The Autobiography Of Sol Bloom. BY SOL BLOOM. (New York: G. P. Putnams' Sons. 1948. Pp. 345. $3.50.)

• Date: 01 September 1949
• Author: Samuel Abrahams
• DOI: 10.1177/106591294900200348
• Published date: 01 September 1949
• Subject Matter: Articles

465

The

Roosevelt

Court,

A

Study

In

Judicial

Politics

and

Values,

1937-1947.

BY

C.

HERMAN

PRITCHETT.

(New

York:

The

Macmillan

Company.

1948.

Pp.

xvi,

314.

$5.00.)

Here

is

a

comprehensive

treatment

of

a

controversial

subject.

Profes-

sor

Pritchett

attempts

to

present

a

scientific

analysis

of

the

Supreme

Court

since

1937.

Realizing

that

the

constitutional

theories

back

of

the

decisions

would

not

give

a

complete

picture,

he

points

to

the

personal

attitudes,

political

influences,

and

past

experiences

of

the

members;

and

he

explains

what

weight

they

may

have

had

in

determining

the

policies

of

the

Court.

The

movement

of

blocs

that

formed

within

the

Roosevelt

Court

are

traced,

and

their

effect

on

important

decisions

is

shown.

The

author

presents

a

unique

picture

of

the

dissenting

Justices

with

the

factors

that

may

have

influenced

their

stands.

His

comparisons

of

the

majority

and

dis-

senting

opinions

rendered

by

the

individual

Justices

give

an

interesting

view

of

the

Court

in

action.

Through

a

series

of

tables

and

charts,

one

gains

a

clear

picture

of

the

voting

behavior

of

the

Justices

and

how

the

Court

has

reversed

itself.

And,

most

helpful

to

one

trying

to

keep

a

historical

perspective,

we

are

re-

minded

of

dissenting

opinions

that

have

since

been

accepted

by

the

majority.

Professor

Pritchett

has

rendered

a

great

service

in

revealing

the

Supreme

Court

Justices

as

less

(or

more)

than

robots

meting

out

im-

partial

judgments,

and

in

explaining

them

as

human

beings

who

are

influenced

by

their

political

affiliations,

their

personal

beliefs,

and

the

tenor

of

the

times.

Idaho

State

College.

H.

P.

STURM.

The

Autobiography

Of

Sol

Bloom.

BY

SOL

BLOOM.

(New

York:

G.

P.

Putnams’

Sons.

1948.

Pp.

345.

$3.50.)

The

perennial

chairman

of

the

Foreign

Affairs

Committee

of

the

House

of

Representatives,

Sol

Bloom,

has

sketched

for

us

a

brilliant

and

captivating

autobiography

of

his

Horatio

Alger-like

ascendancy

in

a

milieu

of

politico,economic

enterprises.

The

sparkling

and

invigorating

qualities

of

ingenuous

introspective

analysis

and

vigorous

fearlessness

of

view

suffuse

the

lucid

narrative

of

the

Congressman.

The

powerful

flashes

of

humor

and

gaity

will

not

fail

to

arouse

spontaneous

cachinnation

in

both

the

sedate

and

buxom

reader.

The

author

devotes

about

a

hundred

pages

to

a

discussion

of

the

San

Francisco

sector

of

his

turbulent

career.

Bloom

is

eminently

successful

in

his

fervid

descriptions

of

the

social

mores

and

histrionic

proclivities

of

the

inhabitants

of

the

city

at

the

turn

of

the

present

century.

His

sundry

accomplishments

in

the

theatrical

world

of

San

Francisco

were

so

phe-