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Summary: Open your minds -- and your hearts! -- to this story
Review: I'm surprised by how partisan and vitriolic the reaction to this wonderful book have been. The Tierneys and the Palmers seemed to be good, decent families, trying their best to raise happy, healthy daughters to adulthood. If the decisions they made aren't the decisions you would make, that doesn't make them any less loving or concerned. I guess it's a symbol of how divisive abortion is in this country that the mere mention of it makes some people blind to the real message of this book -- which is that we should all follow our hearts and our consciences, regardless of the cost. And that we should be able to enjoy freedom of choice in how we raise our own children. That seems to me to be a very positive, patriotic message!
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Summary: Two difficult subjects made clear
Review: This book is a wonderful exposition of the true issues behind the subject of so called "Partial Birth Abortion" and parenteral consent. Unfortunately, it will probably only be read by those who are already pro choice. Examination of these topics in anything but the most banal and kneejerk manner is anathama to the moral crusaders of the Religious Right.
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Summary: West Wing - The Full Season
Review: This is an idealistic political fairytale that grabbed me page one and kept me coming back for more. I found myself in conversation with an interesting someone but thinking I really wanted to get back to the book.
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Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Protect and Defend is an excellent read. Not only will you learn a great deal about the legal system, but you will be so involved in the "drama" of the story that you will not want to put the book down. I have recommended this to everyone I know that love to read "good" books. They have all come back to me with great reviews. You will not be sorry!
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Summary: Protect and Defend
Review: Coming from Zimbabwe I, unfortunately, was unable to comprehend some of the political issues in this book so ended up a bit lost between the Senate and the Supreme Court etc etc. Be that as it may, I thoroughly enjoyed this book especially the issue of abortion coming from different angles, although I felt the author favoured pro-choice. One small criticism, it would appear that the gestation period of Marlene Brown's baby rivaled that of the elephant!!
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Summary: Fictional Account of Politics Today..Virtual Reality!
Review: RNP has redeemed himself. I've been his fan from book one. Dark Lady had to be a mistake and something he had to get out of his system. "Protect and Defend," brings the talent of this author to the nation's capitol. He weaves a tale of politics as we know it today, with all the dirty deals and lack of human compassion. It really hits much too close to what it means to be in public service in this era. It is a book which cannot be put down and yet one which you hate to have end. I hope the author will revisit this cast of characters yet again. We first met them in "No Safe Place," and now they are even more fleshed out as we find them facing new challenges in Washington, D.C. I recommend this book, without reservations. Enjoy it.
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Summary: Breathes Life Into Complex Legal Hypotheticals
Review: A new president of the United States takes office after a close election victory. Early in his term, he faces the opportunity to make a key appointment. Circumstances arise in a perverse way to make what would normally be a routine decision into a very tricky and challenging one for all involved. Every law student is familiar with the Socratic technique of the professor starting with one set of facts, and then beginning to alter them to see how it affects the result. By testing a full range of situations, the true legal principles begin to emerge. Protect and Defend does the best job I have ever seen of taking this method and using it to develop complex questions in a novel. Anyone who likes reading about the law will enjoy this aspect of the book. Unlike most books about legal issues, this one also fully develops many characters. As I read the book, I was also reminded of the excitement I felt as I read Advise and Consent. The reason for this is that you (if you are like me) will probably identify with several of the characters and care about what happens to them and to the country, as you care about others and the country in real life. The primary focus of this book is on abortion as a legal and political issue. Most people do not like to read about this subject, but this book is vastly more interesting than most by shedding new light on the many complex perspectives that come into play. On the other hand, the most gross details of abortion are fully exposed here, and will upset many readers. Constructively, the book fairly and positively portrays many ranges of pro-choice opinion. Unfortunately, those who come to a pro-life point of view from religious or moral scruples make out very poorly here. Typically, they are portrayed in an unfavorable light. This is a serious weakness of the book. Had it been more balanced in its portrayal of the two viewpoints, Protect and Defend could have been a landmark novel about how America is dealing with abortion today. If you are pro-life, you may find this book offensive. For you, this could be a one-star book. Mr. Patterson points out that he sought help from pro-life advocates, and received very little. He notes that this probably affected the quality of his story. If he had not provided that explanation, I would have graded the book down at least one more star. The legal hypotheticals usually come up in the context of courtroom examinations, and are very interesting. They certainly added to my thinking and understanding. I suspect that they will to yours too. The book also presents a cautious case for a possible way out of the political cannibalism that affects both major parties, so that few candidates for important offices are "pure" enough to hold them. I encourage you to be sure that you understand all of the perspectives involved in abortion. I suspect that most of us (and certainly me) have views that are uninformed in many ways. I hope that pro-life advocates will take the time to further inform Mr. Patterson and that he will write another fine book on this subject in the future. That would be a benefit to us all. Look at all dimensions of important issues before drawing your conclusions. Then check your thinking before acting.
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Summary: Reading Trial Transcripts Can Be Fun!
Review: I am a trial attorney and I am usually disappointed by courtroom fiction. However, Patterson really made the courtroom, on both the trial and appellate levels, come alive! The participants in Mary Ann Tierney's trial were not just stock characters but were actually three-dimensional persons. His presentation of the legal history of abortion is fresh and captivating. Unlike mose other lawyer-novelists, his explanations of complex legal theories do not read like legal briefs.
The only drawback to the book was that the pro-choice characters seem to have more depth than the pro-life characters. However, in his afterword, Patterson states that only a few leaders in the pro-life movement would give him background for this book. If pro-life leaders had been more cooperative, I believe that this book would have presented a much more balanced account of the debate over legal abortions. What becomes obvious from reading this book is that Patterson possesses a great talent for writing legal fiction and a great talent for explaining complex legal theories in a way that any layperson could understand. Obviously, he must have graduated from one the best law schools in America. (Okay. I'll admit it. I am also an alumnus of Case Western Reserve School of Law.)
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Summary: RNP is an excellent storyteller!
Review: Of course, if you're a conservative, you may disagree with the story. But there are plenty of conservatives and moderate conservatives that disagree with the far right of the party. The villains in this story were power hungry people on the far-right (yes, far right). One of the story's principal heroes is an anti-choice (I don't care for the insinuation that people who are against choice make that pro-choicers are either pro-abortion or anti-life) moderate republican senator, and all the moderate conservatives are portrayed sympathetically. The villains aren't villains because they're conservative... they are so because they're corrupt. Since the storyline uses a 55-45 republican majority in the senate, the views of people on the far left are irrelevant because they would have no influence in the Masters nomination (in answer to those who feel that only the "looney right" was portrayed). Most of the characters were brilliantly crafted and three-dimensional. Even McDonald Gage wasn't a total villain, just perhaps a little too hungry for power and mortgaged to those who fund his efforts to gain power. To be certain, there were a couple of right-wing bozos that were so far out there that they provided great comic relief to those of us that lean to the left (like Senator Paul Harshman, and former senator Taylor). I really liked Chad Palmer (the moderate republican)'s character, and thought him complex and human... perhaps the best-developed character in the book. The Tierney girl's father, an anti-choice activist was actually a sympathetic character who was pursuing his agenda for all the right reasons, even if you disagree with his agenda. Like the other RNP book I've read, "Silent Witness", this book was excellent in creating ambivalent feelings about several key characters like, Mr. Tierney. I found that you couldn't hate the guy (assuming your views on abortion and choice are opposite his), but rather felt a certain sympathy for him and the way he was sometimes used as a puppet for people with political motives, of which he had none. Still, if you're a conservative, who's opposed to a women's right to chose, you might steer clear of this book, as you'll likely be angered or offended by it (as you can tell by reading most of the one-star ratings for the book). But if you're left of center, or even a pro-choice republican who likes legal drama and political intrigue, you might want to give it a try. Since this is a review of the book on tape version of the book, I wanted to give Patricia Kalember two thumbs up for capturing each character perfectly and telling a great story beautifully.
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Summary: What left wing bias?
Review: I may have received a different copy of this book than many of my fellow reviewers. In the version I read, Mary Ann's parents were pro-life, anti-capital punishment and had been vehemently against the Viet Nam War. In the America I live in, two of these three views would have them leaning to the left of the political center and certainly not the right wing zealots others on this page have implied ... nor as easy to categorize. Same with Caroline Masters, a judge and woman who in her heart believes that abortion is wrong but agonizes about whether her religious beliefs have any place in law. Women's bodies and the lives of the unborn are political pawns in this country. It's a fact. And this book goes to great pains to humanize this -- taking it out of the realm of the hypothetical and making it a reality in one girl's life. It also highlights how mean spirited the political game has become, and how impossible it is today for well meaning, intelligent people to disagree without name calling, stereotyping and mudslinging. This is an important book and a thrilling entertainment. A must read for everyone who is interested in hearing BOTH SIDES of the argument (not just theirs). My only complaint -- the opening is just too impossible to believe! A judge dying on national TV as he administers the oath of office to the new president? Hokey! But if you get past this, you'll enjoy the rest of the book.
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