John James Audubon: The Making of an American

This fantastic book has something for everyone. Rhodes does an excellent job of breathing life into Audubon the man without losing touch of Audubon the artist or Audubon the scientist. In the process, he paints a vivid portrait of America of the early 19th century. This is an outstanding work of biography, naturalism, and history wrapped up in one great book. Born to a French planter on what is present day Haiti and raised in France, Audubon came to America at a young age. As he endures a few business failures, Audubon turns back to his first loves: birds and painting. In an age prior to photography, he goes to great lengths to capture the true likeness of birds on paper with the ultimate goal of creating a complete (as possible) catalog of American birds. Some might be shocked by his methods. Few birders today would encourage the hunting of birds as a means of appreciating their beauty. But, we must keep in mind the times he came from and that without this method much of our knowledge of birds would be limited. One thing I truly enjoyed about this biography was the view as Audubon as a man who not only painted birds but knew about them in minute detail because he studies them in the field. It brims over with adventure as Audubon goes on many of his missions to gather more birds. Further, Rhodes does not make the mistake of many a biographer: thoroughly examining their subject while presenting one-dimensional portraits of the other folks in the subject' life. Numerous people, including friends and relatives, are depicted in all their dimensions and shed further light on Audubon and his times. Of particular note is Audubon's wife Lucy, without whom it is doubtful that he could have accomplished all he did. Included in the book are beautiful reproductions of Audubon's art, which most of us have seen. However, as we read of the conditions under which these masterpieces were painted we gain a new respect for these works of art. After reading this book, you will be inspired to grab your binoculars (which JJA didn't have) and go birding. Highly recommended. I think all readers can find something to like in this superb book.

As Richard Rhodes completed the chapters of this wonderful book, he would email them to me for review and comment. I am a Print collector and my own book about Audubon prints describes Audubon's paintings, the extremely valuable prints that were made from them, how they were made, how to authenticate them, where to buy them, and historical context. My comments back to Mr. Rhodes were minimal - a note on bird identification here, another on printmaking techniques there. I actually thought I was a fairly decent writer until I reviewed Rhodes' manuscript. I knew from the first page that I was reading something special and I couldn't wait to see the final published book. Unlike me, Rhodes is a real researcher and writer (winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award) and he chose an excellent subject. The result is the definitive Audubon biography - one that people will still be reading a hundred years from now. If you have any one on your gift list that has brains, they will love this book and you for giving it to them. Sooner or later, someone in Hollywood will realize that it would make an excellent screenplay. Bill Steiner, author of Audubon Art Prints - A Collector's Guide to Every Edition. University of South Carolina Press - 2003

This is an extremely well written, entertaining must read biography about an American Icon. An Icon who was, in fact, an illegitimate French man born in Haiti who came to America via France to escape the Napoleon military draft. It is, of course, interesting that today when we seem to dislike everything French that this amazing, artistic early American icon was very French. Here we experience how Audubon's personal character is developed as he transforms himself through family, his passion for birds and art into that icon of the American character. Rhodes Biography of Audubon highlights Audubon the woodsman (every bit Daniel Boone's counterpart) and the artist/naturalist who created "The Birds of America" drawings and study. Rhodes says of this accomplishment: "When he set out to create a monumental work of art with his own heart and mind and hands, he succeeded - A staggering achievement, as if one man had single-handedly financed and built an Egyptian pyramid." Rhodes points out the cost to Audubon to produce "The Birds of America" was $115,640 (in today's dollars about $2,141,000). What sets Rhodes study apart is his wonderful way of taking the reader on Audubon's life's journey and the journey of his young adoptive country, the United States. Rhodes titles his book "The making of an American" but this could easily have been the making of America. For Audubon traveled and experienced everything from failed business, a major depression, the nations largest earthquake, a major cholera epidemic, the large scale decimation of the carrier pigeons, forests, buffalo, and American Indians. He also met Presidents, the Queen while maintaining a family and marriage under incredibly difficult conditions. The heart of the biography is Audubon's relationship with his wife, Lucy and his two boys. Husband and wife were separated for many years as Audubon traveled to new business ventures, did his field studies on the side of making a living, and traveled back and forth across the Atlantic (I think I counted was at least 10 times in his lifetime). Yet Audubon and Lucy wrote letters and Audubon's writing is so modern and readable that they breathe life into the love affair of his life and Rhodes biography of the man. Also, let me congratulate the publisher Knopf, who have published a quality book which is getting rarer these days. The book is printed on excellent paper, with remarkably clear drawings inserted into the text, and several color plates of Audubon's drawings. My only complait is that they left off the Plate numbers of these drawings which would have made it easy to compare them when they are mentioned in the text. A small and minor isssue in a book I highly recommend.

This is truely a remarkable work. Not only does the author give us a picture of a man, most know little of, his works maybe, but not the man, but also a wonderful look at a country most of us seldom consider. Academic and popular history works tend to flit over this period of our nations history, in particular this aspect of it. In this volume we have a history of a man, a history of art and history of a new country, one which we will never see again. Per usual, Mr. Rhodes has given us a well researched, well written book, simply full of facts and points we should all ponder. Birders of today, myself included, will be and was, rather shocked at Audubon's methodology, but we must remember the times Audubon lived and be a bit open minded about it. I like to compare this work with "The Cotton Kingdom," another work that gives us great insight to early America. All this and a very nice little love story thrown in to boot. What more could we ask for? This new biography was certainly needed and I am please that a author of Mr. Rhodes' calibre decided to take the task on. Recommend you actually purchase this one as it is a book you will probably want to give a second reading down the road...I know I will. I highly recommend.

A new and extensive biography of a man revered but really little known. His pictures of birds are still reprinted. He managed to capture the essence of the bird in a way that really hasn't been done since. He captured in his drawings a feeling that this was the birds life. He captured this in a time before the camera. He was able to capture a sense of movement, of flight that still today is astounding. We know the work of Audubon, but little about him or his life. We now know that he observed the birds, shot a few of them, posed them using wire to hold them in place, drew his pictures and had the birds for dinner. (Not something I suspect that the Audubon society puts at the beginning of their literature.) Audubon's story is almost a defining story for what America was supposed to be. The illegitimate son of the French middle class, coming to America at 18 in part to escape serving in Napoleon's army. He made a marriage out of love that survived failing businesses, moves about the interior of the country and finally a long separation as he went to England to promote his masterpiece, a book of paintings of all of the (known) birds of North America. This book is more than just a biography, it is also a history of a side of America not usually discussed. Among other things it covers the big earthquake in Missouri, the first railroads, a story of the middle part of America.