This book should be mandatory reading for all first-year female law students. Strike that—it should be mandatory for all female attorneys. If there is one figure who has paved the way for women attorneys, women in general and the cause of gender equality, it is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This biography is artistic, featuring charts, cartoons, recipes and timelines. But it is also comprehensive.

To understand Justice Ginsburg's opinions, we must understand her early life. Her father was a Jewish immigrant furrier from Odessa; her mother a daughter of Eastern European immigrants who always longed for an education. Ginsburg would often say that her mother was the most intelligent person she ever knew.

Raised in Brooklyn, it became clear at a very early age that Ginsburg was profoundly gifted. She attended Cornell University where she met the love of her life, her steadfast supporter Martin Ginsburg. They both were accepted at Harvard Law School, married after graduation from Cornell but postponed law school while Martin went to the Army in Oklahoma. Ruth applied for a federal job and mentioned she was pregnant, her government ranking dropped to the lowest possible pay scale and responsibility level. This incident later influenced her pregnancy-related litigation.