This personal biography of Ruth Bader Ginsburg – RBG – was inspired by her strong ties to Sweden and her periods of residence in Lund during the 1960s. At that time, she worked on a project on Swedish civil procedure, intended for an American readership. This work led to her being awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Law in 1969. When she was conferred jubilee honorary doctor status fifty years later, in 2019, she emphasised that no distinction had meant more to her than the one she received from Lund.
It is her connection to Lund and the inspiration she drew from Sweden that initiated and motivated this account of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s American dream journey from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and of the significance Sweden held for her throughout her life. Kjell Åke Modéer – himself a jubilee doctor this year – first came to know RBG in the 1980s and interviewed her during the work on the book. In this way, the book is a personal biography of RBG and her relationship with Lund and Sweden.
The book is written in Swedish, and the Swedish title is Ruths bok.