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Protect and Defend
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Patricia Kalember
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
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Protect and Defend
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Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about Protect and Defend
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2024-04-08
Get The Text Version
This Richard North Patterson selection deals with two major themes: heartrending decisions made during pregnancy (particularly surrounding "abort it or keep it" decisions); and political battles during a contentious SCOTUS nomination. The first topic is handled thoughtfully with plausible hypothetical scenarios; and the second is unfortunately almost laughably irrelevant (since 2015, it's quite clear that voters DO NOT CARE about immoral/unethical behavior in politicians & judges). Still, this cerebral offering sticks with the reader after finishing it.
Unfortunately, a distinctly "adequate" reading performance by Patricia Kalember lets the book down. Don't get me wrong, her diction, timbre, cadence, and pacing are creditable.. but her overly-emotive intonations are slightly off-putting, and her voice-acting is weak (she shouldn't even try Kentucky accents, for example). Random House Audio Inc. could have cast this project with any other professional reader and gotten a performance of equal effectiveness.
Altogether, this recording of 'Protect And Defend' merits 7.5 stars out of 10. It's a far better book than this production would suggest (a worthy read that belongs in your library).. but stick to a paper or eBook copy.
[Incidentally: It's incredibly frustrating that fictional American Presidents like 'Kerry Kilcannon' and Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' are worthy of support, but real life Presidents are not]
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