Vaulting Ambition homes in on a variety of separate decisions that, taken together, comprise “FDR’s Campaign to Pack the Supreme Court.” They range from his decision to wait until after his re-election in 1936 in effect to spring it, without any genuine preparation on unsuspecting members of Congress and the public at large, to his stubborn refusal to accept the possibility of a compromise that would have given him fewer new seats than he desired on the Supreme Court. All of these decisions were surprisingly maladroit and served to wreck his second term.
Among the impressive blurbs on the back cover is one from Kalman, who praises “this dramatic, provocative, and concise account of FDR’s court fight” and claims it to be “perfect for classroom use.” Oxford has recently published Kalman’s full-length, comprehensive study of the Court Packing Plan, which, together with Shesol’s earlier book, are essential reading for anyone...