The Feather Thief Audiobook By Kirk Wallace Johnson cover art

The Feather Thief

Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century

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The Feather Thief

By: Kirk Wallace Johnson
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
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About this listen

As heard on NPR's This American Life

“Absorbing... Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller.” (Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air)

“One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever.” (Christian Science Monitor)

A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for fans of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief.

On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, 20-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.

Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.

©2018 Kirk Wallace Johnson (P)2018 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

“Fascinating . . . a complex tale of greed, deception, and ornithological sabotage.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Fascinating from the first page to the last - you won’t be able to put it down.” (Southern Living)

“A fascinating book . . . the kind of intelligent reported account that alerts us to a threat and that, one hopes, will never itself be endangered.” (The Wall Street Journal)

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What listeners say about The Feather Thief

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Unusual and true natural history mystery!

This is a fascinating book that not only explains about the particular theft of feathers and bird skins, but also about the function of museums and other institutions keeping actual collections of these and why people would want to steal these things. As I said, not just birds but also things like elephant tusks and turtles and all types of animals. The reason I gave the story only four stars is because the detailed theft story began but then diverged off into speaking about all these other topics marginally related to the actual feather theft. Once it got back to the actual feather theft, I was a little confused about who was who and the wheres and whens and so on. But I eventually got back on to the gist of things. Although I have a degree in biology and have both used and contributed to various collections myself, of reptiles/amphibians, not birds, I did not know a good number of things covered by this story. If you have an interest in biology or natural history or ecology or conservation or museums or even just history, I think you would enjoy this audiobook because it is rather unique and presents facts and stories that you may never have heard and relates them together in a way you may not have been aware that they relate. So I have spoken this into my phone rather than typed it and I hope that it makes sense to you. I enjoyed this audiobook. P. S. If you are interested in flyfishing or fly tying, you would probably really, really get into this book!!!

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53 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ridiculously Good!

Who knew Victorian Fly- tying could be so interesting!? The history of the feathers, the little known cult of Victorian Fly Tyers, the historical heist of the feathers and then the story of how it was all discovered was just too good to put down. I flew through this audiobook as if it was a fictitious thriller. The writer's near obsession with discovering the truth was just as intetesting as the obsession of the 13yr old fly- tyer that lead to the heist AND the obsession of naturalist, Wallace, on an 8 year expedition to obtain the birds/feathers in the first place waayyyy back in the era of Charles Darwin. I'll be recommending this book often.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

How much does a feather weigh on a conscience

A brilliantly crafted whodunnit and a damning indictment of what is described by the author as The Feather Underground.
A great crime investigation which poses many ethical and moral questions that can be applied to any number of situations.
Excellent on so many levels.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Surprising story about a dark side of angling arts

Who would have thought that the self proclaimed "Sport of Kings" considered by some to be an art form had its dark side. Well told story about how the theft of feathers became an ugly mark on an otherwise highly regarded craft of sportsman.

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interesting investigation of a different world

The investigative aspect of the book was very good and the reader was excellent. The world of tying was fascinating and at the same time very disturbing that this, or any other obsessive hobby could be a justification for theft.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Spellbound

With an excellent narrator and riveting plot I found this book almost impossible to put down. A non fiction who-done-it with many interesting twists.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Intriguing and engaging

A topic I had never considered and an adventure into both the world of natural history and fly tiers, a group depicted as both selfish and delusional about accessing rare feathers. The story of Edwin Rist fascinates.

The narrator is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Excellent reading and accents on point. Well done, MacLeod Andrews.

I would have liked to know more from fly fishermen about the art of the craft and the necessity of having certain types of feathers. That would have added perspective we didn’t get from these collectors and fly tiers

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

good listen

Actually quite educational!
The interpretation of the law perplexing. The tyers a strange group, indeed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So fun.

I couldn’t stop listening. Very interesting and entertaining. Great narrater who is easy to listen to.

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you can't make this stuff up

In it's own way one of the funniest saddest things I've seen about collectors, Very entertaining!

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