A review by bookishaddictions
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson

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
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