This is a book that aspires to do for the aquarium trade what orchid thief did for botany. To a certain extent it succeeds. You learn about the delicate balance between conservation and husbandry, see some of the ugly effects of exploitation and meet some weirdly obsessed and colorful characters along the way. You get glimpses of FARC territory and an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon, travel through the wilds of Myanmar and meet Kenny the fish. I reccomend having an ipad near so you can look up the beautiful fish she talks about, the one thing I felt the book could have used more of was visuals, though there is a nce Alfred Russell Wallace sketch of one of the title fish. ( )

Fun and engaging story, in the new vein of nonfiction research that's so delightful when done right. I appreciate the insight into one effect of global environmental damage woven through the narrative.


Gift from sis. Because at 8 I loved arawana. ( )

Mostly Travelogue with Forced Adventure

Emily Voigt's "The Dragon Behind the Glass" is a breezy read. It lacks the rigor of science and nature books, but fits in nicely as a travel book. Unfortunately, the travels and adventures drag on with the author second-guessing her own motives, asking rhetorical questions and saving the answers for later, and ultimately replacing her original goal with a secondary goal and claiming success.

Voigt travels around East Asia and South America looking for a rare fish in the wild. After she buys her tickets and plans her travel, she slips in doubts about FARC rebels, Karen rebels, Mindinao rebels, and even, yes, concerns about cannibals. This adds to the excitement of her traveling, but it comes off as forced and unrealistic. By placing these kinds of doubts, among others, in the reader's mind, Voigt creates tension that is never materialized. It is exposition without climax.

Voigt meets several interesting characters during her travels, including Kenny the Fish and Heiko Bleher. They are both portrayed as arrogant but charming.

The book is very easy to read, which says to me that Voigt is a very talented author. Although I did not particularly enjoy this book because of the narrative let-downs, I would like to read other material from the author. ( )

Emily Voigt writes in that part-historical examination, part-author's exploration narrative that [book:The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks|6493208] also treads, and the result ended up being a very readable, fascinating book. Multiple threads (the exotic pet trade industry, regulation of endangered species, what is a species and who names them, etc.) are woven together deftly as she starts with an initial question ("Why would someone pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a homely-faced fish?") and ends up diving headfirst into obsessively pursuing the dragonfish, searching for any that may still be in the wild.

I'm a hobby aquarist who has nothing larger than a 29 gallon at the moment, but the monster fishkeepers always intrigue me. Heiko Bleher is the most prominent ichthyologist in the book with an intrepid personality, though Tyson Roberts looms equally large as does Ralf Britz.

Minor quibbles: I'm a little surprised that she hadn't really known much about Linnaeus until she pursued the arowana story (especially if she's a science writer for Radiolab and other places). If you want a deeper dive into the taxonomy of what the Asian arowana is vs. the South American species or how exactly do purchasers of these monster fish take care of them, look elsewhere. Otherwise, it's a well-crafted personal narrative blended with natural history and taxonomy with a dash of travelogue. ( )