Me, I'm a BIG reader and have a great respect for people who can 'condense' a book and not lose the essence or impact of the story. Reader's Digest is the only company whom I have firstly read the complete story and then the condensed version and been totally impressed. The enjoyment was almost as good as the full version of the book. I say almost only because I enjoy books so much. It would be interesting to see if William Diehl's 'Primal Fear' would be as good condensed. What a book, what a movie!

abridged? if you just want to know the simple story line, read an abridged version. if you really have time to read everything word for word (which is a bad idea by the way), then go ahead and read the unabridged (complete) book.