The difference between the two books, however, is that Winged Obsession seems to revel in the drama and entertainment of this story, really playing up the fun of the cat-and-mouse chase toward the criminal in the moments when The Orchid Thief would have stepped back towards a more subtle conclusion. Like The Orchid Thief, Winged Obsession explores a subculture of well-respected activity - in this case, bug collecting - to try and understand what would make a participant make the leap from collector to criminal. Long Review: I don’t think there’s any way to read Winged Obsession and not constantly compare it to The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean’s 1998 look into the world of the illegal orchid trade.
Those who do it must do it.” - Jeanette Winterson “ collecting is as obsession, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. Fish and Wildlife Agent tries to take down the Indiana Jones/Hannibal Lecter of the illegal bug smuggling world.Īnalogy Review: The Orchid Thief : The Wire :: Winged Obsession : White Collar
You can download this and other episodes at Podbean or at iTunes.Title: Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World’s Most Notorious Butterfly SmugglerĪcquired: From the publisher for review consideration Her most recent book, Winged Obsession, is Jessica’s first non-fiction book. Rachel has an unwavering devotion to tracking down the enemies of rare and endangered species and, in each book, solves a mystery focused around real world wildlife crimes. She is also the author of ten crime novels featuring the fictional character of US Fish and Wildlife Service special agent Rachel Porter. She's been published in the New York Times Magazine, OMNI, Travel + Leisure, Audubon, National Wildlife, Mother Jones, Delta's Sky magazine, and many others. Jessica Speart is a freelance journalist specializing in wildlife enforcement issues. As Speart describes in this interview, “The way you get a perfect specimen is to kill them shortly after they’re born.” There’s no other way to make sure its wings remain unused and in perfect condition. Whenever the wings are damaged, the value of the butterfly drops dramatically. They do this so that they can end up with perfect specimens-and a higher price. Butterfly poachers often pursue the most endangered species, and many prowl national parks where they collect butterfly eggs to raise in a controlled environment.
While habitat loss is the most significant threat to butterflies, poaching adds to the stress on these delicate insects – so much so that when criminals target the rare species, extinction becomes a real possibility.
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