Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik is a remarkably frank biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933 – 2020), her time as an attorney for the ACLU, as a federal judge, and finally her service on the U. S. Supreme Court.

RBG’s high energy level and extreme intellect allowed her to manage raising a family while excelling first as a law student, then as a self-described “flaming feminist litigator.” Although throughout her career she fought for women’s equality, her main objective was to make the laws of the country work for everyone.

Like many women of the era, RBG was paid less than her male counterparts for the same work done. In one case she was actually told her pay was modest because her husband had a good job! RBG worked all her life to defy gender stereotypes. At one point she fought for a widower and his right to compensation for child care, the same as would be awarded a widow. She didn’t want to be called a “women’s judge, nor a political judge, but a judge’s judge.”

I was inspired by this biography. In my working career as Admissions Director at a well-known deep-sea diving school in the late 1970s, I received less pay than a man in my position would have been paid. When I brought this to my boss’s attention he actually said, “Oh, Mary, we couldn’t afford to pay you what we would pay a man in your position!” RBG fought for equality for pay, for benefits, and for equal recognition for a job well done.

RBG was an amazingly energetic woman. In addition to her many responsibilities, she maintained a work-out schedule and, in fact, had a personal trainer. Her regular exercise routine consisted of squats, curls, planks and 20 full push-ups. RBG’s one regret when reaching her seventies was that she had to give up water skiing.

Notorious RBG is a fast-paced biography with quotations from family members, close friends, United States’ presidents, colleagues, and clerks, as well as quotations from RBG herself. I appreciated learning more about how the courts, especially the U.S. Supreme Court works. RBG was an inspiration, an intergenerational icon, and Notorious RBG does her justice.