The Missouri River Journals of John James Audubon

Historians, biographers, and scholars of John James Audubon and natural history have long been mystified by Audubons 1843 Missouri River expedition, for his journals of the trip were thought to have been destroyed by his granddaughter Maria Rebecca Audubon. Daniel Patterson is the first scholar to locate and assemble three important fragments of the 1843 Missouri River journals, and here he offers a stunning transcription and critical edition of Audubons last journey through the American West. Pattersons new edition of the journalsunknown to Audubon scholars and fansoffers a significantly different understanding of the very core of Audubons life and work. Readers will be introduced to a more authentic Audubon, one who was concerned about the disappearance of Americas wild animal species and yet also loved to hunt and display his prowess in the wilderness. This edition reveals that Audubons famous late conversion to conservationism on this expedition was, in fact, a literary fiction. Maria Rebecca Audubon created this myth when she rewrote her grandfathers journals for publication to make him into a visionary conservationist. In reality the journals detail almost gratuitous hunting predations throughout the course of Audubons last expedition. The Missouri River Journals of John James Audubon is the definitive presentation of Americas most famous naturalist on his last expedition and assesses Audubons actual environmental ethic amid his conflicted relationship with the natural world he so admired and depicted in his iconic works.