John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) Book

The breathtaking art of John James Audubon's Birds of America has been celebrated throughout the world since it first appeared over 150 years ago. Less well known is Audubon's literary legacy: the magnificent volumes of natural history he published during his lifetime, as well as the remarkable journals, memoirs, and letters left behind at his death. In this volume, Audubon the great nature writer takes his rightful place alongside Audubon the artist.. "Here is the most comprehensive selection of Audubon's writings ever published, along with a spectacular portfolio of his drawings. The "Mississippi River Journal," the foremost record of an American artist's progress, details Audubon's first wilderness bird hunts; it is as fresh in its perceptions of the scenes and characters of the old South as of the forest and its creatures. Selections from his "1826 Journal" follow Audubon to Europe, where after years of relative obscurity and financial distress his abilities were finally recognized. Audubon's masterwork, the five-volume Ornithological Biography, is here represented by 45 entries. Charming, haunting, and violent by turns, these vivid, intimate portraits of the habits and habitats of american birds, from the curious mating rituals of the Wild Turkey to the sublime spectacle of the migration of the now vanished Passenger Pigeon, changed American nature writing forever.

Library Journal

Much of Audubon's other fine writings have been overshadowed by his venerable Birds of America. This volume, however, gives his journals, memoirs, and letters a chance to shine. The book also sports 45 gorgeous color sketches. Readers will undoubtedly find themselves wanting to do some nesting of their own with this marvelous work. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.