Jonathan K (Max Outlier)’s Reviews > The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century > Status Update

While I'm not a fly fisher nor have I ever cast a line, I've watched the Robert Reford film, A River Runs Through It, numerous times. For those like myself, we have no idea how passionate these people are about fishing nor the intricacies of fly tying. I mention this since Edward Rist, was one such person who stole feathers from museums to make flies

I doubt any of us realize how fashion trends caused the extinction of nature's beauty nor the murder of innocent animals. We've heard about how Rhino's were killed for their horns, and sharks for their fins, but few if any of us realize that millions upon millions of birds were done away with for their colorful feathers and skins to be used in women's hats and accessories. And when this occurs, smugglers get involved

Good stuff!

Stories like this remind the reader of the importance of nature and it's blessings and how man's greed gets in the way. The extinction of species is akin to genocide, and the loss unfathomable. While we show disdain for racial injustice, Nature is overlooked, seas, are over fished and animals are factory raised for profit.

Fascinating how Russell Wallace, an unknown enthusiast in 1800s dedicated himself to cataloging thousands of species from remote islands in the southern hemisphere. While Charles Darwin's fame for Origin of the Species grew, Wallace had accomplished more by documenting his discoveries about the rarest of birds and their evolution. This sets the stage for what will follow

Another debut, the fly fishing author spins a factual tale of Edwin Rist, an English musician and thief of rare bird feathers stolen from a history museum. A narrative style reminiscent of best selling mystery authors I'm eager to see how it unfolds