The feather thief6/3/2023 ![]() ![]() The Feather Thief is a compelling blend of mystery, quirky salmon flytiers, and dogged natural-history enthusiasts, and it highlights the obsessive lengths that people will go to destroy-and protect-some of the world’s most valuable treasures Outside it’s a tribute to Johnson’s storytelling gifts that when I turned the last page I felt bereft. Johnson is a master of pacing and suspense. ![]() The TimesĪ bizarre and yet utterly gripping tale Reader's DigestĪ fascinating book… the kind of intelligent reported account that alerts us to a threat and that, one hopes, will never itself be endangered Wall Street Journal A wonderfully assured writer, takes us on a curious journey into the past. The Feather Thief truly is a tale of obsession. 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 Natureįascinating… An engagingly written story … you’ll be reading it when you should be doing other things i paper The book is The Orchid Thief for the fly-fishing and birding set: worth its weight in exotic bird feathers, which you’ll learn are very expensive The Paris Review This true story about the theft of a bunch of bird skins is one of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever CS Monitor ![]() Unusual and engrossing page-turner… A wide-ranging, captivating work Literary Review Henry Hemming, author of M: Maxwell Knight, MI5's Greatest Spymaster Kirk Wallace Johnson’s portrayal of the crazy world of feather fanatics makes this an unforgettable read Michael Finkel, author of The Stranger in the WoodsĪ real page-turner, while at the same time meditative, thoughtful and stylish, The Feather Thief takes us on a fascinating journey inside a bizarre and secretive underworld unlike any other. This is the type of book I absolutely love – one that takes a seemingly obscure topic and shines a brilliant and bizarre and endlessly fascinating light upon it. I can’t stop thinking about it Dean King, author of Skeletons on the ZaharaĪ stirring examination of the devastating effects of human greed on endangered birds, a powerful argument for protecting our environment-and, above all, a captivating crime story Peter Wohlleben, author of THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES This gem of a book, is marvelous, moving, and transcendent. There’s never been anything like it Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of The Hidden Life of DogsĪ true-crime tale that weaves seemingly unrelated threads into a spellbinding narrative tapestry Mark Adams, author of Turn Right at Machu PicchuĪ riveting detective story The BooksellerĪ 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 A page-turning read you won’t soon forget, The Feather Thief tells us as much about our cultural priorities as it does about the crimes themselves. This extraordinary book exposes an international underground that traffics in rare and precious natural resources, yet was previously unknown to all but a few. The result is a page-turner that will likely appeal to science, history, and true crime readers Publishers Weekly Johnson goes deep into the exotic bird and feather trade and concludes that though obsession and greed know no bounds, they certainly make for a fascinating tale. Johnson ( To Be a Friend Is Fatal) makes his true-crime debut with this enthralling account of a truly bizarre crime…. ![]()
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