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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
22 reviews
thalia16's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
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of collection, the role they played in bringing on the victorian feather obsession and the ways that their studies superceded the knowledge of indigenous peoples who had been living among these birds far longer.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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Mental illness
unluckycat13's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Racism, War, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
dnlrbchd's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
porous_membrane's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
librarymouse's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, and Trafficking
frenchpants's review against another edition
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
displacedcactus's review
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Ableism
spookily's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, and Ableism
Moderate: Death, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol, Deportation, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, War, and Xenophobia
dominicangirl's review
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Colonisation
bookishaddictions's review
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
I listened to the audiobook of The Feather Thief to complete the true crime prompt in a yearly reading challenge. I found the story of Edwin and his theft of 299 birds to be fairly interesting. While I was not hooked on his story by any means, I thought the concept of his obsession with the feathers was intriguing. Edwin’s crimes occurred in 2011, and the birds stolen included some originally collected by both Darwin and Wallace. His crimes made significant waves within the world of science, as many of these birds were 200+ years old. Johnson will walk you through how he learned of the case, Edwin’s fly-tying background that inspired the heist, how Edwin actually committed the crimes, and even the fallout after the birds were noticed to be missing. This was a weird topic to spend 5+ hours on, but I can’t say I regret it. If you are looking for something different to read or listen to, The Feather Thief just may be worth checking out
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death