
Protect and Defend
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Patricia Kalember
About this listen
A compelling new novel from Richard North Patterson - a major departure, and that confirms his place among the most important popular novelists at work today.
A newly elected president faces the unexpected chance to nominate a new chief justice of the Supreme Court. His first choice is a nationally respected Court of Appeals judge, a woman whose nomination faces two serious obstacles: a long-held personal secret; and the prospect that a volatile abortion case - a trial pitting a 15-year-old girl against her pro-life parents - will come before the court. And the Senate majority leader is determined to thwart the president's nomination for reasons that cross the boundary between the political and the personal.
As these stories intertwine, building in complexity and suspense, Patterson gives us the resounding clash of competing ambitions between the president and the majority leader; the equally momentous collision of science and culture in the courtroom; and, in an unprecedented novelistic depiction of the legal process from the perspective of the judge rather than the lawyers, a revelation of both how the judicial system works and how it intersects with politics, for better or for worse.
Protect and Defend is a triumph - the definitive novel of politics and law at the dawn of the 21st century.
©2000 Richard North Patterson (P)2000 Random House, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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Performance
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Overall
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Outstanding!
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Excellent story but...
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Great story - lousy production
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Able to see both sides
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Read it for the enjoyment of the story
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Controversy and corruption blend well
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Chapter repeats
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Wonderful Book
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Who was your favorite character and why?
You will fall in love with the characters as you walk through their plights. I had two favorite characters Sarah and Caroline, both had to stand behind their convictions while others tried to undermine the values they had established for themselves. My next two favorite characters were Senator Palmer and President Kilcannon, again both of these men had secretes that undermined their stated values but in the end each had to decided what was right.What does Patricia Kalember bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?
Patricia was an incredible story teller and made the characters some to life.Any additional comments?
The book is excellent and you will enjoy the story and it might even challenge your beliefs. The only complaint I have is that in section 1 and section 2 several hours of the audio are duplicated and trying to figure out what parts were re-recorded versus new was troublesome. Hopefully someone will fix the error in the recording.AWESOME!!
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The legal arguments on both sides of the law requiring teenagers to obtain parental consent to abortion were interesting. In addition, the political maneuvering over the appointment of a Supreme Court judge were too realistic for comfort. I recommend this book with the caviat that you will examine your personal philosophies on abortion, right to privacy, rights of teenagers versus parents, and lifestyle choices of public officials because of the content.
Future ability to bear children
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