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Jan 29, 2020
Rachel N.
rated it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
england,
nonfiction,
science,
read-in-2020,
pbt-vote-challenge,
birds,
fishing-flies,
robbery,
wildlife
The true story of Edwin Rist an American student studying in England who as a teenager became obsessed with the art of tying Victorian fishing flies, which includes the use of very rare feathers. Edwin robs the Tring museum of 299 bird skins,many over 150 years old, to use in his ties and to sell the feathers for huge sums of money.
This book is very well written and moves at a quick pace. A lot of the people in this book ticked me off. So many fly tiers the author spoke dismissed the theft of ...more
This book is very well written and moves at a quick pace. A lot of the people in this book ticked me off. So many fly tiers the author spoke dismissed the theft of ...more
Liked the writing when it was all facts, liked it less when author began describing personal interviews. Facts tell an unexpected & bizarre story, easy to follow and feel fascination build. Background re: Wallace explorations, millinery, fly-tying also interesting because new to me and again unexpected in the details. Interviews ... were sometimes disappointing. A natural history museum curator & professor of ornithology was quoted using more 4-letter words than maybe any other person in the sto
...more
Wow! What a story! Story of a most bizarre crime, of natural history, of the generations of individuals who sacrificed so much to preserve such knowledge for posterity, of legal systems, of fly tieing, of fly fishing, of human nature, and of the author's own personal quest. It was a fascinating tale, and my curiosity has been piqued in so many new directions. This one will stay with me for a long time. Well done Mr. Johnson.
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3.5 stars
This is the "one book one village" pick for the library I work
at. Part true crime, part history, part character study. Should make for some interesting book discussions. ...more
This is the "one book one village" pick for the library I work
at. Part true crime, part history, part character study. Should make for some interesting book discussions. ...more
Jun 26, 2018
Lisa
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Meghan
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Kelly
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May 15, 2020
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Mar 31, 2021
Anya
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