John James Audubon: The Making of an American

John James Audubon: The Making of an American
by Richard Rhodes

John James Audubon: The Making of an American
List Price: $18.95
Our Price: $9.81
You Save: $9.14 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.04 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Richard Rhodes
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-04-11
ISBN: 037571393X
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Vintage

Book Reviews of John James Audubon: The Making of an American

Book Review: MAGNIFICENT!
Summary: 5 Stars

This book is nothing short of MAGNIFICENT! Rhodes is an elegant writer who knows and loves his subject as well as history and gets it all right. This is more than the biography of one brilliant man; it is a history of frontier America in its early days and is populated with much more than birds. There are Indians, friends, enemies, 4-legged animals, and yes, loads and loads of American birds. The voyages back and forth from Europe to America are enlightening and amazing to think about. I knew next to nothing about birds when I bought this book; I bought it because of an interesting book review I read a couple of years ago.

There is another Audobon book that came out the same year, Under a Wild Sky by Souder, and I own that book, too. The Souder book was a finalist for the Pulitzer, but I really don't know how it could have been selected over this book by Richard Rhodes. For example, this book goes into all the details of Audubon's personal life right up to his last days on earth, whereas the Souder book covers most of it in a few paragraphs at the end of his book.

I LOVED this book! I had a couple of bird books next to my chair as I was reading (one, a condensed version of Audubon's Birds of America), and referred to them throughout reading, which was fun and very enlightening and educational. Audubon knew and loved his birds so well that he even wrote biographies of individual species, and indeed individual birds themselves! What could be more amazing than that?

This is a truly delicious book that I wish more people would read. Right now there are only 18 individual reviews, which is much less than this book should have. I always blame the publishers for not doing justice to the fabulous books they are entrusted with. Do yourself a favor and read this special book! It is about a great man, yes, but also covers so much more. In these days of being green, Audubon predicted (and saw the beginnings of) the sad ruination and ultimate demise of nature in all its forms, and that was in the early 1800s. He was a pioneer as well as a bright man, and a funny man, and a driven man who loved and adored his family and his birds.

Summary of John James Audubon: The Making of an American

John James Audubon came to America as a dapper eighteen-year-old eager to make his fortune. He had a talent for drawing and an interest in birds, and he would spend the next thirty-five years traveling to the remotest regions of his new country?often alone and on foot?to render his avian subjects on paper. The works of art he created gave the world its idea of America. They gave America its idea of itself.

Here Richard Rhodes vividly depicts Audubon?s life and career: his epic wanderings; his quest to portray birds in a lifelike way; his long, anguished separations from his adored wife; his ambivalent witness to the vanishing of the wilderness. John James Audubon: The Making of an American is a magnificent achievement.

Artists, A-Z Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Artists, A-Z Books
Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintings ImageRembrandt: His Life, His Paintings
by Gary Schwartz
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1991-11-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $48.50
Life with Lowry ImageLife with Lowry
by Tilly Marshall
Hutchinson; Published: 1981-02-16; Hardcover; Book
Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life ImageAndrew Wyeth: A Secret Life
by Richard Meryman
Harper; Published: 1996-10-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.92
Price in other shops: $35.00
Georg Baselitz: Paintings 1964-67 [exhibition: May 1-31, 1985] ImageGeorg Baselitz: Paintings 1964-67 [exhibition: May 1-31, 1985]
by Georg Baselitz
Anthony d'Offay Gallery; Paperback; Book
Florence and Its Beauty: A Practical Guidebook to the Town and Its Monuments with 350 Illustrations and a Plan of the Principal Places of Interest ImageFlorence and Its Beauty: A Practical Guidebook to the Town and Its Monuments with 350 Illustrations and a Plan of the Principal Places of Interest
by Sandra Orienti
G. Ramella - Florence, Italy; Published: 1956; Unknown Binding; Book
Lord of the Rings Sketchbook ImageLord of the Rings Sketchbook
by Alan Lee
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2008-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Picasso ImagePicasso
by Patrick O'Brian
Harvill; Published: 1994; Paperback; Book
The Art of Adventure ImageThe Art of Adventure
by Galen Rowell
Collins Pub San Francisco; Published: 1989-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.92
Price in other shops: $19.95
Calder Jewelry ImageCalder Jewelry
Other Distribution; Published: 2007-12-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $350.00
POPism: The Warhol Sixties ImagePOPism: The Warhol Sixties
by Andy Warhol, Pat Hackett
Mariner Books; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.27
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar Books and other products
John Audubon: Young Naturalist (Young Patriots series) ImageJohn Audubon: Young Naturalist (Young Patriots series)
by Miriam E. Mason
Patria Press, Inc; Published: 2006-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.62
Price in other shops: $9.95
Audubon's Birds of America Coloring Book ImageAudubon's Birds of America Coloring Book
by John James Audubon, Coloring Books
Dover; Dover Publications; Published: 1974-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.12
Price in other shops: $3.95
John James Audubon's Journal of 1826: The Voyage to The Birds of America ImageJohn James Audubon's Journal of 1826: The Voyage to The Birds of America
by John James Audubon
University of Nebraska Press; Published: 2011-07-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $38.47
Price in other shops: $50.00
Lucy Audubon: A Biography (Southern Biography) ImageLucy Audubon: A Biography (Southern Biography)
by Carolyn E. DeLatte
Louisiana State University Press; Published: 2008-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.66
Price in other shops: $23.00
Audubon's Birds of America: The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio ImageAudubon's Birds of America: The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio
by John James Audubon
Abbeville Press; Published: 2003-07-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $91.76
Price in other shops: $185.00
Audubon Art Prints: A Collector's Guide to Every Edition ImageAudubon Art Prints: A Collector's Guide to Every Edition
by Bill Steiner
University of South Carolina Press; Published: 2003-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.36
Price in other shops: $29.95
John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings (Library of America) ImageJohn James Audubon: Writings and Drawings (Library of America)
by John James Audubon
Library of America; Published: 1999-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.18
Price in other shops: $40.00
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12) ImageThe Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12)
by Jacqueline Davies
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; Published: 2004-09-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.09
Price in other shops: $16.00
The Audubon Reader (Everyman's Library) ImageThe Audubon Reader (Everyman's Library)
by John James Audubon
Everyman's Library; Published: 2006-04-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.36
Price in other shops: $27.50
Audubon's Birds Of America (Tiny Folio) ImageAudubon's Birds Of America (Tiny Folio)
by Roger Tory Peterson
Abbeville Press; Published: 2005-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.36
Price in other shops: $12.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories