Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Read & Watch List

This past week, our nation lost an icon, a powerhouse of intellectual strength and acuity. The notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s social and political influence will be felt for years to come.

The Supreme Court is one of the more enigmatic of our government branches, and is one whose careful deliberations and decisions are often on the front page. How do they do their work? Who are these people, and why do they wield so much quiet power?

For further reading on the  Supreme Court, we recommend these reading lists from Five Books and Penguin Random House.

If you would like to know more about RBG and get to the “whys” of what was so special about her, may we suggest the following bibliography:

Films:

RBG (DVD & Blu-ray, 2018)
At the age of 85, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a lengthy legal legacy while becoming an unepected pop culture icon. But the unique personal journey of her rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans—until now. Released in 2018, RBG ​is a documentary focusing on Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life and career.

On the Basis of Sex (DVD & Blu-ray, 2019) 
Starring Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, On the Basis of Sex tells an inspiring and spirited true story that follows young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the US Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination.

Books:

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Mary Hartnett & Wendy W. Williams
In this collection Justice Ginsburg discusses gender equality, the workings of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and the value of looking beyond US shores when interpreting the US Constitution. Throughout her life Justice Ginsburg has been (and continues to be) a prolific writer and public speaker. This book's sampling is selected by Justice Ginsburg and her authorized biographers Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams, who introduce each chapter and provide biographical context and quotes gleaned from hundreds of interviews they have conducted. Witty, engaging, serious, and playful, My Own Words is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of America's most influential women​.

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik
​Nearly a half-century into being a feminist and legal pioneer, something funny happened to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: the octogenarian won the internet. Across America, people who weren't even born when Ginsburg made her name are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute. In a class of its own, and much to Ginsburg's own amusement, is the Notorious RBG Tumblr, which juxtaposes the diminutive but fierce Jewish grandmother with the 350-pound rapper featuring original artwork submitted from around the world. This book offers a visually rich, intimate, unprecedented look at the Justice and how she changed the world.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart
In this large, comprehensive, revelatory biography, Jane De Hart explores the central experiences that crucially shaped Ginsburg's passion for justice, her advocacy for gender equality, her meticulous jurisprudence: her desire to make We the People more united and our union more perfect. a book fifteen years in work, written with the cooperation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself and based on many interviews with the justice, her husband, her children, her friends, and her associates. 

Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman
The relationship between Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, western rancher's daughter and Brooklyn girl—transcended party, religion, region, and culture. Strengthened by each other's presence, these groundbreaking judges, the first and second to serve on the highest court in the land, transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women. Linda Hirshman's dual biography includes revealing stories of how these trailblazers fought for their own recognition in a male-dominated profession. She also makes clear how these two justices have shaped the legal framework of modern feminism, including employment discrimination, abortion, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and many other issues crucial to women's lives.

For Children & Young Adults:

Who is Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Patricia Brennan Demuth
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was famous for her stylish collars (called jabots) and her commanding dissents. This opera-loving New Yorker always spoke her mind; as a young lawyer, RBG advocated for gender equality and women's rights when few others did. She gained attention for the cases she won when arguing in front of the Supreme Court, before taking her place on the bench in 1993. Author Patricia Brennan Demuth answers all the questions about what made RBG so notorious and irreplaceable​.

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark written by Debbie Levy with illustrations by Elizabeth Baddeley
Get to know celebrated Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she proves that disagreeing does not make you disagreeable! Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality, arguing against unfair treatment, and standing up for what's right for people everywhere. This biographical picture book about the Notorious RBG tells the justice's story through the lens of her many famous dissents, or disagreements.

Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life & Work by Victoria Ortiz
Dramatically narrated case histories from Justice Ginsburg's stellar career are interwoven with an account of RBG's life—childhood, family, beliefs, education, marriage, legal and judicial career, children, and achievements—to portray her many-faceted personality. The cases described, many involving young people, demonstrate her passionate concern for gender equality, fairness, and our constitutional rights.