Kirk Wallace Johnson

Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century

The Feather Thief

As heard on NPR's This American Life "Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller." --Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime books ever." --Christian Science Monitor A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tiers and plume peddlers, for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief. On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin's obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins--some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Russel Wallace, who'd risked everything to gather them--and escaped into the darkness. Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man's relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man's destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.

Megan Snodgrass

Okay, I'm going to start off by saying I had previously heard about this story on This American Life some odd years ago, and similar to the author I was immediately fascinated by the story. So much so that I have repeatedly brought up this story on first dates (other common topics - cults, Titanic, Mt Everest) Anywho, when this book came out I already knew I was going to read it (Shoutout to Michelle for sending me a copy of the book). Firstly, I love that the author became as obsessed with this as I did - it's nice to have a kindred spirit in researching bizarre stories. Secondly, the time and detail that he put in to diving into the history of how the skins that Edwin stole were originally acquired by the British Natural History Museum, Salmon Fliers, the Exotic Bird Trade, and weird Victorian preoccupations was absolutely phenomenal. The book started off extremely strong and gave me information I never knew I needed to know. 

For the second half of the book, the author went into the details of the feather heist, and the trial that followed. All of this was splendid, as well as an interview with Edwin himself who.. lacks really any sort of remorse to his actions. I think that is when I would have been okay to have a natural end to the book. The author then goes into a few chapters regarding his quest to find the missing skins.. (view spoiler)[ Spoiler he doesn't find all of them, and we may never know what happened to them. My guess is Edwin either still has them locked away in temperature regulated storage unit at an unknown location, OR sold them and has a secret offshore account.  (hide spoiler)] While I think it a worthwhile cause, I just think it wasn't as interesting as the first 3/4 of the book. 

If you're into true crime or unique history or just really big on birds definitely check this out!

Fraser Simons

Weirdly compelling. I didn’t think I’d be as interested in the subject as I was. Intersectional with mental health, the Justice system, ecofacism, colonial narratives around nature and it’s perception, this book around the theft of feathers from a museum taps into something esoteric yet, somehow, universal. 

Great narration and well written. Doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. I don’t think it will blow anyone away, but also manages to be much better than it seemingly should be, by rights.

'A tale of obsession ... vivid and arresting' - The Times One summer evening in 2009, twenty-year-old musical prodigy Edwin Rist broke into theNatural History Museum at Tring, home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world. Once inside, Rist grabbed as many rare bird specimens as he was able to carry before escaping into the darkness. Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist-deep in a river in New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide first told him about the heist. But what would possess a person to steal dead birds? And had Rist paid for his crime? In search of answers, Johnson embarked upon a worldwide investigation, leading him into the fiercely secretive underground community obsessed with the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Was Edwin Rist a genius or narcissist? Mastermind or pawn?

Ryan B Harvey

A fascinating exploration of an independent investigation of an exotic feather heist and its aftermath.

Aimee Kitching 

Fantastic read , literally couldn’t put it down. 

However as fly tyer myself I naturally ready this from a fly tyers perspective , have to say it left me with a mixed bag of emotions and feeling about the fly tying industry and community. 

Another classics case of how a small minority’s spoils it for the rest , tarring everyone with the same brush

"Meh."

I got lost in the long drawn out history. I was done completely when Johnson tried to suggest that he could diagnose Asperger's and autism in a single interview compared to a clinical psychologist/psychiatrist.

This is a weird book. It doesn't know its identity and it suffers from being padded to reach a page count. It was based on Johnson's real time investigation and instead of summing things up, we got full dialogue of interviews and reading of forum posts. I had so many weird veins of arguments and opinions of one crime that I just quit caring. One moment he's ranting about the Asperger's defense, then he's arguing with people who think museums should prove what the specimens are being used for, then he's against fly tying before defending them, and it just goes on.

Maybe it would be different if you liked fly tying. But honestly, you could probably find the same level of information in forums. There weren't a ton of questions answered, and I don't get why he even investigated, because the museum had already written the theft off as a loss. It just seemed like a waste.

The Feather Thief Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century

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