The Feather Thief

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

by

308 pages

English language

Published Jan. 18, 2018

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4 stars (11 reviews)

On a cool June evening in 2009, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist grabbed hundreds of bird skins - some collected 150 years earlier - and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? This is the gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice.

6 editions

reviewed The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson

Review of 'The Feather Thief' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Highly recommended!
This combination of true crime, memoir, and natural science history. Beautifully told and un-put-downable. I rushed through the audio book in only two sittings, not being able to pause the story.

I'm still low-key angry at Edwin, the loss for the scientific community, and the arrogance of the fly-tieing community.

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Subjects

  • NATURE / Animals / Birds
  • BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Museum Administration & Museology
  • Theft from museums
  • Natural history museums
  • Natural History Museum (London, England)
  • Zoological specimens
  • TRUE CRIME / General
  • Fly tying