Ahoy there mateys! This be one a true crime book about one of the greatest naturalist thefts of all time – of bird skins from the British Museum of Natural History. The reason – their feathers for use in fishing lures. Aye matey, ye did read that correctly. Fishing lures that aren’t even used to fish. Who would think that that would be a big business? Well this book looks into the theft of the birds by a 20 year old flutist studying in London. That part ended unsatisfactorily by me standards. But this is more than just about that crime. This also looks into the history of the feather trade – like how women’s fashion almost decimated song birds. It discusses the theory of evolution and how Darwin had a competitor in Alfred Russel Wallace, the bird collector of many of those stolen skins. It talks about the history of fly fishing – which is weirder beyond belief. Such historical forays were interesting. While the poor handling of the crime angered me beyond belief (through no fault of the author), the book kept me interested in topics that, before this book, I would have found boring.

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