Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the 107th Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but only the second woman, having been named to the bench in 1993 by President Clinton. In this juvenile biography by Jack L. Roberts the focus is clearly on how Ginsburg had to overcome prejudice and other obstacles throughout her life. Ginsburg was one of the first women accepted at Harvard Law School, where the dean told her she was taking the spot of a qualified man. After graduating from Columbia Law School, where she tied for first in her class, she was not able to get a job clerking at the Supreme Court because Justice Frankfurter did not hire women, especially if they wore pants instead of skirts. The fact that she was also a mother and Jewish also added to her problems in simply finding a job, finally having to accept a position as a legal secretary. Young readers will quickly conclude not only that sex discrimination is wrong, but that Justice Ginsburg is going to be a strong opponent of such behavior from the bench. Eventually Ginsburg got a job teaching law at Rutgers University, where she also became involved in taking on some cases for the ACLU, such as the one where a New Jersey law required pregnant teachers to quit with no automatic right to get their jobs back after they had their baby. Eventually Ginsburg became the first woman professor at the Columbia Law School and was later appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Carter, putting her in a position to be nominated for the High Court. In the opening of this book, Roberts quotes Clinton's remarks in introducing Ginsburg as his nominee: "Throughout her life she has repeatedly stood for the individual, the person less well-off, the outsider in society, and has given those people greater hope by telling them they have a place in our legal system." Young readers will certainly get a sense for how Ginsburg's career has reflected that ideal, although this biography does not really get into the cases she argued or the classes she taught. Roberts does wryly note that Ginsburg does not do the cooking at her house because her husband is the better cook. Even though there could be more specifics offered on Ginsburg's legal career, this biography will definitely give young readers a good feel for the course of her life. This book is illustrated with both color and black & white photographs and since it only talks about Ginsburg, I am really not sure what the "Horn" comments abre about.

I'm sure that to accomplish all that Ginsburg has accomplished she must be a fascinating person. However, Bayer certainly made her biography a bit "dry". While factually correct and thorough, I felt the writing style was too cut and dry. It would make a adequate reference source, but I certainly was not enthrawled nor impressed. The court cases which she used as examples were "a bit too much information"--at least for jr. high school students. This book needs a little more warmth and personality for me.

There are only a few pages worth reading in this volume, and the editor who passed it up the first time ( around 1914) knew his business. She is at her most interesting when describing some of the minutae and customs of 19th century life. When she starts descibing people, places and events, she falls flat. Very superficial, very stereotyped.