Conversations with RBG

October 7, 2019
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.

November 1, 2019

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

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