Rating: 
Summary: Read the other books
Review: Being a major Patterson fan and having read all the books, I would say that the reason his books are so good is that he combines a great plot with excellent character development. So at the end of the book the reader feels like they know the main character very well. In Protect and Defend, Patterson, focuses on several characters (no single main character unlike in all his other books), the future Chief Justice, the President, the two Senators, the 15-year old girl, etc. So he's unable to do something that has made all his other books so successful, really delve into the characters and their backgrounds. However two of the characters have been thoroughly explored before, in what I think are his two best books (No Safe Place & The Final Judgement), so for anyone, who wants to read this book, I would recommend that they read the other two first.
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham Who?
Review: Forget John Grisham who's novels have steadily been growing sillier and unbelievable. If you want a sensational legal page turner with characters you want to care about, and surprising yet plausible plot developements pick up Protect and Defend.This novel made a long rode trip very short.
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic Patterson Legal Thriller...NOT
Review: I've enjoyed Richard North Patterson's works for years, and I looked forward to beginning "Protect and Defend." By the time I was a third of the way through, I was on the verge of quitting the book, something I very rarely do. Patterson's story revolves around the nomination of the first woman to be Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. The fight over the controversial nomination is intertwined with a court case involving a teenage girl seeking a late-term abortion. Throughout the book, Patterson seems more concerned with making sure the reader understands his views on abortion and politics than with crafting a readable story. The one word that kept coming to mind as I plodded through "Protect and Defend" was "turgid." This is a bloated book. It's almost as if Patterson submitted a 300-page manuscript and his publisher wrote back to say, "Richard, we really need 600 pages." I'm an attorney, and I know how boring trials can be. Patterson manages to make the courtroom scenes in this book even more boring than the real thing. He spends endless pages on the testimony of every witness. He describes every thought of virtually every character in mind-numbing detail. I almost felt guilty staying with this book through the finish because I could have read two good books in the amount of time I devoted to this one. I'll probably buy the next Patterson book, hoping he'll get back to form (which means writing a book rather than attempting a political indoctrination). If you're looking for a real page-turner, you won't find it in "Protect and Defend." This book is a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book to be challenged!
Review: I am a Christian Pastor that certainly would not hold the same views that Patterson obviously holds were it comes to the abortion debate. I would have written a very different scenario regarding the other choices the young girl had in this book regarding the option of abortion. But in saying that I want to say that this man is a brilliant writer. The characters are believable and become part of your life. This book helped me to see much clearer how and why those who favor abortion believe what they believe. I was forced to think deeply about about what I believe and how I would have written parts of the book to explain in a clearer way what I believe. I recommend this book strongly - it will make you think regardless of what you believe on this difficult and divisive subject.
Rating:
Summary: Don't pass this book up
Review: I think that perhaps there have been a lot of people who have missed the point of this book...and to save others from reading the revies and passing up this provocative read, I feel that I have to write this review. I did not find it to be a portrayal of the evil right wingers vs. the good left. In fact, I find that to be the furthest from the truth. In this book, Patterson creates a dilemma that is foreign to a large amount of the population, but unfortunately common enough to way to many--a young girl, pregnant with a baby that might not live to take it's first breath. The very real question here is this--should a 15 year old be forced to give birth to a child that she could hold in her arms and then bury the next day--and possibly face the sadness of never being able to bear children again? Or is it less traumatizing to abort the child, save her fertility but still have to deal with the consequences of killing something that she believs is so much a part of her? Should parents be allowed to take a hand in the decisions that their daughters make? Is the court allowed to step in such a personal choice? What constitutes life and are we willing to live with the laws and boundaries we set around it? In using this scenario as the center of his debate on abortion, Patterson takes us out of the argument that abortion is simply "another type of birth control", and into the very real problems both moral and social that this issue leaves us to deal with. In this examination, Protect and Defend takes us beyond the rhetoric and forces us to stare at ourselves, our families and ultimatley the leaders that we elect to make these laws--both pro-choice and pro-life. This book makes you think, it makes you feel--because there isn't always one right answer and I think that the book points that out. And I'm sorry for those who walked away angry, thinking that Patterson was simply making a pro-choice speech. For if you come away thinking that, you've missed the vital elements of this book--that we are dealing with people, and their lives and not just some abstract law and ideology. Oh, and if you read the author's note at the back you'd see that Patterson details his research and apologizes if it's flawed on the side of pro-life. It is not perfect, but it is worth the read that will help you examine more sides of an issue.
Rating:
Summary: Very dissappointed
Review: I've enjoyed several of Patterson's previous works, but Protect and Defend was so horribly biased that I couldn't force myself to finish it, even though I'd invested enough time in it to trudge over half way through. The characters are completely one dimensional, with the exception of one Republican Senator. I actually laughed out loud several times at the level of left wing propaganda, for example: When I realized Patterson was subtly suggesting that the Senator's political leanings were somehow triggered by an epiphany he experienced during his captivity as a POW. Evidently that was Patterson's attempt at reconciling how someone could be a Republican and not being pure evil. When this "Republican" senator jokes with his family about "choosing" to be gay. The Senator's satirical response to his daughter basically reinforces to the reader that being gay was NOT a choice at all. After all why would anyone choose to be persicuted by the ignorent hordes? Hmmm... following that logic, why would anyone choose to rape? And face all of the negative persecution? Must not be a choice, huh? Patterson must have skipped Logic and Critical Thinking 101. Nobody has conclusively proven that homosexuality is pure biology or pure choice - like most things human, it's probably a mix. This is just one example of where Patterson doesn't strike a balance, he just strikes. The simple characterizations are sure to turn off even the most zealous liberals. The book is full of them (both simple characterizations and flaming liberals) - they showed up on page after page. Someone please give me a character with some conflict, with some complex feelings and/or understandings of the major issues.
Rating:
Summary: An Unexpected Pleasure
Review: As a long-time fan of Richard North Patterson, I happily anticipated a well-crafted legal thriller. He didn't let me down; "Protect and Defend" is all of that and more. But look in vain for a murder or whodunit, usual mainstays of Patterson's books. This novel, beautifully and painstakingly researched, stars the legal ramifications of parental consent for abortions; when, if ever, a late term abortion is lawful; the rights of minors; and the political morass involved in advise and consent of a Supreme Court Justice. The courtroom scenes are masterful and brilliant. Patterson sympathetically portrays the anguish and honor of good parents and the youthful poignance of a teenager caught in an unbearably stressful media circus. When we are out of the courtroom, the novel is less even-handed dealing with conservatives and liberals. Lobbyists get a very short shrift from Mr. Patterson; they are all wicked and venal. In fairness to the author, I noted in Acknowledgements that his requests for interviews were refused by two of the major Christian Conservative groups. So if the book lacks depth in their portrayal, it is understandable. Some of the characters have played major roles in other Patterson novels, notably the admirable Caroline Masters who is the nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. She is a complex figure, not entirely sympathetic because of her glacial reserve. I consider this a good thing for otherwise, she would be too perfect for anything but a morality tale. The storyline for the conflicted Republican senator whose daughter was pathetically fragile psychologically was predictable and overly dramatic. The book gives the reader all sides of explosive issues, and engages our thoughts and makes us question pat assumptions we have in place. If nothing else, our horizons are expanded. An excellent work by a thoughtful author.
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing read, but flawed
Review: I've read all of Richard North Patterson's books and enjoyed them, some of them keenly (especially The Final Judgment and Silent Witness). He's good at what he does, and getting better: his books have shown reasonably steady growth as a writer. This book represents a departure for him. Constructed with painstaking skill, it is his most impressive performance to date in terms of mature thoughtfulness about serious issues. Unlike his previous efforts, this one is not a "thriller" in any conventional sense-there's no murder, no crime, no whodunit to solve-although there is certainly suspense, skillfully orchestrated, of a more cerebral, less visceral nature. This book turns on two inter-related issues: the contentious confirmation of a new President's controversial nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (a woman), and a thorny, complex constitutional legal case involving a pregnant teenager, late-term abortion, and parental consent. It may be missing the elements of a conventional thriller, but it's still an expertly crafted page-turner. What troubles me is its political dimension. This is a book that has an intensely political setting: all the characters are distinguished by their political beliefs, ties, and alignments. Unfortunately it's a simplistically black-and-white political world: all the good guys, the guys in white hats, are liberal Democrats and pro-choicers, representing the forces of light; and all the bad guys, those in black hats, are conservative Republicans and pro-lifers, representing the forces of darkness. It's just about that cut and dried. The good guys are a pretty stereotypical bunch: these characters are attractive, sympathetic, ethical, loyal, enlightened and progressive, trying to do the right thing, etc. The bad guys are, regrettably, even more stereotypical: a group of cynical, mean-spirited nasties, they represent the forces of bigotry, narrowness, scandal-mongering, backbiting, special-interest money and sleazy pressures and tactics, shady, backroom political machinations and villainous dirty dealing, etc. (The sole exception, a key character, is an influential, maverick, loose-cannon Republican senator, not a team player with the Republican forces of evil, who has presidential ambitions, is an ex-POW and war hero, and champions campaign finance reform-sound like anyone you recognize?) If you're a liberal Democrat, I suppose you're likely to find Mr. Patterson's simple-minded and all-too-apparent political sympathies congenial; if you aren't, you probably won't. This is a book, in short, that Al Gore is a lot more likely to relish than Bob Dole. I found the shallow, black-and-white political stereotyping an unfortunate blemish in a book that is notably well crafted and mature in argument in other respects. Indeed, the book's maturity and sophistication of legal argument comports oddly, even jarringly, with its pat, simplistic, reductive political scheme; the trenchant analysis of women's reproductive rights and the wit and shrewdness of the convincing courtroom scenes (always a strong suit of lawyer Patterson) make odd bedfellows with the cardboard-character level of the political posturing. It's hard to believe that the same author was responsible for both. This blemish doesn't render the book an unenjoyable read, certainly; Patterson's adroitness and expertise ensure that. But for me it does diminish the achievement and advance that the book otherwise represents. And fans of Patterson should be aware that those expecting a thriller/murder mystery/whodunit in the vein of his earlier books are going to find something quite different here: some may be pleasantly surprised at this "stretch" to grapple with serious issues; others may feel disappointed and even cheated of what they were expecting. And speaking of feeling disappointed and cheated, I bought a brand new hardbound copy of this book, and by the time I got halfway through it (the book hasn't been dropped, manhandled, or mistreated in any way), pages were coming loose from the binding and falling out in chunks into my hands. I might not have been so surprised at this if I'd bought an el cheapo paperback, but for a new hardbound book from a reputable publisher, this inexcusably shoddy quality came as an unpleasant jolt. Shame on you, Alfred A. Knopf! Caveat emptor.
Rating:
Summary: Great story, suspect politics
Review: I have read and enjoyed several of Patterson's novels; this one joins the others as an absorbing well-written "page-turner". Patterson interweaves several characters and their stories into one, focusing on the trial of a pregnant minor carrying a hydrocephalic and desiring a late-term abortion against her parents wishes. Kerry Kilcannon makes a return appearance now as US president, plus good old Caroline Masters is now striving for the Supreme Court. This book held my interest and once again I was caught in the familiar position of sacrificing sleep time to read "just one more chapter". As a story it deserves 5 stars, but unfortunately it's obvious political biases detract from the tale. While Patterson accurately relates the pros and cons of the abortion argument, pretty much all of the book's "heroes" are pro-choice, and its "villains" are pro-life. Even the one pro-choice character Kilcannon doesn't care for ends up doing the right thing for the president. Many of the pro-lifers are caricatures, while the pro-choice characters consistently have depth and compassion. In the end Patterson's own feelings are so obvious there is little doubt how things will turn out and the only plot twist involves a supporting character. Maybe someday someone will write a story that shows people on both sides of this issue who are caring, compassionate, and honestly believing they are doing the right thing.
Rating: 
Summary: the right to privacy
Review: on one level, a roman a clef mirroring newspaper headlines. on a deeper level, a thorough exploration of the moral, legal and political dimensions of the abortion issue, effectively dramatized in riveting courtroom and senate hearing settings. a tour de force on a painful and polarizing subject.
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