The Dragon Behind the Glass

A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish

By: Emily Voigt

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

A young man is murdered for his prized pet fish. An Asian tycoon buys a single specimen for $150,000. Meanwhile, a pet detective chases smugglers through the streets of New York. Delving into an outlandish realm of obsession, paranoia, and criminality, The Dragon Behind the Glass tells the story of a fish like none other: a powerful predator dating to the age of the dinosaurs. Treasured as a status symbol believed to bring good luck, the Asian arowana is bred on high-security farms in Southeast Asia and sold by the hundreds of thousands each year. In the United States, however, it's protected by the Endangered Species Act and illegal to bring into the country - though it remains the object of a thriving black market. From the South Bronx to Singapore, journalist Emily Voigt follows the trail of the fish, ultimately embarking on a years-long quest to find the arowana in the wild. With a captivating blend of personal reporting, history, and science, The Dragon Behind the Glass traces our modern fascination with aquarium fish back to the era of exploration when intrepid naturalists stood on the cutting edge of modern science, discovering new and wondrous species in jungles all over the world.

©2016 Emily Voigt (P)2016 Tantor

This is a great book.

It is a first hand view of the aquarium world and what remains of our planet’s fresh water fish.

Gripping

As an semi professional aquarist this gripped me. I devoured in about 2 two days of frantic reading. It brought to light some of the darker and easily ignored sides of the aquarium trade (my dearest passion) and made me ask some really tough questions about my life. Anyone who is has an aquarium should give this a listen.

About fish and men

Great story where the storytelling-performance was an 'acquired taste' . Very fast and not really nice intonated in the begin, the story was that interesting that or the performance become better later on or I wasn't bothered by it anymore then.

Story itself is great: about an elusive fish, the aquarists world, some great characters , some good travels and it has a bit of pop science approach:, loved it as relaxing audiobook while commuting.

Very Interesting.

Loved it, Kept me wanting more each time I stopped. An adventure worth navigating, especially as a fish enthusiast.

I loved the real adventure

In finding knowledge about the struggle to know, conserve, and possess aquarium fish, I find myself wanting to know more about the scientific explorers. Inspiring and and interesting listen.

You have to be a nature research lover…

I am! I found the quest for the fish fascinating, but I’m a nature geek. If one does not have this innate interest, I can see the book being uninspiring. Great detail and dive into the species.

Excellent storytelling, good content.

I've wanted to read this book since it first came out. Failing to do that I decided Audible was the way to go. Coming from a background of working at a local fish store in my teen years I appreciated every aspect of this book. The mystique of the Arowana was around even then (mid-90's). I loved finding out the background, history, and modern status of such an amazing fish.

Not like Tiger King.

This was a very good story, much less dramatic than I was led to believe but good nonetheless.

Fascinating

Enjoyed the story and appreciated the extensive research done by the author. The reader made me believe she was the author .

Excellent Book for Aquarists & Naturalist Alike

Was finally able to listen to this book. Loved it! Even though the author had no previous experience in the subject, it was well researched and authentic. As a life-long fish enthusiast, there was a lot of new and useful information contained within. Well-written and entertaining!