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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson

The Feather ThiefThe Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My wife read this book, and loved it, and persistently recommended it to me (I didn't use the word "nag"). Then she organized a book club at MY family reunion, and assigned this book as the subject and it was over. I had to read it.

It was a fascinating read, and in the end, I'm glad I read it. It left me with a bunch of questions however, which I will list here as both my response to the book, and my teaser for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

1. How was the theft really committed?
2. How did an ex-military guy ever get paid to write this book?
3. Is there another side to this story that isn't being told? Every attempt I've heard so far to justify, even in part, the events in this book has fallen very flat.
4. While I'm not a fan of the over-used term "sustainable", the fly tying community is so obviously not sustainable that there isn't another term to use. How do they justify that?
5. While I found the blatant nature of the crime disturbing, and the attitude of the perpetrator annoying, and the failure of law enforcement and modern society to address his wrong-doing astounding, I am left with the unanswered question of what am I supposed to do with this information? I am a doer by nature, but can't join some save-the-animals type group, since I generally don't align with their assertions. Yet, this is a specific infraction being committed for an unjustifiable reason. Shouldn't we DO something about it?

So go pick this up and give it a go. It is a worthwhile read, and then there will be one more person in the world who can help me decide what to do with it.

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