The Lost Constitution

Peter Fallon, Book 3

By: William Martin

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Rare-book expert Peter Fallon and his girlfriend, Evangeline, the main characters from Back Bay and Harvard Yard, are back for another treasure hunt through time. They have learned of an early, annotated draft of the Constitution, stolen and smuggled out of Philadelphia. The draft's marginal notes spell out, in shocking detail, the Founders' unequivocal intentions - the unmistakable meaning of the Bill of Rights. Peddled and purloined, trafficked and concealed for over two centuries, the lost Constitution could forever change America's history - and its future.

Moreover, Congress is already at war, fighting tooth and claw over the eternally contentious Bill of Rights. When word gets out of the lost draft's existence, it launches a frenzied search, as both sides of the partisan machine believe it will reinforce their arguments. While battling politicians from both sides of the debate, Peter and Evangeline must get to the document first, because they know that if the wrong people find it, they will burn it, stripping the nation of its constitutional moorings.

The search takes Peter and Evangeline into the rich history of America and New England, from Shays's Rebellion to the birth of the American industrial revolution to the march of the legendary 20th Maine in the Civil War.

Past and present play off one another as the search for the draft heats up. It finally boils over on the first night of the World Series, at that Mecca of New England, Boston's fabled Fenway Park, and the truth is finally revealed....

©2008 William Martin (P)2007 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

deja vu

Sounds like 2020 . Still fighting over what the Constitution means and what it means not

A wonderful find

If you could sum up The Lost Constitution in three words, what would they be?

Historically rich thriller!

What other book might you compare The Lost Constitution to and why?

The others in the Martin series, with a focus on Peter Fallon, first and foremost, with its lost document query and fast-paced look into finding it before time runs out. Martin also pulls on some generic ideas put forth by Steve Berry in the Cotton Malone series, with challenges to the constitutional document and a main character who is also a rare book dealer.

Which character – as performed by Phil Gigante – was your favorite?

I always enjoy Gigante's portrayal of Peter Fallon. Succinct and Boston to the core.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

None, but it did entertain me quite a bit.

Any additional comments?

Powerfully told with a strong narrative and well-woven historical tales interspersed with present-day thriller.

What was plausible become too big a stretch

The story setting starts with an engaging mix with Peter in the current day adventure and the colonial era foundation.
It progresses in a “believable” fashion, bouncing back and forth. At the 3/4 pole it gets bogged down with inane scenarios, convenient connections, superfluous characters, and a disappointing, forced ending.

My high hopes were not met.
This was my first in the series; I will try again.

Great Story - About 7 hours too long.

This is an interesting book in many ways. If you like history - and I mean full, unedited hitory then this book is for you. It has an ineresting premise that is dragged on for hours and hours going through seemingly every year starting from the founding fathers to today. I kept asking myself - what is the big deal about the lost constitution? It's a rough draft, but the characters seemed to think it would change everything we know about history.

I really wanted to like this book and I do to a point, but it became my life's goal just to finish the book after getting to part three. The last hour/hour and a half is very good, which was a bonus.

I understand what the author tried to do, however it just didn't work for me due to the time commitment I had to put into it.

Bottom Line: Too many characters that get all smashed together. Too many generations to go through. Too many hours for this book. Godo attempt by William Martin, but just too much of a book.

Lost Constitution

This book was waaaay too long and had too many characters toward the end. Hard to keep track of everyone and finally found I just didn't care then. Not one of William Martin's best