Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG Book Summary - Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG summary

Name: Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG
Rating: 4.7 (35 reviews)
Author: Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

4.7 (35 ratings)

38 mins

Topics

Bedtime Biographies

Table of Contents

Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG
Summary of 6 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 6

Introduction

Bedtime Biographies are best when listened to. Check out the audio version to get the full experience!

US Supreme Court Justice. Modern feminist hero. Unlikely pop icon. That’s right – in this bedtime biography, we’re exploring the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

From her inauspicious childhood in Brooklyn to capturing the public imagination with her scathing dissents on the bench, we’ll chronicle one woman’s lifelong fight to give American women and men equal rights.

It’s a tale of dedication and perseverance, to be sure – but also one of empowerment, empathy, and love. So cozy up, and prepare to be inspired!

Chapter 1

Joan Ruth Bader was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood on March 15, 1933. It was a difficult time – an era when discrimination against Jews was common, even among ethnic minorities who’d also recently arrived in the United States.

Still, Brooklyn was a fun place to grow up. Ruth was known during childhood by her nickname Kiki, and she loved to read. When Kiki was old enough, her mother would drop her off at the library once a week so she could pick out five books. Kiki would read in the library while her mother had her hair done, with the smell of Chinese food wafting up from the restaurant below.

Chapter 2

Both Marty and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or RBG, as she was now known, were accepted into Harvard Law School. But before RBG could enroll, the couple had to spend two years at Fort Sills US Army base in Oklahoma while Marty taught at its artillery school.

In Oklahoma, RBG took the civil service exam in order to work for the government. One day, on a trip to the Social Security office, she mentioned in passing that she was pregnant. She didn’t realize it, but being pregnant meant that she was immediately dropped to the lowest ranking position in the government – and she was forbidden from attending any job training that might’ve resulted in a promotion.

Chapter 3

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter nominated RBG to the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. During her time as a judge there, RBG became widely known as a moderate who focused on finding compromises wherever possible. She found the work relatively boring. But the position was a prestigious one – it was the surest path to becoming a Supreme Court justice.

First, though, RBG would have to wait.

Chapter 4

In 2012, Glamour magazine hosted its annual Women of the Year awards, and RBG was in attendance. As usual, each guest was given a gift bag containing all the things you might expect: cosmetics, creams, fashion accessories. They also contained an item of jewelry that would soon become iconic across America.

It wasn't a particularly luxurious piece – just a simple collar from Banana Republic made of glass beads on velvet – but RBG gave it a special meaning. When she had this necklace on, everyone knew what card she was about to pull. This was RBG’s designated dissent necklace. She wore it every time she was going to offer a dissenting opinion on the Supreme Court.

The End

You’ve reached the end of this Bedtime Biography. Thank you for listening. Why not pause listening now so you can stay in a relaxed state? And if you’re off to bed now, I wish you a good night’s sleep.

Want to see all full key ideas from Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG?

Key ideas in Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG about?

Narrated by Valeri Ross

Music by Federico Coderoni

Notorious RBG (2015) chronicles the life story of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. From her childhood in Brooklyn – when she was known by her nickname, Kiki – to capturing the public imagination with her scathing dissents on the bench, these blinks portray one woman’s relentless fight to give American women and men equal rights under the country’s legislation.

Who should read Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG?

Millennials interested in the life of America’s most unassuming pop icon
Students of US history, law, and politics
Social activists and feminists looking for inspiration

About the Author

Irin Carmon is an Israeli-American journalist and commentator. She is a CNN contributor, a senior correspondent at New York Magazine, and was previously a national reporter at MSNBC.

Shana Knizhnik is an American lawyer and author from Philadelphia. In 2013, she created the viral Notorious R.B.G. Tumblr, where she chronicled memes and articles about Justice Ginsberg.

Categories with Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG

Biography & Memoir

Books like Bedtime Biography: Notorious RBG

Bedtime Biography: Hidden Figures

Margot Lee Shetterly

The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians who Helped Win the Space Race

44 min

4.3

Bedtime Biography: Born a Crime

Trevor Noah

Stories from a South African Childhood

42 min

4.5

Bedtime Biography: Edison

Edmund Morris

A look into the unknown stories of Thomas Edison's life

32 min

4.8

Bedtime Biography: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Jack Weatherford

The Rise of the Mongol Empire and Its First Great Khan

A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team

17 min

4.3

Bedtime Biography: Madame Curie

Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

25 min

4.6

Bedtime Biography: Yes I Can

Sammy Davis

The Story of Sammy Davis Jr.

A Historical Novel about Love, Loss and Resilience in Nazi Germany

26 min

5.0

Bedtime Biography: The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Jeanne Theoharis

The life story of an American Civil Rights icon

30 min

4.5

Bedtime Biography: An Autobiography

M.K. Gandhi

The Story of My Experiments With Truth

30 min

4.4

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

A journey into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer

Bedtime Biography: Harriet Tubman

Why Don't We Learn from History?

B. H. Liddell Hart

An exploration of how history helps us interpret the present and plan for the future

23 min

4.1

Bedtime Biography: Black Spartacus

Sudhir Hazareesingh

The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture

The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever

A New Theory of Intelligence

20 min

4.7

Bedtime Biography: Queen of Fashion

Caroline Weber

What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

The Psychology of Money

Morgan Housel

Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness

22 min

4.4

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Intuition or deliberation? Where you can (and can't) trust your brain

Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life

21 min

4.4

The Only Game In Town

Mohamed A. El-Erian

Central Banks, Instability, And Avoiding The Next Collapse

16 min

4.1

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine

Rashid Khalidi

A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017

How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

20 min

4.5

Reality Is Not What It Seems

Carlo Rovelli

The Journey to Quantum Gravity

16 min

4.5

How to Day Trade for a Living

Six Steps to Unlock Your True Motivation, Harness Your Willpower, and Get Out of Your Own Way

Western Conceptions of the Orient

The Secret to Achieving More with Less

18 min

4.4

Bedtime Biography: Stasiland

Anna Funder

Scenes From Behind the Berlin Wall

How to Boost Your Sex IQ and Own Your Pleasure

A Critique of Political Economy

The Jaw-dropping Tragedy That Shocked Ancient Greece

Adam and Eve’s Disobedience and the Battle Between Satan and God

The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians who Helped Win the Space Race

A Guide for Occupants

A Tale of Morality, Betrayal and The Dark Secrets of Puritanism

13 min

Invent and Wander

Jeff Bezos

The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos

8 min

3.3

American Prometheus

Kai Bird & Martin J Sherwin

The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

The Science of Synchronicity and How Your Choices Shape Your World

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Expecting the Worst and What You Can Do about It

How Europe Went To War in 1914

One Man’s Obsession With Revenge Turns Into Self-Destruction

The Science of Conversation

Dispel the Misconceptions and Deliver a Winning Strategy

16 min

4.6

When the Body Says No

Gabor Maté

The Cost of Hidden Stress

26 min

4.6

I Know why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

An Autobiography of Overcoming Racism and Trauma With Literature

23 min

4.7

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.