Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Fjädertjuven : Skönhet, besatthet och århundradets naturhistoriska kupp

Incredibly informative book about humanity's evolving relationship to birds (studying, possessing, using, trading), however I would argue the analysis into the dark side of possession of natural wonders like birds of paradise doesn't go deep enough. The fathers of natural history are regarded in an uncomplicatedly positive light, where there is certainly room to question their methods of collection, the role they played in bringing on the victorian feather obsession and the ways that their studies superceded the knowledge of indigenous peoples who had been living among these birds far longer. Gender was also an under-discussed dynamic for a topic so centered on fields primarily and historically led by men. Johnson refers to "men and women" fly tiers but every major player in this book, save the author's wife and the detective tasked with the original Tring case, are men.
Overall I learned a lot that I didn't know before, but I can't help but be left sitting with all the analysis and questions still left on the table.

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unluckycat13's review against another edition

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This book is too long. I get the goal of laying out the entire history of preservation and hunting, but it wasn't necessary and it takes up like 25% of the book. I admire the authors work with refuges (at least taking his word on it) but I don't particularly like the author?

This book overall feels very unexamined. Many things are taken at face value, and often presented in a romanticized light. The author comes off as a bit of a yuppie type. I'm simply not shocked or intrigued by the things he is.

There are moderately severe descriptions of what really amount to animal torture and neglect as well. I keept trying to give it a chance, but I think I'm done.

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dnlrbchd's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.25

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porous_membrane's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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librarymouse's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

4.5

This is a really informative book about a crime that, at first glance, almost seems to be comical. The fanatical devotion to using the feathers from exotic and endangered birds is disgusting, especially when the look can be mimicked with dying feathers from more common birds already being slaughtered for meat. Similarly disgusting is their closing of ranks when called out for buying and selling stolen skins, furs, and corpses. Especially heinous is the wildlife protection agencies' inaction.

Edwin Rist, and his peers in fly making are heinous in their disregard for the sanctity of the scientific and historical record. Their lack of remorse deserves far more punishment than any have received.

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frenchpants's review against another edition

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informative tense medium-paced

4.25

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displacedcactus's review against another edition

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informative mysterious medium-paced

I had to read a True Crime book for Book Bingo, but I didn't want to read about some serial killer, so I immediately thought of this book that had caught my eye on shelves a few times. The library had the audiobook available so I decided to go ahead and queue that up while I did some crafting, and the hours just slipped away!

This book bounces around a bit. First, a description of the heist. Then how the author found out about it. Then some natural history, I think, about how all the birds ended up in that museum. Then the thief's childhood (or maybe it was childhood and then natural history). Then the aftermath of the heist. Then the author getting involved. Sometimes, it gets a little bogged down in the minutiae of fly-tying or bird collecting, but the audiobook narrator had a pretty warm, engaging voice, and I was busy crafting, so that was ok. I could see it dragging a bit if I was reading vs. listening, and some readers might just want to skim a bit.

I learned a lot from this book, about fly-tying, the feather trade, and the purpose of natural history collections, all tied together with the central theme of the museum heist and what happened to the stolen birds. If you enjoy true crime but need a break from murder, you might want to give it a read or listen!

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