Justice Undaunted: The Full Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A deep, intimate, and revelatory portrait of RBG from her two authorized biographers, who had unprecedented access to the Justice and her papers.

Long before she was “The Notorious RBG,” before she was Justice Ginsburg or Judge Ginsburg or Professor Ginsburg, before she was even Ruth, she was Kiki—a nickname bestowed on the squirmy newborn by her big sister. Kiki grew up to be a feminist icon. After she died, she was criticized for not giving a Democratic President the chance to name her successor. What happened in between often gets lost—until now.

In Justice Undaunted, Hartnett and Williams offer a full picture of the woman and the jurist, and why those two parts of her were so deeply intertwined. The book contains new revelations about Ginsburg’s life and legacy, her behind the scenes role in several landmark cases, and her relationships with her colleagues on the Court. She was exacting and demanding. Imbued with an innate sense of fairness and a deep personal gift for making alliances when possible. A compartmentalizer at heart with a strong desire to “not look back,” which made possible her legendary productivity but could sometimes hinder her capacity for critical self-reflection. Reserved and socially awkward to some who didn’t know her well, while fiercely loyal and empathetic to clients, colleagues, friends and family. A surprising adventure seeker, even white-water rafting and parasailing, and horseback-riding into her eighties.

But ultimately, this biography—more than twenty years in the making and based on exclusive interviews with the Justice, her family, colleagues, and friends from all stages of her life, her private papers and even her honeymoon diary—shows what it took for a woman of her generation not only to conquer the sexist world of the law, but to leave an indelible mark that would better the lives of women—and men—after her.