Description: It was most fortuitous that, on his first visit to Charleston, John James Audubon would meet John Bachman, a Lutheran clergyman and naturalist. Their chance encounter in 1831 and immediate friendship profoundly affected the careers and social ties of these two men. In this elegantly written book, Jay Shuler offers the first in-depth portrayal of the Bachman-Audubon relationship and its significance in the creation of Audubon's works. Drawing on their voluminous correspondence, replete with accounts of their adventures and details of their personal and professional lives, Had I the Wings provides new insights into Audubon's life and work, rescues from obscurity John Bachman's contributions to American ornithology and mammalogy, and illuminates the fascinating relationship between two major nineteenth-century naturalists.

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