Shana Alexandder was a good writer but this book bogged down with too much trial minutae. It was published in the late 1970s and perhaps there would have been more appetite for the blow-by-blow from the weeks that comprised the Patty Hearst trial, but I was looking for more historical perspective on the story. I didn't get that perspecive and found myself losing interest the further I read. No stars because I couldn't finish this 600 pager.