National Review Online interview.

Burt Solomon was featured on CSPAN’s Washington Journal

“This book marks Mr. Solomon's final transition from being one of the city's best political journalists (for the National Journal) to becoming a serious political historian…Mr. Solomon has produced a gripping tale of how Roosevelt misjudged and mishandled the two men who denied him his remedy.” —James Srodes, Washington Times. Read full review.

“While many readers know how FDR's effort turned out, Solomon tells the tale the way a good sportswriter would describe an exciting baseball game…. his tale is popular history at its finest and provides many lessons about the dangers of presidential arrogance.” —Claude R. Marx, Boston Globe. Read full review.

“Burt Solomon tells the remarkable story of the "Court packing" battle, and in the telling, manages to illuminate some of the great themes of American history. Even more remarkable, the book makes a fascinating case that the Court's flexibility and willingness to overrule precedent, rather than making it seem feckless and fickle, was the source of the Court's greatest strength…This book recounts the epic battle over the legislation, and the important constitutional issues that were at stake, in lively and compelling prose. Solomon's descriptions of the many players in the drama are vivid and entertaining.”—Fabio Bertoni, New York Law Journal.

"[A] compelling and painstakingly researched study...Solomon eloquently reveals how [FDR's] proposal-hotly debated in Congress and characterized as a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of the Founders-eventually resulted in a stunning and humiliating defeat for FDR, sharply dividing members of his own party in the process."—Publishers Weekly

"In the mold of Anthony Lewis, National Journal correspondent Solomon conveys the excitement and significance of a core battle over the U.S. Constitution...he neatly captures the political dynamic of interacting personalities…An engrossing story that hints at the fragility as much as the triumph of democracy."—Kirkus Reviews

"Probably FDR’s most consequential political miscue as president—his proposal in 1937 to increase the membership of the Supreme Court—is the topic of journalist Solomon’s lively historical narrative. Bringing forth the important political players, Solomon highlights FDR and his conservative antagonists on the Court, who had invalidated many New Deal programs. Professing to lighten their labors with his proposal, FDR dissembled about his true aim of appointing new liberal justices, which even stout New Dealers sensed as a dangerous presidential power-grab: a key Democratic congressman said, "Boys, here’s where I cash in my chips." That, a refutation of the overwork thesis by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, and an impassioned defense of the Supreme Court’s independence by Montana senator Burton Wheeler defeated the plan. Parallel to recounting the public politics, Solomon dramatizes the Court’s internal politics in response to the institutional threat it felt, including—most memorably for historical lore—"a switch in time saved nine," pro–New Deal votes by hitherto anti–New Dealer Justice Owen Roberts. A fluid portrayal of the court-packing episode that will appeal to history buffs."—Gilbert Taylor, Booklist