The book tells the story of Sue, from unearthing, preparing, and through the legal battle that determined her ownership.
The book got off to a slow start. It felt like a science text with too much information and too little story. Throughout the book, the author told historical stories of famous paleontologists, like Marsh and Andrews. Although the stories are interesting, they are not new to people familiar with the histories, and only lied loosely to the main plot. I felt they were more filler than information.
About half-way through the book, it improved. This started with the seizure of the fossils. Leading into the court case, the book improved as it detailed the different positions and justifications for actions and ownership, although many seemed only motivated by profit. Even outside of the scope of the court case, many paleontologists, and even the SVP (The Society for Vertebrate Paleontology) voiced in with their opinions.
The government was portrayed mostly in a poor light. They seized Sue, yet never used her in the actual case. One felt they were attacking Larson more to make an example of him than a just pursuit of a criminal. The reader feels his is guilty, but his actions were reasonable and justified. He didn’t deserve any prison time.