Protect and Defend, Richard North Patterson
Protect and Defend, Richard North Patterson
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Protect and Defend

Author: Richard North Patterson

Narrator: Patricia Kalember

Unabridged: 20 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/04/2000


Synopsis

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.

About The Author

Richard North Patterson is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels, a former chairman of Common Cause, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Formerly a trial lawyer, Patterson served as the US Security and Exchange Commission's liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor. He lives in San Francisco and on Martha's Vineyard with his wife, Dr. Nancy Clair.Patricia Kalember studied acting at Indiana University and Temple University after being encouraged by her high-school drama teacher. She finished College with a BA in theater and immediately started acting in major regional and off-Broadway productions. In New York, where she was born, she worked in numerous daytime soaps, commercials, and theatrical events. She received a nomination for the Outer Critics Circle Award for her part in the long-running play The Foreigner.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dale on May 25, 2017

Four and a half stars. This novel takes an issue which people usually have very definite views about and turns it into a highly readable story. The main characters are Mary Ann Tierney who is fifteen and pregnant. For reasons that become clear as the book moves forward, Mary Ann wants a partial birth......more

Goodreads review by Wes on February 04, 2009

I read this book back in 2004. The subject is partial-birth abortion and it does a great job of bringing the point-of-view from all sides -- and no side is looked at frivilously. Because of this, I changed my view on the subject -- a very rare feat for a work of fiction to accomplish. The main chara......more

Goodreads review by Eric_W on January 04, 2009

If this work is characteristic, Patterson writes very literate mystery/thriller novels that take a public issue and dissect it from multiple viewpoints. Protect and Defend has been described by one reviewer as the most accurate portrayal of the Washington political scene. The issue is abortion, spec......more

Goodreads review by Marcelino on March 28, 2019

My mom bought me this book because she taught it had an interesting name (that was almost two years ago) so i decided to pick it up because she always asked if i had read the book jajajajaja. I love her. Anywaysssss i just realized that this book was the second book in a trilogy jajajajaja. The plot w......more

Goodreads review by Martha A. McCarthy on October 16, 2018

Things Haven't Changed It is so unfortunate to realize that we have not learned a thing in the roughly 20 years since this book was written. We remain as divided as the country was in this book. Richard North Patterson is a favorite author. This story was mesmerizing as the myriad of points of view......more


Quotes

"PROTECT AND DEFEND IS A WINNER. . . . ENGROSSING FROM THE FIRST PAGE . . . Patterson crank[s] up a wild ride on a roller coaster of morality, politics, and emotions."
--USA Today


"POWERFUL . . . RIVETING FROM BEGINNING TO END . . . With Protect and Defend, Richard North Patterson lays further claim to being one of America’s best contemporary popular novelists."
--The Detroit News

"BRILLIANT . . . PATTERSON HAS CAUGHT LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE. . . . PUT THIS ONE AT THE TOP OF YOUR HOT LIST."
--STEPHEN KING