Customer Reviews

The Defense Is Ready: Life In The Trenches Of Criminal Law

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Perhaps I'm being anachronistic, but I don't think an autobiography should be written by anyone other than the subject him or herself. If the person doesn't feel up to the job, he should have an authorized biography published with a vignette explaining his involvement in the project. Whatever her reasons, Ms. Abramson's decision to employ Richard Flaste was a big mistake. If she was too lazy to write this book herself, she should have at least taken the time to find a competent writer. Reading this book is like trying to drive across a treacherous bog in a Ferrari. You hope there's something good on the other side but the journey is so needlessly frustrating and unpleasant, you aren't sure if it's worth it. Let me save you some trouble. Even if you had a Range Rover, this journey wouldn't be worth it. My conclusion: for someone who is so assertive and logical in her public speaking, Ms. Abramson has published a very disappointing autobiography

I have always liked the way that Leslie Abramson handles herself as well as being a fairly big fan of her courtroom practices. So, I went into this book with some preconceived biases. Well, they were all proven wrong.

Abramson is an extremely intelligent woman, and an excellent attorney, but her writing, as well as that of Richard Flaste, is quite dry and rather boring. She has some nice stories to tell, but the manner in which she delivers them is undeniably dull.

The book clearly had no cogent flow to it whatsoever. The book was somewhat hard to get through, but I read on, hoping it lead to something better. But, it truly didn't.

I gave the book two stars simply because the information on the cases, and the behind the scenes stuff was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, that is all this book really has to offer you.

This book gives a very interesting inside look into the world of criminal defense attorneys. The author gives her unique perspective on the law through stories of several cases she defended. While I found the book very interesting, especially her explanation of the Menendez case, I couldn't help thinking that she was giving only one side of the story and leaving out facts that didn't support her views of defendant's rights. Still, it was very enthralling and hard to put down.

I have to question the factuality of the stories written in this book. My family is the subject of one of the stories Leslie chose to discuss in detail within her book. I have to say I was shocked and infuriated to find my family story, including names and a picture sent to Leslie in a Christmas card, printed without our consent or knowledge. After the initial shock I sat down to read the book and was again outraged at the many erroneous facts intertwined in our brief story. I have to wonder if she even looked at our file or if she just tried to pull from memory and/or embelish this brief condensed story of our life. I do not know all the laws governing what you can or can't print in an autobiography, but I would think that if you were writing about other people's lives, you should have to state the facts and be able to substantiate those facts with documentation. I know that the 6 pages of this book dedicated to my life story has so many fabricated and outright false statements, it is impossible for me to read any of the other stories with any degree of faith that what I am reading is the Real story! I would recommend that anyone who reads this book takes it for what it is, an autobiography about Leslie Abramson. Do not read it to understand the subjects of her cases or what the Real facts behind their cases were.

This attorney either gets way too emotionally attached to her clients or she fashioned her syrupy prose in an artifical effort to win new ones. Numerous convicted drug dealers, murderers, and other felons are inexplicably canonized in this self-serving, turgid memoir. A criminal defense attorney's calling is indeed a noble one, but should stop well short of the glorification and/or rationalization of the criminal element that seeps throughout this book. A few nuggets on trial preparation, tactics, and strategy can be gleaned by a careful reader; however, books such as Black's Law and The Trial Lawyers provide richer insight and are far more credible.

If you ever thought there was more to certain cases than what you saw on tv, irregardless of whether you agree with Abramson's conclusions or not, you owe it to your sense of humanity or cynicism to read this boo