More than a century and a half after his death, John James Audubon-flamboyant, intense, garrulous, insecure, and yet gifted beyond measure-remains one of the most compelling figures in American history. In this fine new biography, Gregory Nobles brings 'the American Woodsman' back to full, vivid life, capturing the artist's many facets as Audubon himself captured the essence of his beloved ... Read morebirds. -Scott Weidensaul, author of Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding Historian Gregory Nobles explicates the man in all his complexity. . . . Deftly dissecting the multifaceted life of the Frenchman who came to embody the American pioneer more than any natural-born citizen, Nobles balances fresh anecdotes with skepticism [and] delivers a captivating portrait of a self-taught, self-made man who out of passion to paint America's birds illustrated a country ripe with possibilities. -American History Compulsively readable and fascinating. Gregory Nobles's bottom-to-top assessment of the entire tableau of Audubon lore is terrific. -Daniel Lewis, author of The Feathery Tribe: Robert Ridgway and the Modern Study of Birds An elegant book that adroitly weaves together a portrait of a man of genius and an account of the cultural and economic worlds in which he worked. -Ann Fabian, author of The Skull Collectors: Race, Science, and America's Unburied Dead Show Less