scalia. There are also many anecdotes and bits of information I’ve seen nowhere else. The result is educational, entertaining, and inspirational, and I look forward to sharing it with my daughter. Thank you, James Holzhauer.The book includes the Bill of Rights, detailed source notes, and a bibliography.