title: Free to Be Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Story of Women and Law
author:  Teri Kanefield 
description: Kanefield (<i>The Girl from the Tar Paper School</i>) derives from mixed sources an informative, simply written account of the impressive arc of Ginsburg's life. She begins with Ginsburg's humble beginnings as the daughter of a Russian Jewish immigrant who struggled to make a go in New York City's garment business. From an early age, she demonstrated the intelligence and diligence that became her hallmark as the second woman ever on the Supreme Court. Kanefield makes accessible to laypersons the legal arguments at the heart of many of Ginsburg's cases, including the gender discrimination Ginsburg attacked when she was a practicing attorney. The justice's personal life gets appropriate attention, especially her warm and mutually supportive relationship with her late husband, Marty. Despite the book's positive tone, this is not a hagiography; Kanefield does include quotes from those critical of Ginsburg. Those who have followed Ginsburg's career and jurisprudence will not find anything new here, but most readers will emerge with a great deal of respect for a fiercely independent woman who battled sexism to reach the pinnacle of her profession.
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  _Praise for Jane Sherron De Hart’s_
  
  
  # RUTH BADER GINSBURG
  
  
  “An in-depth biography of the Supreme Court justice who has become a pop
  culture icon.”
  
  
  — _USA Today_
  
  
  “De Hart’s thorough biography relates this life story with a nice sense of the
  sweep of feminist and legal history that is contained within it.”
  
  
  — _Minneapolis Star Tribune_
  
  
  “Monumental…. The first comprehensive biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg…. De
  Hart excels in explaining the majority opinions, and later the dissents, in
  which she participated with remarkable clarity, illuminating the issues, the
  competing positions, and the significance of each in language easily grasped
  by readers with no legal training.”
  
  
  — _Kirkus Reviews_ (starred review)
  
  
  “De Hart’s great strength is her ability to explain Ginsburg’s cases and the
  legal strategies she employed…. An insightful, fascinating, and admiring
  biography of one of America’s most extraordinary jurists.”
  
  
  — _Publishers Weekly_
  
  
  “Meticulously re