Synopsis:
Abe Fortas was a New Dealer, a sub-cabinet official, the founder of an eminent Washington law firm, a close adviser to Lyndon Johnson. Nominated by Johnson to be Chief Justice, he was rejected by Congress and resigned under a cloud of impending scandal. This engrossing book--the first full biography of Abe Fortas--tells his dramatic story.
From Library Journal:
Fortas distinguished himself as a government official during the New Deal, as founder of a powerful Washington law firm that represented both business interests and societal underdogs, as a long-time confidante and adviser to Lyndon Johnson, and as a Supreme Court Justice. However, when Johnson nominated him to be Chief Justice, the Senate--motivated both by partisan considerations and by real concerns about Fortas's excessive political involvement with the President and some questionable financial dealings--refused to confirm him. Eventually his financial ventures forced him to resign from the Court. This biography provides a well-researched account of Fortas's career but fails to explain why he would jeopardize his position for relatively minor financial gains. For more on Fortas, see Bruce A. Murphy's Fortas: The Rise and Ruin of a Supreme Court Justice (LJ 7/88).
- G. Alan Tarr, Rutgers Univ., Camden, N.J.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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