Milgrom has in Still Life opened up a whole world to readers.' - Chicago Tribune ' literate, fascinating history.' - People 'Hilarious but respectful.' - Washington Post 'Engrossing.' - New Yorker ' delightful debut. Transformed from a curious onlooker to an empathetic participant, Milgrom takes us deep into the world of taxidermy and reveals its uncanny appeal. She even picks up a scalpel and stuffs her own squirrel. Milgrom tags along with a Canadian bear trapper and three-time World Taxidermy Champion as he re-creates an extinct Irish elk using DNA studies and Paleolithic cave art for reference. Into this subculture of intensely passionate animal lovers ventures journalist Melissa Milgrom, whose trek stretches from the family workshop of the last chief taxidermist for the American Museum of Natural History to the studio where an English sculptor preserves the animals for Damien Hirst’s most disturbing artwork.

Yet few realize that behind these 'stuffed' animals is a world of intrepid hunterexplorers, eccentric naturalists, and museum artisans, all devoted to the paradoxical pursuit of creating the illusion of life. (Mar.Taxidermy is everywhere these days-from hip restaurants to posh clothing stores.

Potter’s Museum of Curiosities as collectors bid for auction lots of Victorian-era displays of squirrels drinking port and “bespectacled gentlemen lobsters.” Though her own squeamish attempts to preserve a squirrel are less than stellar, Milgrom’s initial uneasy curiosity blossoms into genuine appreciation for a true art form, an enthusiasm the author imparts with style in this substantial study. She visits the English sculptor who preserves dead animals for British artist Damien Hirst’s displays explores the arcane subculture of American taxidermy conventions where hundreds vie for best in show awards and wanders the halls of the bankrupt Mr. In this absorbing blend of bright-eyed reportage and hands-on participation, journalist Milgrom demystifies the creepy art of bringing dead creatures back to life and dispels the myth that taxidermists merely “stuff animals.” The author’s quest to understand the compulsion of obsessed hobbyists and exacting scientists alike to duplicate what nature has created starts in a New Jersey family workshop, where three generations-including the last chief taxidermist for the American Museum of Natural History-have mounted everything from three-toed sloths to fireflies.

Still Life by Melissa Milgrom