"Jean-Jacques" Audubon was born in 1785 in Haiti, the illegitimate child of a Frenchman and a servant. As he grew up his father officially adopted him and sent him the the United States to make his mark as a businessman. Audubon did enjoy his time in the US and met and married a young woman but sadly all of his business ventures ended in ruins and he was even forced to spend some time in debtor's prison. Once he got out he turned his back on the world of investments and headed out to create a new a new encyclopedia of birds of the United States. This graphic biography captures much about the way Audubon worked and his struggles. In his preface the author freely admits that the reader may be surprised by Audubon's methods which involved shooting a lot of specimens before arranging the birds into natural poses with wires often depicting them eating, fighting and hunting and otherwise interacting in their environment. The illustrations are spectacular in this vivid account.