The Feather Thief tells the gripping and delightfully random true heist story of a man obsessed

I know very little about fishing. There is a rod involved, sometimes floppy hats, and a lot of patience, which is where any sort of intrigue I’ve had about the subject is lost. I prefer to use my limited store of endurance for things that are not wriggling fish. But I understand how it could be meditative: to watch the sun wink off the crystalline patterns of water, to be grounded in the pull of silence.

This is how author Kirk Johnson found himself, feeling peaceful in a pair of rubber boots, when he first heard of the feather thief.

Edwin Rist, a young American, had stolen 299 bird skins from the British Natural History Museum at Tring. He’d been after the rare feathers these birds wore. Why?

Rist was an avid fly-tier.

Here, Johnson takes a step back in his narrative, delving into the hobby of fly-tying and its history. Fly fishing involves using a lure designed to look like an insect, and these flies are often intricate and beautiful: works of art in their own right. Fly-tiers take pride in their creations, though in modern times, with the feathers of the more striking birds being rare and protected, tiers are forced into using feathers that have been dyed to match the splendor of the originals.

That is the way Rist started, as a little kid with his brother, losing hours in the garage to his craft. He was passionate, and he excelled.

Rist had always had a certain obsessive quality to him, one that he channeled just as ardently into music, becoming a professional flutist. He poured over books depicting the brilliant blues of the magnificent riflebird, and the startling emerald and scarlet of the resplendent quetzal. But he became dissatisfied with the dyed feathers.

Almost jokingly at first, Rist began to plan his heist of the museum, knowing it housed one of the largest bird collections in the world. He possessed a sparking intelligence that turned his musings into something achievable, something he could actually pull off.

Throughout this story, though niche in focus, Johnson snared my attention and never lost it. He writes with a compelling steadiness, and the narrative, almost unbelievable in its nature, reads like a novel. We follow Rist as he grows up, watch him spiral into obsession, and execute his crime.

And then Johnson, intrigued by the story, picks up with his own research. Acting as an amateur sleuth of sorts, he reveals the details and mystique surrounding the case, following different trails and conducting interviews.

The Feather Thief is a fascinating introduction to non-fiction, informative as it is quick-paced, with an unexpected ending. It’s a testament to nature, justice, and the danger of fixation, while remaining true to the genre of true-crime and mystery.