Items related to The Feather Thief: The Natural History Heist of the...
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?
'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?
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Review:
"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 . . . it’s a tribute to Johnson’s 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)
About the Author:
"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 . . . it’s a tribute to Johnson’s 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)
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.
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.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherWindmill Books
- Publication date2019
- ISBN 10 0099510669
- ISBN 13 9780099510666
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages320
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Feather Thief : Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 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 TimesOne 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? vivid and arresting' The TimesOne 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. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780099510666
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THE FEATHER THIEF: BEAUTY, OBSESSION, AND THE NATURAL HISTORY HEIST OF THE CENTURY. By Kirk Wallace Johnson.
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Book Description Condition: new. (Paperback, 2018). (2018) 2018 Windmill Books paperback edition. 8vo (128 x 197mm). Ppxiv,297. Colour and b/w photograph plates, bibliography. Fine new unread paperback. In 2009 Edwin Rist was a music student and exceedingly enthusiastic fly-tyer. His enthusiasm for his calling extended to walking out of the Tring Museum with 299 exotic bird skins in a suitcase. Rist had talked his way into the confidence of the staff and spent several months familiarising himself with the layout and organisation of the museum in order to commit his crime. The bird skins came to the museum orginally as a result of decades of effort by Victorian natural history collectors, including even Alfred Russell Wallace, and the species stolen included a number which are now endangered or extinct. Most of the skins were eventually recovered by the police after Rist had offered many of the individual feathers for sale to fly-tyers on the internet. Kirk W. Johnson "was waist-deep in a river in New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide first told him about the heist. When he discovered that the thief evaded prison, and that many of the birds were never recovered, Johnson embarked upon an international investigation which led him deep into the fiercely secretive underground community obsessed with the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying." Besides very thoroughly unravelling the whole story of Rist's nefarious activities, Johnson also recovered many of the unaccounted for skins and interviewed many of the more and less peripheral characters in the story. A ripping yarn with scientific footnotes - a great read with much of interest to the fly tyer. . Seller Inventory # 50512
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