H. N. Hirsch

I finished H. N. Hirsch’s , The Enigma of Felix Frankfurter, a good but not great book.

It succeeds where you would expect it to as a basic history of the man. It limitedly covers his youth and the author earns his bones in his time from Frankfurter’s time in law school, his early government career in the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Woodrow Wilson, his time Working under Henry Stimson, his time as a professor at Harvard and during his association with Franklin Roosevelt’ s Presidency where he acted as an advisor and later was elevated to a Supreme Court Justice.

The author adequately covers his growth from professor, to advisor and Supreme Court Justice as well as his basic judicial philosophy which he was often but not always consistent with.

Where the author fails is in his desire to analyze Felix Frankfurter and the various crisis moments in his life which altered him psychologically. This led it from a possible 4 star read to a 3 star read.

I recommend the book but wouldn’t place it on or near the top of the pile.… (mere)