Senator George P. McLean's crowning achievement was overseeing passage of one of the country's first and most important wildlife conservation laws, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The MBTA, which is still in effect today, has saved billions of birds from senseless killing and likely prevented the extinction of entire bird species. A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate puts McLean's victory for birds in the context of his distinguished forty-five-year career marked by many acts of reform during a time of widespread corruption and political instability. Author Will McLean Greeley traces McLean's rise from obscurity as a Connecticut farm boy to national prominence, when he advised five US presidents and helped lead change and shape events as a US senator from 1911 to 1929. One reviewer writes: "And there's a bonus: This book is also a love song to a distant relative. We need more historians who truly care about the people they're writing about, and Greeley does just that."
"On one level this is a fascinating, and thoroughly researched, glimpse into the workings of US politics in the early twentieth century. On another level it's an inspiring story of one man's determination and steadfast commitment to securing legal protections for birds. I am glad to know more about George McLean."
David Sibley, author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds
"Will Greeley has written a careful scholarly work about an influential politician whom historians have, unfortunately, neglected. This is a thoughtful, and very nicely written, book about people and politics. Not to mention: birds too! And there's a bonus: this book is also a love song to a distant relative. We need more historians who truly care about the people they're writing about, and Greele
Robert D. Johnston, PhD, historian, University of Illinois/Chicago
