Reviews for Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court

The average rating for Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-09-13 00:00:00 Roman Miller "Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court" is Jeff Shesol's 2010 book focused on FDR's "court-packing" attempt during his second presidential term. Shesol is a partner at West Wing Writers and formerly served as deputy chief speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. For those of us in Shesol's graduating class at Brown University, however, he is best known as the author of the comic strip "Thatch." For a 529-page book focused on a seemingly dense topic, "Supreme Power" is light on its feet, articulate and remarkably engaging. Aimed squarely at the lay reader rather than the legal community, it is written in a colorful style that is both intellectually sophisticated and straightforward - and is clearly the product of meticulous research. Shesol demonstrates a deep understanding of the politics, players and issues involved in the court-packing controversy and frequently lends his opinions to the dialogue. An excellent writer, he has a unique gift for creating suspense and drama with a topic that could just as easily exhibit all the excitement of a grammar class focused on sentence diagrams. The book begins with an introduction that sets the tone (and the stage) and quickly capture's the reader's interest. The first chapter backtracks to FDR's first inauguration and reviews important historical context before the narrative carefully surveys the Supreme Court rulings which threatened to unravel much of Roosevelt's progressive New Deal agenda. The most interesting aspect of Shesol's book may be the mini-biographies he provides of the key players in this judicial thriller - including the nine members of the Supreme Court during the period in question. But rather than inundate the reader with a constant stream of back-to-back character introductions, he judiciously sprinkles them throughout the first several chapters as each character becomes critical to the story. Many readers already know how this Supreme Court drama unfolds, but Shesol's insights will add color to even the most ardent history buff's understanding of this (seemingly) failed attempt to alter the Court's political composition. But while the first half of the book is a nimble, breathless page-turner, the pace slows and the book's complexion grows more weighty once FDR formally unveils his court-packing proposal. Like many stories with a particularly dramatic build-up, the denouement is comparatively less exciting. And while Shesol maintains a steady eye on political jockeying within Congress, the gripping Supreme Court intramurals and discord among FDR's advisors, the book misses much of the color and context of the Depression and the unfolding New Deal. FDR's earliest legislative successes are fundamental to the book's mission but a reader unfamiliar with this period in American history will not fully appreciate the scale and scope of the crisis or of FDR's response. Overall, however, Jeff Shesol's "Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court" is a thoughtful, fascinating and generally fast-paced drama. While it is not a general biography of FDR and cannot serve as an introduction to his life or even his full presidency, this book does a marvelous job examining one of FDR's most visible presidential failures. Overall rating: 4 stars

Review # 2 was written on 2014-01-25 00:00:00 Lin Maxwell So, as it turns out, Franklin Roosevelt hated old people. Ok, maybe that's a lie, but age did play a factor in the bout between FDR and the 'nine old men' (as the justices came to be known during this supreme court debacle). My super simple history summary goes something like this: FDR wins in landslide, and the Dems take both houses of Congress. However, there's this whole third branch still to contend with (at least according to the School House Rock classic Three Ring Government) which keeps on striking down New Deal legislation. (This is the part where fans of constitutional law will really get their jollies!) FDR tries to make it mandatory for justices to retire at 70, or at least have like young escort judges or something, but that went as well as attempts to take away old peoples' licenses after a string of farmers markets being mowed down a few years back. Here, allow me to illustrate that comparison for you: The next option, the one that gets all the press, is to "pack the court" (hey, you only need a majority vote, which is easy to get if you toss a few more judges in the mix). Then, a lot more stuff happens, all of which you can read about in this well-written book. It does a great job of giving you an 'evenly baked' view of the issues through case law, biographical glimpses of the key players, social history and some great gossip floating around at the time. As mentioned before, this is definitely a great read for fans of constitutional law and/or those curious about the mysterious supreme court of ours. If you enjoyed Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine, then this will be right up your alley.