Ep. 848: How America Almost Lost Its Birds

Context:

McCommons found this 1904 memoir about a market hunter known as the 'Quail King' and 'Cold Storage Man' who wrote about his life hunting birds commercially and preserving them for transport to markets.

Context:

This is the main book being discussed throughout the podcast - the guest James McCommons wrote it about how America nearly wiped out dozens of bird species and then brought many back from extinction.

Context:

The host mentions this book in connection to Northern Michigan University where the guest taught, noting that Robert Traver is 'kind of a big deal up there' and discussing the real murder case that inspired the book.

Context:

The guest mentions this as a previous book he wrote about George Shires, the world's first wildlife photographer, which led him to become interested in writing his current book about bird conservation.