John James Audubon was America's dominant wildlife artist. His name remains synonymous with birds and bird conservation the world over. This book presents 'bird biographies', journal accounts of his river journeys and hunting trips with the Osage Indians, and a sampling of brief stories that have long been out of print.

Here are vivid 'bird biographies', his correspondence with Lucy, journal accounts of his dramatic river journeys and hunting trips with the Osage Indians, and a generous sampling of brief stories that have long been out of print, 'The Burning of the Forests' and 'Kentucky Barbecue on the Fourth of July' among them. "The Audubon Reader" is an unforgettable encounter with early America: with its wildlife and birds, with its people and its primordial wilderness.