• Programs & Events
    • Full Calendar
    • Music at the Library
  • Our Services
    • Adult Library (Books, DVDs, CDs)
    • Teen & Young Adult Library
    • Children's Library >
      • Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
      • Children's Resources
    • Biblioteca Española
    • Digital Media Library
    • Library of Things
    • Online Resources & Research Databases
  • En Español
  • Library & Community
    • Meet, Study, Work
    • Community Resources
    • Job Seeker Information
  • Support
  • Online Catalog
    • Search Online Catalog
    • Account Login
    • Renew Materials Online
Basalt Regional Library
  • Programs & Events
    • Full Calendar
    • Music at the Library
  • Our Services
    • Adult Library (Books, DVDs, CDs)
    • Teen & Young Adult Library
    • Children's Library >
      • Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
      • Children's Resources
    • Biblioteca Española
    • Digital Media Library
    • Library of Things
    • Online Resources & Research Databases
  • En Español
  • Library & Community
    • Meet, Study, Work
    • Community Resources
    • Job Seeker Information
  • Support
  • Online Catalog
    • Search Online Catalog
    • Account Login
    • Renew Materials Online

Book Review: 'The Feather Thief' by Kirk Wallace Johnson

3/24/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Selected for multiple “best of” book lists, The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century is a true-life crime story that is at once riveting and revolting. Anyone with a pair of binoculars who spends even five minutes a week checking out their neighborhood birds might find it difficult to read about the decimation of storied, feathered specimens, some of which were collected by Alfred Russel Wallace, a contemporary of Charles Darwin.

Author Kirk Wallace Johnson presents as a righter of wrongs. The story begins as he finds his humanitarian work expediting Iraqi refugees to the United States stymied by bureaucratic paperwork and diplomacy. Finding release knee-deep in western mountain streams, he becomes obsessed with the fly-tying ‘underground’ and the 2009 burglary of the ornithological collection at the British Natural History Museum at Tring. Obsessed to the point of spending the next six years delving into all things feathers.
​

At times travelogue, history lesson, fly fishing guide, and biography, the mystery surrounding the Tring feather caper is captivating in its straightforwardness. The crime is already solved when Johnson embarks on his effort to recover the missing collection, yet he persists in following leads and creating hypotheses as to the why of the whole thing. With many threads running throughout the book, his conclusions are much more esoteric than expected. Not surprising, given the obscure and bizarre world into which he has plunged.  

- Cathy Click

Announcing our new online book discussion group: Basalt Book Banter!
The Feather Thief is the March selection for Basalt Book Banter, an online book discussion offered in collaboration with Bookbinders Basalt. To join the discussion, visit the Basalt Regional Library Facebook page and join our Basalt Book Banter group. The Feather Thief is available to check out on Overdrive as an ebook or audiobook. We also recommend listening to this interview podcast with Kirk Wallace Johnson on This American Life. We hope you read The Feather Thief and join the discussion!


NB: Kirk Wallace Johnson’s visit to the Roaring Fork Valley, coordinated by the Roaring Fork Conservancy, is postponed. We look forward to hosting him at the Basalt Regional Library in the future.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Adult News & reviews

    Library news, info about upcoming events, reviews of books and films, and a look at the topics that affect us as a library.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    RSS Feed

Picture
​​Library Location
​
14 Midland Ave
Basalt, CO 81621
​970-927-4311
Library Hours
​Mon-Thur: 10AM - 7PM
Fri & Sat: 10AM - 5PM
​Sun: 12- 5PM
Let's Connect!

General

Jobs
​Remote/Wireless Printing
Service Pricing
Friends' Book Store
News & Reviews Blog
​Newsletter Signup
​Full Calendar

Borrowing

Get a Library Card
​Store your Library Card Digitally
​Checkout Times
Renew Materials Online
​Update Your Account
Comments & Suggestions

About 

Staff Directory
​Fine Free Information
Board, Committees, Minutes, and Reports
Financials & Budgets
​Policies & Bylaws
​
BRL District Map
Strategic Plan
  • Programs & Events
    • Full Calendar
    • Music at the Library
  • Our Services
    • Adult Library (Books, DVDs, CDs)
    • Teen & Young Adult Library
    • Children's Library >
      • Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
      • Children's Resources
    • Biblioteca Española
    • Digital Media Library
    • Library of Things
    • Online Resources & Research Databases
  • En Español
  • Library & Community
    • Meet, Study, Work
    • Community Resources
    • Job Seeker Information
  • Support
  • Online Catalog
    • Search Online Catalog
    • Account Login
    • Renew Materials Online