The Feather Thief has been a favorite book of mine since its release in 2018. Kirk Wallace Johnson is a talented storyteller, and to work with him to adapt this wildly brilliant book for the screen is a dream.” The author traces the origins of the feathers and how they came to be in the museum, which is far more interesting than one might think. From there the book builds into a detective story, then a legal drama, then finally a personal quest for the whole truth and maybe some modicum of justice. The entire book flows along very well. You cannot help but learn a great deal about many, varied subjects, painlessly. You will find yourself at times pulling for Rist, and yet at times disgusted by his greed. You wonder how the author found the willpower to keep going on in his investigation, when he hits so many dead ends. This fascinating study of obsession begins by exploring the history of nineteenth-century British natural history collecting, the Anglo-American trade in feathers for women's hats, and Victorian salmon fly-tying, providing important context for the central, incredible tale of the 2009 theft of a million dollars worth of rare bird skins from the British Natural History Museum by Edwin Rist, an American student of the flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London. A third section of the book relates the author's quest to recover skins not confiscated by police during Rist's arrest in 2010. I highly recommend. A captivating tale of an unlikely thief and his even more unlikely crime, and a meditation on obsession, greed, and the sheer fascination in something as seemingly simple as a feather Paul Collins, author of The Murder of the Century

For previous TetZoo articles linked in some way to this one (because they’re on the relevant groups of birds or on matters of ornithology somehow connected to what’s discussed here), see… Books on the Loch Ness Monster 3: The Man Who Filmed Nessie: Tim Dinsdale and the Enigma of Loch Ness Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist-deep in a river in New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide first told him about the heist. But what would possess a person to steal dead birds? And had Rist paid for his crime? In search of answers, Johnson embarked upon a worldwide investigation, leading him into the fiercely secretive underground community obsessed with the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Kirk Johnson is a good guy. I like him. His story before writing about the theft of museum specimens involves life in the US Agency for International Development, deployment in Iraq, and work on the rehoming of Iraqi refugees; his humanitarian interests and hard work in those areas is discussed, where appropriate, here and there in the book. This helps, I feel, ground things with a moral centre which never leaves any doubt that Johnson is honestly interested in doing the best, or right, thing. Which I feel is crucial, since there are occasions in the book where he reports discussions with people – Rist among them – who imply that theft from museums is ok and should even be encouraged. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins--some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them--and escaped into the darkness.True Crime (Tikrų nusikaltimų) žanro knygas skaitau labai retai. Nusikaltimai mane domina mažiausiai. Ėmiausi šios knygos, nes aprašomas kriminalas - ne žudymas, bet viena iš garsiausiu 20 a. vagysčių. Ji įvykdyta iš aistros žvejybinėms muselėms, pagamintoms iš retų ir net jau išnykusių paukščių plunksnų. I was definitely fascinated with this crime, as well as reading once more about the limitless human cruelty towards nature.

Not reviewed, sadly, but I plan on rereading it. Have upgraded my rating to 5 stars this February 2021 because I find myself recommending this book to everyone. This book – like the birds, rogues, and adventurers at the heart of it – has had an astonishing life, and, thanks to exuberant readers, continues to find a wide audience,” said Johnson. “I’m honored for the opportunity to helm the adaptation with such a great team – their passion for this project was so overwhelming that it made me feel as though I was discovering the story for the first time.” The Feather Thief is a riveting read. It also stands, I believe, as a reminder of how an obsession with the ornaments of nature — be they feathers, bird eggs or ivory — can wreak havoc on our scientific heritage NatureThese feathers come from some of the rarest birds in the world, such as the Resplendent Quetzal, the King Bird of Paradise, the Flame Bowerbird, and the Blue Chatterer. Due to the rarity of the birds, the world came together and enacted a treaty to protect them, and other rare and endangered species. It became known as the "CITES" treaty (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It's the basis for the laws prohibiting trade in ivory, for example, as well as many other animals and plants. If you enjoyed this article and want to see me do more, more often, please consider supporting me at patreon. The more funding I receive, the more time I’m able to devote to producing material for TetZoo. Thanks! I could not summarize what this book is about better than this quote from author, Kirk Wallace Johnson.