Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of the Birds of America

In the century and a half since John James Audubon’s death, his name has become synonymous with wildlife conservation and natural history. But few people know what a complicated figure he was—or the dramatic story behind The Birds of America—as told in this “superb introduction to the artist and the man” (New York Times).

Before Audubon, ornithological illustrations depicted scaled-down birds perched in static poses. Wheeling beneath storm-racked skies or rippi...