John James Audubon and The Birds of America (The Huntington Library Classics) Hardcover – Illustrated, November 15, 2006

The first part of this small book is a brief biography of Audubon. It starts with his childhood, and ends with the publication of his famous work. The remainder of the book is a selection of 24 plates from "Birds of America" with some commentary and a selection of the bird's account from his "Ornithological Biography".This book is more of a general survey of his life and work - a great introduction, but not much in the way of details. If you're very interested in Audubon's life, then instead get one of the many recent biographies that have been written about him. And if you would like to check out his artwork, then I HIGHLY recommend  Audubon's Birds Of America (The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio) . It's expensive, but worth every bit of it. The folio not only reproduces the artwork gloriously, it also includes commentary on the plates by Roger Tory Peterson - a feature that I was really disappointed to find missing in this book.

This book includes gorgeous illustrations from the Huntington Library's copy of "Birds of America" and commentary by Audubon himself.