Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Written by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
Narrated by Andi Arndt
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
New York Times Bestseller
Featured in the critically acclaimed documentary RBG
""It was beyond my wildest imagination that I would one day become the 'Notorious RBG."" — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 2019
She was a fierce dissenter with a serious collar game. A legendary, self-described “flaming feminist litigator” who made the world more equal. And an intergenerational icon affectionately known as the Notorious RBG. As the nation mourns the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, discover the story of a remarkable woman and learn how to carry on her legacy.
This runaway bestseller, brought to you by the attorney founder of the Notorious RBG Tumblr and an award-winning feminist journalist, is more than just a love letter. It draws on intimate access to Ginsburg's family members, close friends, colleagues, and clerks, as well as an interview with the Justice herself. An original hybrid of reported narrative, annotated dissents, rare archival photos and documents, and illustrations, the book tells a never-before-told story of an unusual and transformative woman who transcended divides and changed the world forever.
Editor's Note
In memoriam…
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, died on September 18th of cancer. This biography reads like a love letter to her, revealing how she spent a lifetime fighting to change the world for women.
Irin Carmon
Irin Carmon is a journalist covering gender, politics, and law. She’s a contributing writer for the Washington Post’s Outlook section and a distinguished fellow at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard. She has been a national reporter at MSNBC, Salon, and Jezebel.
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Reviews for Notorious RBG
874 ratings59 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I'm sure the book is good, but I couldn't get past the first chapter of the audio book, the narrator seemed like a more robotic version of Siri.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Quite a few errors in the audio book. I would rate 4 for the book and 2 for the audiobook
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The life of RBG deserve a full five stars but to this book I will give four.
It reads as an old style documentary, flat at times and leading to boring which is such a pity on the life of such an amazing person. It’s worth reading, in spite of the writing and reading style, take it a bit at a time is my suggestion. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5R.B.G. is my hero. A truly amazing woman and the world is a better place for her having been on it. Well thought out and well written book about an American institution. RIP dear lady.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Must listen for every woman to understand what capabilities lie with us to cause change. RBG is an inspiration to every man and woman in the world.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a good read. Perfect balance of her career and personal life. I laughed, cried, and most importantly finished the book feeling proud and powerful.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Want to feel both inspired and underachieving? Read this book to get to know the woman behind the collar.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enjoyed that immensely. I'm not from the US but it's always inspirational to hear about women who've made it and just kept hustling
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nice overview of Bader's contributions to feminism and of her childhood, marriage, and struggles with schools and institutions. It is obvious to see how she became so highly respected and remains an inspiration of how rules and logic can be used to respond to injustices.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm in awe of RBG. She's my hero. What an amazing person, truly inspirational.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A bright easy listen, with several surprises, makes this a top choice to read and refer to your friends. A fine prerequisite read would be "The Nine"
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Loved It - (hint, read WITH book - memes & court docs)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely loved this book! Such an inspirational woman, may she rest in power.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5wow!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book. First, the hardcover is more like a school textbook in size and appearance which I thought was a novel idea. Though different chapters were split up between the two authors, the book flowed from Ruth's beginnings to the present time. It's obvious the two young authors are infatuated with RBG but I am too after reading the book! Really had no idea of RBG's accomplishments and struggles so I was glad to learn all that she endured, personally and professionally.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5She should have read the Constitution a bit more often, and probably retired around 2000 or so.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A great way to described the rise of RBG and her many accomplishments.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved RBG before I read this book and I love her even more now that I have read it. This is a wonderful biography and she is truly an inspiration. “We’re still striving for that more perfect union. And one of the perfections is for the ‘we the people’ to include an ever enlarged group.” - RBG
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a delightful love letter to Justice Ginsburg. It is a quick read with a variety of stories from RBG's life. While it has a clear bias, I think it is worth the read for anyone who is interested in stories of strong women.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Because the book is about an amazing woman who changed the world
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5an enjoyable read. I had not realized what an socially active person she was prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Load of crap and full of BULLSHIT. What a waste of time
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is an excellent quick read on the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My only criticism of the book is that it’s more of a ‘love letter’ to RBG and doesn’t examine her career with a critical eye. But if you want an overview of RBG’s life, it’s a good place to start.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed this book. I knew about her major decisions and dissents, as well as her legendary work ethic.
But this book really pulled her life's work into a cohesive, intentional whole. And I loved learning more about her personal life and her younger, pre-Supreme Court days.
A wonderful read, the author interspersed stories of RBG's life with the her writing on decisions and especially dissents interwoven throughout the book. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I knew RBG was awesome, but I didn't know she was this awesome. Everyone should read this. It gets slow with the annotated "good parts" versions of her court opinions. But stick with it, or only read the pull-quotes. The last 40 pages or so are some tributes, lots of footnotes (quite appropriate), and a good index.
Don't delay, read it today. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The RBG in the title is, of course, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the first women lawyers in the US, and later Supreme Court judge. She was an amazing woman who brought about a lot of good for women, but I was a bit disappointed that this wasn’t really a biography as much as a look at her work and career, and the changes she brought to US law. There were bits and pieces of her personal life, but not a lot. I listened to the audio and it was not interesting to listen to various laws being read. It was pretty short – it felt like it was abridged but it wasn’t. This was published in 2015, before her death… and also before Trump made it into office. For me, this was simply “ok”.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A good page turner on the Notorious RBG. Don't get a Kindle edition if you want to get a better view of the pictures and artwork in there.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A beautiful homage to the wonder that was RBG. This is a light but very enlightening and reverent story of the great woman's many accomplishments and her views on law and society along with some views into her personal life. Lots of nice photographs and fan-created images, it's a quick read that is appropriate for absolutely any reader. It's a shame we lost her at such an inopportune time in history, but she had defied so many odds that we really can't complain. RIP RBG.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book has been on my radar for awhile and while it was a good audio version, I will need to re-visit the paper copy -- there were so many dates and timelines that sink in better when seen. I finally knocked this off my TBR list so I could go see the recent movie guilt-free. What an amazing woman! Please please please let her hang on 2 more years! Her dedication to justice for all is inspiring as are her achievements as a woman of her era in breaking through various barriers and levels of discrimination. She is a wonderful role model for the next generation -- young men and women. Here is a story of hard work, intelligence, empathy, open-mindedness and mutual love and support with her husband Marty. Her advice to "Think about what you want then do the work" is timeless and relevant and speaks volumes about her work ethic and vision. Her professional accomplishments are in a category all their own, but what comes through most in the bio is her supreme integrity and her untouchable awesomeness as a human being.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Notorious RBG is a fan biography of the legendary Supreme Court Justice. Written in lively, loving prose, the book includes excerpts from her major cases, both those she presented to the court and those she has written as part of a course. A bit gossipy at times, we get glimpses into her personal life that bely her reputation as a no nonsense professional who lacks a sense of humor. And we cry with her as her great love, Marty, dies early, a champion of his forward thinking, feminist wife. She is a role model for so many women, including me.