Publishers Weekly - Audio
12/05/2016
This collection of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg’s writings, spanning 70 years, is an excellent introduction to the remarkable career of a Renaissance woman whose views on the world, coupled with her sharp, frank commentary on current events, has earned her a cult following on the Internet. Selected by Ginsburg and her authorized biographers, Hartnett and Williams, the collection covers a wide range of subjects, including gender equality, judicial independence, her respect and affection for colleagues with different views, and her passion for opera; there’s even an editorial Ginsburg wrote as an eighth grader in 1946 for her Brooklyn elementary school newspaper on the importance of the new U.N. Charter. The audio edition includes archival recordings of Ginsburg’s speeches. The other pieces are read in a straightforward manner by actress Lavin. This works well. While it’s wonderful to connect directly to Ginsburg, the justice reads aloud very slowly and precisely, with pauses between phrases so nothing is lost; it would be difficult to listen to an audiobook composed entirely of her recordings. A Simon & Schuster hardcover. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly
08/29/2016
This collection of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg’s writings, spanning 70 years, is an excellent introduction to this Renaissance woman and will whet readers’ appetites for her forthcoming biography by coauthors Hartnett and Williams. No one will be surprised that it contains cogent, well-reasoned, and accessible entries on subjects of general interest, such as equal rights for women and judicial independence. Even those who have followed the octogenarian jurist over her long and distinguished tenure on the Supreme Court will find plenty of less expected items to relish, including an editorial Ginsburg wrote as an eighth grader in 1946 for her Brooklyn elementary school newspaper on the importance of the new U.N. Charter. Her passion for operas is expressed in remarks she made on the radio in 2015, analyzing how law and lawyers have been portrayed in them. At a time of bitter political partisanship, her respect and affection for colleagues with different views, as displayed in posthumous tributes to fellow justices Rehnquist and Scalia, are very welcome. The variety of subjects is impressive, and Ginsburg’s gift for concision enables her to discuss them in enough detail to engage interest while leaving the reader wanting more. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM. (Oct.)
New York Magazine
"The Notorious RBG makes it even harder to ponder her eventual absence with a look at gender inequality, the Supreme Court’s inner workings, and the too-little-remarked-upon intersections of law and opera."
Harper's Bazaar
"A comprehensive look inside her brilliantly analytical, entertainingly wry mind, revealing the fascinating life of one of our generation's most influential voices in both law and public opinion."
The Guardian
"Much recommended as a Christmas gift for smart, ambitious nieces. And nephews, too."
Bookforum
No sitting Supreme Court justice has the adoring fan base Ruth Bader Ginsburg has. . . . the amicus briefs, and, later, bench announcements included here are recognizably impressive, even to civilians, in their lucidity, calm persuasiveness, and avoidance of jargon on one side and distracting captiousness on the other. The more informal writings in My Own Words share those qualities while adding charm.
The Washington Post
At the heart of My Own Words is an abiding commitment to civility, to institutional norms, to the infinite possibilities of dialogue and cooperation, and to the now-dubious notion that protecting outsiders and others is a core American value. . . . Above all, always in her own methodical way, what shines through these essays is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, feminist, who truly could not conceive of a world without meaningful gender parity in the 1970s . . . as a collection of thoughtful writing about perseverance and community and the law, it is a tonic to the current national discourse.
USA Today
"What emerges is not a portrait of a take-no-prisoners advocate but a strategic legal plotter who understands how to bring her audience around to her point of view."
Newsweek
Ginsburg has used her words to promote equality and stem discrimination as well as to express gratitude and to celebrate others who did so before and with her. . . . exceedingly readable, thanks to Ginsburg’s characteristically precise and unembellished prose.
Associated Press
A sort of greatest hits album....devotees will no doubt be delighted to have some 300 pages of Ginsburg all in one place.
CNN.COM
"[My Own Words] reveals a more personal side of the unlikely icon who has inspired operas, tattoos, T-shirts and millions of young women who never knew that the law was once reserved for male lawyers."
Booklist
"Readers will gain unprecedented insight into the inner workings of the Supreme Court and garner unparalleled appreciation for one of its finest minds.
The New Republic
"The selection showcases her astonishing intellectual range, from law and lawyers in opera, to tributes to Louis Brandeis, William Rehnquist, and Gloria Steinem, to the significance and form of dissenting opinions. The book also includes a number of revealing speeches Ginsburg has given about her historical heroines . . . Hartnett and Williams’s brief biographical introductions to each section show how much Ginsburg has heeded it."
Booklist
"Readers will gain unprecedented insight into the inner workings of the Supreme Court and garner unparalleled appreciation for one of its finest minds.
USA Today
"What emerges is not a portrait of a take-no-prisoners advocate but a strategic legal plotter who understands how to bring her audience around to her point of view."
Newsweek
Ginsburg has used her words to promote equality and stem discrimination as well as to express gratitude and to celebrate others who did so before and with her. . . . exceedingly readable, thanks to Ginsburg’s characteristically precise and unembellished prose.
Associated Press Staff
A sort of greatest hits album....devotees will no doubt be delighted to have some 300 pages of Ginsburg all in one place.
Library Journal - Audio
★ 02/15/2017
In her first book since joining the Supreme Court in 1993, Justice Ginsburg, along with official biographers Hartnett and Williams, presents a collection of speeches and writings on a number of important issues in our society. Listeners of this collection will gain a deep understanding of the author's life and career. Although this is not her official biography, listeners are offered unprecedented access to the justice affectionately referred to as the "Notorious RBG." Aided by biographical context and anecdotes from Hartnett and Williams, the book covers Ginsburg's early life, her lifelong battle for women's rights, the inner workings of the Supreme Court, and much more. From the precocious to the professional, the collection contains an article Ginsburg wrote as a teenager in her school newspaper and even offers listeners original audio recordings of dissents on major Supreme Court rulings. Narrator Linda Lavin does a solid job of bringing Ginsburg's mettle to life. VERDICT A must listen for "Notorious RBG" fans, individuals in the legal field, and those interested in political history. ["Should be required reading for first-year law students and for the rest of us as well": LJ 10/15/16 review of the S. & S. hc.]—Sean Kennedy, Univ. of Akron
Library Journal
★ 10/15/2016
This compendium of Ginsburg's lectures and addresses, compiled with her official biographers Mary Harnett and Wendy W. Williams, perfectly complements the work of others on the topic of the justice's life and writing. The book consists of five illustrative parts: "Early Years and Lighter Side," "Tributes to Waypavers and Pathmarkers," "On Gender Equality: Women and the Law," "A Judge Becomes a Justice," and "The Justice on Judging and Justice." These representative pieces cogently excerpt Justice Ginsburg's writings from a high school newspaper editorial to famous Supreme Court dissents. Along the way, Ginsburg pays homage to struggles of Jewish and female attorneys and jurists. Not surprisingly, she serves as an exemplar, and her work toward gender equality is well represented in this superb book. "Workways of the Supreme Court," her remarks on the inner workings of Supreme Court practice and procedure, should be required reading for first year law students and for the rest of us as well. VERDICT Indispensable for readers of Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik's Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and invaluable to fans of the Notorious RBG and to students of Anglo-American jurisprudence. [See "Editors' Fall Picks," LJ 9/1/16, p. 29.]—Lynne Maxwell, West Virginia Univ. Coll. of Law Lib., Morgantown
NOVEMBER 2016 - AudioFile
This fascinating audiobook is a series of recorded speeches by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with introductions and background segments read by Linda Lavin. Using crisp tones, Lavin brings Ginsburg’s legal career to life. Her legal opinions, numerous speeches, and presentations are threaded together, interspersed with a history of the legal rights of women and minorities. Lavin’s narration is fluid and appropriately emotional, depending upon the subject matter. The biography also includes a history of the Supreme Court, information on justices' wives, and a discussion of the roles of Supreme Court justices since the founding of the government. The recordings vary in quality, depending upon their age and venue; some are barely audible, while others are crisp and clear. This work is a fascinating look at Ginsburg’s role in shaping the Court’s interpretations of the Constitution. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-08-25
From the second woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court, a collection of writings ranging from the slight to the serious.Now 83, women’s rights icon Ginsburg nears the close of her distinguished career as a law professor, appellate advocate, judge, and justice, arguably having done more to move our law in the direction of gender equality than any living person. Now, as two Georgetown Law professors, Hartnett and Williams (emerita) prepare her official biography, they have collected Ginsburg’s speeches, lectures, articles, and opinions, some on offer here. They preface most of this material with explanatory, wholly complimentary notes and begin with a chapter of juvenilia, demonstrating Ginsburg’s early interest in human rights and in preserving individual liberties. Passages devoted to “the lighter side” of life at the Supreme Court include, for example, Ginsburg’s musings on lawyers depicted in opera, not least her own “starring” role in Scalia/Ginsburg. There follows a section on “waypavers” and “pathmarkers,” Ginsburg’s tributes to, among others, Belva Lockwood, the first woman admitted to the Supreme Court Bar, Gloria Steinem, “the face of feminism,” and Sandra Day O’Connor, the court’s first woman justice. Especially good are the author’s observations on the court’s “Jewish seat” and her charming lecture on four notable Supreme Court wives. These, and many other agreeable selections, are characterized as “remarks,” delivered and often recycled for various audiences. The collection also contains numerous bench announcements, summaries of some of Ginsburg’s most consequential opinions and dissents, and a few revealing essays that offer keys to her jurisprudence: for example, her perspective on the role of dissents, the value of consulting foreign law, and the wisdom of “measured motions” by the judiciary, wherein she mildly criticizes Roe v. Wade for provoking a backlash and halting “a political process that was moving in a reform direction.” Only the most dedicated Ginsburg fans, and there are many, will devour everything here, but most readers will find items of interest from this icon of women’s rights.
