The Feather Thief: The Natural History Heist of the Century

(Paperback)

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A page-turning story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless quest for justice. SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLD DAGGER AWARD 'A tale of obsession ... vivid and arresting' The Times One summer evening in 2009, twenty-year-old musical prodigy Edwin Rist broke into the Natural History Museum at Tring, home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world. Once inside, Rist grabbed as many rare bird specimens as he was able to carry before escaping into the darkness. 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. Was Edwin Rist a genius or narcissist Mastermind or pawn

Reviews

The Feather Thief truly is a tale of obsession . . . A wonderfully assured writer, [Johnson] takes us on a curious journey into the past . . . Vivid and arresting. * The Times *
A fascinating investigation of a seriously ridiculous crime * New Scientist *
Within pages I was hooked. This is a weird and wonderful book . . . Johnson is a master of pacing and suspense . . . its a tribute to Johnsons storytelling gifts that when I turned the last page I felt bereft. * Spectator *
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 * Nature *
Weird and wonderful * The Tablet *

Author Bio

Kirk Wallace Johnson served in Iraq with the US Agency for International Development in Baghdad and Fallujah as the Agency's first co-ordinator for reconstruction in the war-torn city. He went on to found The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies. His work on behalf of Iraqi refugees was profiled by This American Life, 60 Minutes, the Today Show, the subject of a feature-length documentary, The List, and a memoir, To Be a Friend is Fatal. A Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, and the recipient of fellowships from the American Academy in Berlin, Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Wurlitzer Foundation, his writing has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times and the Washington Post. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son and daughter.