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