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"By the time he died in 1881 at the age of seventy-eight, the British ornithologist John Gould had produced over forty lavishly illustrated books on birds, including some three thousand lithographs whose accuracy and artistic value eclipsed those of his greatest rival, the American John James Audubon. Yet in the course of his career Gould also alienated colleagues, collected an impressive body of enemies, worked his wife to death, passed off the lithographs of Edward Lear as his own, and demanded incredible sacrifices (in one case, the ultimate sacrifice) from his dedicated collectors, whom more often than not he would then forget to credit." "Although in many respects a complete cad, John Gould was also fortunate in enjoying the love of his large family and the respect of his devoted underlings, some of whom toiled for over forty years at his workshop on London's Broad Street. It is paradoxes such as these that capture the essence of both the man and his age: the scientist who leads Darwin toward the theory of natural selection yet who himself shrinks from it, for fear of offending his subscribers; the observant naturalist who fails to notice the worst cholera epidemic in London's history raging on his very doorstep; the dedicated conservationist who could slaughter a thousand birds in an afternoon." "In this captivating, informative, and often humorous biography Isabella Tree brings the amazing John Gould to life, creating a picture of the man and his habitat as brilliantly as John Gould's books captured hummingbirds, toucans, and other members of the feathered tribe - with color, vibrancy, and art."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved