Nonfiction

My Own Words

My Own Words

  • Downloads：8344
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-09 13:58:20
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • ISBN：1501145258
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Summary

The first book from Ruth Bader Ginsburg since becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 1993—a witty， engaging， serious， and playful collection of writings and speeches from the woman who has had a powerful and enduring influence on law， women’s rights， and popular culture。

My Own Words offers Justice Ginsburg on wide-ranging topics， including gender equality， the workways 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。 Justice Ginsburg has written an introduction to the book， and Hartnett and Williams introduce each chapter， giving biographical context and quotes gleaned from hundreds of interviews they have conducted。 This is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of America’s most influential women。

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Reviews

Lindsay ，

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version， which consists of the actual recorded speeches as opposed to a transcript of them。 I’d always heard how delightful and funny Marty was， and now I was able to hear him for myself。 And， it turns out， he really is funny and charming！

Cristen ，

This was interesting enough - but， I was disappointed because I expected it to be a memoir。 It’s really just a mash of old writings， speeches， and antidotal stories from others。 They even included the script from a comedy opera inspired by Court Justices RBG’s and Scalia’s words。 Yawn。 I found myself skipping sections to get to parts I found more interesting - like stories from her life， which were far too sparsely peppered in。

Katy ，

I listened to the audio book and can not recommend it enough。 The best parts are the archive recordings of speeches and reflections given by RBG and her husband Marty。

Fran Pozun ，

I do admire Justice Ginsburg and anticipated reading this book。 I was disappointed that much of it was a collection of her rulings， rather than an inside look at her life。

Greg M ，

Very good book。 I enjoyed how the reader was able to gain insight on the inner workings of the Supreme Court。

Teo ，

Captivating， informative and， obviously， inspiring。 RBG’s extraordinary work and life in her own words， through a selection of statements， articles， decisions and dissents。

Myc ，

This is a slightly disappointing collection of speeches and essays from RBG。 She is， of course， a giant of a jurist and an incredibly brilliant woman。 However， this collection is often repetitive， does little to truly highlight her remarkable career， doesn't shed new or interesting light on her biography or legal opinions， and ultimately left me wanting either a comprehensive examination of her legal opinions or a full memoir。 This collection exists somewhere in an unhappy middle that doesn't fu This is a slightly disappointing collection of speeches and essays from RBG。 She is， of course， a giant of a jurist and an incredibly brilliant woman。 However， this collection is often repetitive， does little to truly highlight her remarkable career， doesn't shed new or interesting light on her biography or legal opinions， and ultimately left me wanting either a comprehensive examination of her legal opinions or a full memoir。 This collection exists somewhere in an unhappy middle that doesn't fully satisfy any of the genres that it seems to blend。 I had really high hopes for this but came away very underwhelmed。 It is still good， but I expected more。 。。。more

Amelia ，

A collection of essays and speeches of RBG with some background information on each one。 I was glad to listen to this one， because the actual audio clips are used if the speech was recorded at the time。

Veronika Marcinkowska ，

Expected this to be a biographical account of her life - which it isn't， but that's on me for not looking into it enough before I started to read it。It's a collection of different speeches， briefs， etc。 written by RBG during her long and fascinating career。 Each chapter deals with a certain topic， e。g。 gender equality， dissents or racial injustice and presents different texts that falls under said category。All in all an interesting collection of texts， although it can be a bit heavy with the law Expected this to be a biographical account of her life - which it isn't， but that's on me for not looking into it enough before I started to read it。It's a collection of different speeches， briefs， etc。 written by RBG during her long and fascinating career。 Each chapter deals with a certain topic， e。g。 gender equality， dissents or racial injustice and presents different texts that falls under said category。All in all an interesting collection of texts， although it can be a bit heavy with the law-lingo at times （as someone with sparse previous knowledge of the American justice system） and a rather long chapter about operas。 I would recommend it。 。。。more

Jachin ，

She is definitely an interesting and important person， but this book is vastly uninteresting。 It covers the same five court cases repeatedly， which makes it feel incredibly repetitive。 It offers very little insight into her as a person， and the insight we do get is lame platitudes about bipartisanship and how the supreme court is a "noble endeavor"。 It isn't。 The supreme court has always been partisan nonsense and hearing her defend it makes her come across as either deeply naïve or a liar。 All She is definitely an interesting and important person， but this book is vastly uninteresting。 It covers the same five court cases repeatedly， which makes it feel incredibly repetitive。 It offers very little insight into her as a person， and the insight we do get is lame platitudes about bipartisanship and how the supreme court is a "noble endeavor"。 It isn't。 The supreme court has always been partisan nonsense and hearing her defend it makes her come across as either deeply naïve or a liar。 All together very disappointing。 。。。more

Melissa ，

I love RBG but this book gets a bit repetitive。 I’m glad I read it though to read some of her early publications and to get more of an understanding of the issues she dissents on， but overall I thought The Notorious RBG was a better book or I would have rather read a straight up biography。

Samantha Parkes ，

Just finished My Own Words by Mary Hartnett， Ruth Bader Ginsburg， and Wendy W。 Williams which is an edited collection of Justice Ginsberg’s speeches， articles， and dissents。 Even though this wasn’t the juicy autobiography I thought I was signing up to read， I did enjoy learning about how the Supreme Court functions and the history of women in the law profession。 Even though her work is often genre specific （legal dissents， for example）， I found it not only comprehensible， but persuasive in spite Just finished My Own Words by Mary Hartnett， Ruth Bader Ginsburg， and Wendy W。 Williams which is an edited collection of Justice Ginsberg’s speeches， articles， and dissents。 Even though this wasn’t the juicy autobiography I thought I was signing up to read， I did enjoy learning about how the Supreme Court functions and the history of women in the law profession。 Even though her work is often genre specific （legal dissents， for example）， I found it not only comprehensible， but persuasive in spite of the fact that the genre conventions require temperate language。 I think it would be hard to underestimate Justice Ginsburg’s importance to our legal system and especially to the women’s movement。 Even though she’s known in popular culture as a trailblazer and notorious， she’s very collegial with her fellow justices， especially Justice Scalia， with whom she often disagreed。 It was refreshing to be reminded that strong， passionate arguments can be made without name calling， shaming， or ALL CAPS！ We need more people like this in our public discourse。 。。。more

Jane ，

Some interesting parts， but book dragged a bit。 Would definitely like to read a book about RBG from a different author。 She is definitely an icon。 She bettered our country and opened up opportunities for women。

Vanessa ，

RBG will forever be an icon， and I enjoyed reading/listening to parts of her most important speeches， cases， and lectures。 However， since I have no real interest in law or the US judicial system， the book was pretty boring at times。

Angela ，

This was excellent to 'read' as an audiobook because the authors used recordings from some of RBG's speeches and bench decisions， as well as an introduction of her at an event by her husband， Martin。 This was excellent to 'read' as an audiobook because the authors used recordings from some of RBG's speeches and bench decisions， as well as an introduction of her at an event by her husband， Martin。 。。。more

Ally ，

I love RBG， but I had hoped this would be more of a retelling of her life in her words， and not a mashup of all her speeches slashed and regurgitated into a weird， repeated memoir format。 This book took me forever to read due to the heavy legal jargon， long quotations， laws and cases I am not familiar with， and simply a lot of things that were repetitive and not interesting that I had to read multiple times in order to retain it。 My favorite part was the last few pages， where some of RBG’s most I love RBG， but I had hoped this would be more of a retelling of her life in her words， and not a mashup of all her speeches slashed and regurgitated into a weird， repeated memoir format。 This book took me forever to read due to the heavy legal jargon， long quotations， laws and cases I am not familiar with， and simply a lot of things that were repetitive and not interesting that I had to read multiple times in order to retain it。 My favorite part was the last few pages， where some of RBG’s most famous dissents were summarized in language and length that I could easily understand and appreciate。 What a woman， but holy cow， what a book 😩👎🏻 。。。more

Stephen Chase ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I will miss you！！！！！！！！

Cassidy （Endless Escape Club） ，

Absolutely inspiring！ A collection of RBG's work from throughout her long and influential life。 Absolutely inspiring！ A collection of RBG's work from throughout her long and influential life。 。。。more

Tamara ，

A collection of RBG’s speeches and writings。 I enjoyed much of it。 Definitely an interesting collection。

Stacia ，

I read this book for Women's History Month。 I was under the impression that the book was going to be more of a narrative about her life， which is my fault for not reading the description。 Instead， it was selections from her speeches， papers， court opinions， etc。 They were all very interesting to read， but it felt a little more like homework than I had anticipated。 The framing information is very helpful， though it was written before her passing （and before the election of 45）， so parts were sad I read this book for Women's History Month。 I was under the impression that the book was going to be more of a narrative about her life， which is my fault for not reading the description。 Instead， it was selections from her speeches， papers， court opinions， etc。 They were all very interesting to read， but it felt a little more like homework than I had anticipated。 The framing information is very helpful， though it was written before her passing （and before the election of 45）， so parts were sad where it talked about how plans to continue serving。 。。。more

Violita J。 ，

The majority of users rate this book 5 stars。 I gave it 3 stars because I found it very difficult to follow along。 The book discusses many of landmark cases that Justice Ginsburg judged。 I would have wished that there was more discussion on her personal life。 There was some mention at the beginning and end on her personal life， but very little。 The book is very heavy on the interpretation of law， citing several cases， and often reads as though you are watching a senate case on TV！

Eloise ，

I enjoyed this book very much。 I gained a new appreciation for RBG as a person and her substantial contributions to our society as a lawyer， judge and Supreme Court justice。 This book goes into detail on some of her opinions and dissensions on the Supreme Court。 I found her， for the most part， reasoned and reasonable。 There were 2 dissensions that I disagree with but her intelligence and reasoning are admirable。 I listened to the audio book and was delighted to hear audio recordings of lectures， I enjoyed this book very much。 I gained a new appreciation for RBG as a person and her substantial contributions to our society as a lawyer， judge and Supreme Court justice。 This book goes into detail on some of her opinions and dissensions on the Supreme Court。 I found her， for the most part， reasoned and reasonable。 There were 2 dissensions that I disagree with but her intelligence and reasoning are admirable。 I listened to the audio book and was delighted to hear audio recordings of lectures， speeches and bench announcements in her own voice。 We are also privileged to hear her dear husband， Martin Ginsburg， introduce his wife on 2 occasions。 I would recommend this book。 。。。more

Ben Thowe ，

I thought this book would be more autobiographical but it focused much more on the decisions and specifically the dissenting views of RBG。 In so doing， I felt like this book was less about her life events and more about her thoughts and character。 I feel like I gained an appreciation for RBG after reading this book， especially with regards to her grace， work-ethic， and friendly demeanor despite facing strong opposition in so many areas of law。 This book provided a view of what it would have been I thought this book would be more autobiographical but it focused much more on the decisions and specifically the dissenting views of RBG。 In so doing， I felt like this book was less about her life events and more about her thoughts and character。 I feel like I gained an appreciation for RBG after reading this book， especially with regards to her grace， work-ethic， and friendly demeanor despite facing strong opposition in so many areas of law。 This book provided a view of what it would have been to know her personally and not just know about her intellectually。 。。。more

Anna Porter Hall ，

RBG。。。 a truly incredible woman and a role model for all。

Tammy ，

Although I expected this to be a memoir when I ordered it （I hadn't read any details about it）， when I found it was a collection of RBG's greatest writings and speeches， I was not disappointed！ It would be a shame to not repackage her words for easy reference， so they live on for generations。 The context around each piece， written by her biographers， was a helpful way to be reminded of how much history RBG lived through （and shaped）。 I definitely recommend this as a Women's History Month read an Although I expected this to be a memoir when I ordered it （I hadn't read any details about it）， when I found it was a collection of RBG's greatest writings and speeches， I was not disappointed！ It would be a shame to not repackage her words for easy reference， so they live on for generations。 The context around each piece， written by her biographers， was a helpful way to be reminded of how much history RBG lived through （and shaped）。 I definitely recommend this as a Women's History Month read and a book for your personal feminist library。 。。。more

Carrie ，

I am amazed at how much she did for us women！！ Her lectures and speeches were consistent throughout her career。 I am in awe of this women and the crap she had to put up with from men。 I am blessed to live in this time now。

Steve Reichardt ，

Enjoyed this biography of Justice Ginsburg。 The story touches on her life and family。 The most interesting part is the book’s focus on the inner workings of the Supreme Court and how things get done。 Also touches on Ginsburg’s relationship with Justice Scalia and Justice O’Connor。 Most interesting to me were Ginsberg’s thoughts on Landmark cases before the court。 Brown V The Board of Education， （School desegregation）。 The Virginia Military Case （ should women be admitted to an all male instituti Enjoyed this biography of Justice Ginsburg。 The story touches on her life and family。 The most interesting part is the book’s focus on the inner workings of the Supreme Court and how things get done。 Also touches on Ginsburg’s relationship with Justice Scalia and Justice O’Connor。 Most interesting to me were Ginsberg’s thoughts on Landmark cases before the court。 Brown V The Board of Education， （School desegregation）。 The Virginia Military Case （ should women be admitted to an all male institution）。 Loving v Virginia （interracial marriage）。 Cases regarding The Affordable Care Act。 Burrell v Hobby Lobby Stores Inc。， can the owners religious beliefs on abortion allow them to avoid paying for health insurance for their employees。 。。。more

Claire ，

while i did enjoy this （especially the audiobook）， some of rbg’s writings felt tedious at times and were a little too dense for me。 the format was definitely interesting and offered a unique take on her life， but for a more straightforward biography i would recommend notorious rbg instead。

Sara Komo ，

2021: Here's the deal - I didn't think I could give a book written by RBG only 3 stars either。 But this isn't really a book written by RBG。 It's a collection of her most well known speeches / heaviest hitting dissents / best lectures ever given， all assembled in one collection and presented in a vaguely chronological order。 In short， this probably would have been better served as an audiobook。 This is not the book to read if you're looking for a biography of the Justice。There's not really any an 2021: Here's the deal - I didn't think I could give a book written by RBG only 3 stars either。 But this isn't really a book written by RBG。 It's a collection of her most well known speeches / heaviest hitting dissents / best lectures ever given， all assembled in one collection and presented in a vaguely chronological order。 In short， this probably would have been better served as an audiobook。 This is not the book to read if you're looking for a biography of the Justice。There's not really any analysis of the speeches。 There is some context given before each one， but I often felt that the context was understated。 Footnotes are prevalent throughout， with lots of further research available if I wanted to read more。 But ultimately， I wanted everything that I needed to know to be included in THIS book。 Overall， the book DRAGGED and I struggled to get through it。 There were so many stats and references to other court cases that I didn't know。 It really slowed me down， and I felt myself bored during large parts of the book。 BORED？！ In a book about RBG？！ ugh。 I felt very disappointed by this book。 My takeaway will be that I probably wouldn't have a great time in law school。It was also so difficult to read this portrayal of RBG， knowing that she could have decided to retire during Obama's presidency and been replaced by a thoughtful， liberal， similarly-minded individual， instead of the abortion-hating Amy Coney Barrett。 So sad。 。。。more

Mandy ，

I listened to the audiobook， which in this case， is the better media IMHO as it included recordings of the infamous RBG reading her own opinions and presenting several speeches。 It even includes musical numbers from the opera written about her。The book is very informative about both RBG and the workings of the court。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=My Own Words

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=My Own Words&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,My Own Words&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0