T. Gilbert Pearson (1873-1943) was one of the most influential ornithologists in North America, crusading for the cause of conservation a century before the modern movement to save the earth's resources. Working in the American Ornithologists' Union, Pearson and other pioneering conservationists radically altered public attitudes toward birds, lobbied laws through state leislatures, and involved the national government in bird protection. Their activities, documented in this biography of Pearson's early career, spearheaded the movement that eventually led to today's Audubon societies.