The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish

by Emily Voigt

A riveting journey into the bizarre world of the Asian arowana or “dragon fish”—the world’s most expensive aquarium fish—reveals a surprising history with profound implications for the future of wild animals and human beings alike.

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, venturing deep into some of the last remaining tropical wildernesses on earth.

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. In an age when freshwater fish now comprise one of the most rapidly vanishing groups of animals on the planet, Voigt unearths a paradoxical truth behind the dragon fish’s rise to fame—one that calls into question how we protect the world’s rarest species. An elegant exploration of the human conquest of nature, The Dragon Behind the Glass revels in the sheer wonder of life’s diversity and lays bare our deepest desire—to hold onto what is wild.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Nature, History, Audiobook, Biology

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2016

About the author

Emily Voigt is a journalist specializing in science and culture. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, OnEarth, and Isotope: A Journal of Literary Science and Nature Writing, as well as on the programs Radiolab and This American Life. The recipient of a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship, she holds degrees in English Literature and Journalism from Columbia University. Her first book, THE DRAGON BEHIND THE GLASS, won the 2017 Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers.

Reviews

[Persephone's Pomegranate · Rating 4 out of 5]

As he slipped off his motorbike and moved closer to the door, he noticed the padlock was missing. Lifting the grille, he stepped gingerly into the dark, narrow space crowded with gurgling aquariums that cast a dim fluorescent glow. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that the shop was tidy as ever, goldfish and guppies swimming idly in their tanks.

Taking a step forward, however, his shoe crunched on broken glass, and he looked down to see a streak of crimson on the concrete floor. Blood led to more blood, tracks suggesting a wounded animal trying to escape on all fours. What the father encountered at the end of this grisly trail would sear itself in his mind, waking him in the night for the rest of his life: his sweet boy lying crumpled on the ground, stabbed ten times. He was dead—viciously slashed, his neck slit so deeply he was nearly decapitated.

The old man began to shake uncontrollably as he stumbled outside, calling for help. But it was too late. The police would find neither a murder weapon nor a single fingerprint. The victim’s wallet was still in his pocket, contents intact. Only one thing was missing. Above Chan Kok Kuan’s lifeless body, the tanks of the Asian arowana loomed empty. All twentysome dragon fish were gone.

I had several pet turtles as a child. None of them lived long (whether due to illness or my inexperience as a child, I don't know). We always had fish in our household (tropical and cold water). And we had cats. A weird combo, I know. That's just how we rolled, I guess.

We had a few birds at various stages (I was never much of a bird person). Two German Shepherds. One I liked, the other I feared.

Then there was our pet alligator, whom I often took on walks.

Just kidding. We never did have an alligator. I wanted to, though.

That's how I began my life-long obsession with fish, reptiles, and all things fluffy.

I had a fish that terrified me. I dreaded every time I had to feed that creature. The Asian Arowana, also known as the dragon fish, is not something I would want in my house (not that I could afford it). There's also the fact that it's illegal to import, purchase, or sell them. But that hasn't stopped wealthy businessmen from acquiring these watery dragons by any means necessary. They are so coveted people kill to own them.

Dragons. Conspiracy. Intrigue. Murder. Is this a non-fiction book about fish or an episode of Game of Thrones?



In Chinese, the creature is known as lóng yú, the dragon fish, for its sinuous body plated with large scales as round and shiny as coins. At maturity, the primitive predator reaches the length of a samurai sword, about two to three feet, and takes on a multihued sheen. A pair of whiskers juts from its lower lip, and two gauzy pectoral fins extend from its sides, suggesting a dragon in flight. This resemblance has led to the belief that the fish brings prosperity and good fortune, acting as a protective talisman to ward off evil and harm.

They can grow up to 3 feet long (captive Arowanas tend to be smaller than their wild counterparts) with a price tag of over $300,000. They are very territorial and aggressive.

An expensive fish with a bitchy personality that likes to jump? In the immortal words of Randy Jackson, that's gonna be a no from me, dawg.

Several different types of Arowana can be purchased legally. I must warn you, though, these fish are not for beginners. They require a lot of care and attention – and not just the financial kind. Contrary to what some people may think, fish have feelings. Should these magnificent, willful, endangered creatures be kept in captivity? Is it morally wrong to keep large fish in tanks? There are no easy answers to those questions.

Since arowana are naturally great jumpers that rocket out of the water to catch prey, they often leap from uncovered aquariums and are later found dead on the floor. Perhaps to rationalize the loss of such a substantial investment, hobbyists have come to imbue this behavior with a Christlike aura, suggesting the fish gives its life to save its owner. Several such anecdotes were posted around Kenny’s farm. One, called “The Lucky Arowana,” related how the fish of a rich Indonesian businessman vaulted to its death to prevent him from loaning a large sum of money to an untrustworthy associate (the businessman correctly interpreted his dead fish as a bad omen and reneged on the loan). But there are many others as well: the arowana that protects an apartment from fire or burglars; the arowana that breaks up a marriage by harassing the wife whenever the husband is out; even the arowana that kills—one man was said to have been found dead in a canal after skimping on fish food.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, when you can't sleep and are awake at 3am you make terrible decisions. Decisions to worry about unimportant things; decisions to start businesses based on educating frogs; decisions that usually shouldn't be trusted. Other times you make great choices.

I couldn't sleep the other night and was trawling (fish puns so soon!) Audible for some non fiction to drift off to (I do like non fiction, it doesn't bore me to sleep) and this book was suggested to me as something other people were enjoying so 3am me bought it. I then spent the next 4 hours not going back to sleep and instead listening to this amazing book.

I am not uninterested in fish. I studied Marine and Natural History Photography (I was terrestrial) at University, I have a goldfish (Mikey) who is about 8 years old (along with a cat and two tortoises) - I'm not going to pretend this is a bolt from the blue but I never thought a book mostly about one type of aquarium fish would be so enthralling.

This book is interesting, it's funny, there's intrigue and mystery. There's emotion and yet it doesn't really deviate from being about Asian Arowana, one of the world's most expensive kinds of fish.

I don't think I had ever heard of the Arowana and if I had, the information didn't stick but Emily Voigt has shown me that they are fascinating and I should be paying attention. Voigt takes her story down many avenues but they all orbit around the lengths people will go to to obtain what may not be the prettiest fish.



I won't spoil the whole thing because this book takes you all around the world but people will travel to the last few unexplored areas of the earth, spend their life savings, destroy their marriage or even kill to get their hands on these fish. The Gentlewoman Naturalist in me did start wondering if I should look into it then I remembered I don't have room for an enormous fish or hundreds of thousands of pounds lying around.

There was definitely a hint of Baader-Meinhof with this book. I had never heard of the Arowana and then, the day after I started reading this, I'm at the Garden Centre where I bought my fish and lo and behold a small silver Arowana available for £100. I restrained myself and stuck with amassing carnivorous plants, cacti and orchids. I've started seeing them in people's tattoos and I don't know if I've just not been paying attention or if suddenly they're everywhere.

Even if you don't think you like reading about fish or nature or adventure, I would recommend giving it a chance because it is really good.I enjoyed this so much I preordered the hardback (I'm hoping there are pictures). I'm annoying people I know by not shutting up with my fish facts and you can too!

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dragon Behind the Glass documents journalist Emily Voigt's descent down the rabbit hole of fish collecting, money, power, and scientific exploration in some of the most remote locations in the world.

"A pair of whiskers juts from its lower lip, and two gauzy pectoral fins extend from its sides, suggesting a dragon in flight. This resemblance has led to the belief that the fish brings prosperity and good fortune, acting as a protective talisman to ward off evil and harm."

Though it starts off with a major hook, Voigt takes the reader to a crime scene where a pet store owner appears to have been killed for his shelf of rare fish, the book begins to meander after that and never gets back to the compelling pace of the opening.

That is not to say there aren't some fascinating history and fish-related trivia tidbits. In fact, the majority of the book consists of that.

"... the keeping of pets reflects our hunger for status symbols, for what the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre called the 'carnal, clinging, humble, organic, milky taste of the creature,' which underlies all luxury goods. The modern pet shop first appeared in American cities in the 1890s; and with it began the mass importation of exotic animals from Asia and South America." pg 21, ebook.

Voigt explores the history of aquariums, pet-crazes throughout history, and the ascendance of the arowana as the pet fish of choice in the East. Complicating matters, the arowana has become incredibly rare in the wild, partially due to its desirability among collectors, but also because of the destruction of its native habitat.

"The most highly coveted - or at least the traditional favorite - is the legendary Super Red, native to a single remote lake system in the heart of Borneo. ... As late as 2008, researchers with Conservation International reported that rural Cambodians were still eating greens, even as wild populations plummeted due to over-harvesting for the aquarium trade." pg 30, ebook

Like other rare and precious commodities, the interest and money surrounding the arowana has led to some shady dealings. I wasn't too surprised by the alleged criminal activity Voigt describes among collectors. But I was flabbergasted by the fierce competition among some scientists in the rush to catalog and name the increasingly rare fish.

Perhaps that's naive of me. Scholars jockey for prestige as much as anyone else. I suppose I've never stopped to think about it.

I was also surprised by how many species are out there that science has not studied yet.

"When I first set out to report on the Asian arowana, I figured I would start by finding the researcher studying the species in the wild- only to realize no such person exists. The popular illusion that modern science has the entire living world covered, that there is an expert analyzing every crevice, is far from true." pg 205, ebook

Recommended for readers who are interested in a detailed study of fish, travel and history. It's a slow-paced adventure, and not for everyone, but there are some treasures to be found if you stick with it.

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the airport on a whim although I had been dimly aware of it. A trip to Rarotonga seemed like as good a time as any to read a book about fish and adventures in jungles.

I am always on the look out for new engaging non-fiction writers that can weave a good story from often dry facts - Jon Krakauer and Erik Larson being my benchmarks. In the case of this book I wasn't at all sure I was interested in the aquarium fish industry but Emily Voigt changed my mind with her opening chapter. Murder! Aggressive rare fish and Shadowy Fish mafia ! - I was hooked...
It also helped the author was as initially dubious about fish as a hobby as I was. She writes about this world as a curious outsider helpfully taking the reader along on her investigative sojourns to Singaporean fish farms, the inaccessible swampy heart of Borneo and off-limit rivers in Burma. In some ways this book was more an adventure travelogue, chasing the wild Arowana fish as a kind of talismanic end point.
For me I think this is one of the rare books that almost incidentally demonstrates the global effects of habitat loss without being a kind of evangelical ecological treatise. I was as disheartened as the author at each fresh realisation of the impacts of palm oil production and deforestation on increasingly rare fish species.
This book is absolutely engrossing - filled with morsels of knowledge about natural history, pet keeping, Ichthyology, rare species protection and of course more than you need to know about the Arowana. I found I was fondly recalling David Grann's The Lost City of Z often while reading this.

I hope there are more books to come from Emily Voigt.

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thoroughly underwhelming.

[The Captain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys! For those of ye who are new to me log, a word: though this log’s focus is on sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult, this Captain does have broader reading tastes. Occasionally I will share some novels that I enjoyed that are off the charts (a non sci-fi, fantasy, or young adult novel), as it were. So today I bring ye a memoir with cool fish facts!

Okay I now kinda have a thing for books that combine memoirs with science and fun animal facts. So far, I have read about ravens, hawks, owls, octopuses, and snails (seriously snails are AMAZING). I like fish and think they are cool denizens of the deep. With a name like dragon fish, I had to know more. Like this:

The Asian arowana is the world’s most expensive aquarium fish. It is a tropical freshwater fish from Southeast Asia that grows three feet long in the wild. That’s roughly the size of a snowshoe. It is a fierce predator dating back to the age of the dinosaurs. It has large, metallic scales, like coins; whiskers that jut from its chin; and it undulates like the paper dragons you see in a Chinese New Year’s parade. That resemblance has spawned the belief that the fish brings good luck and prosperity, which is why it has become a highly sought-after aquarium fish.source

I absolutely loved the beginning of the book and the introduction to the weird world of high priced aquarium fish. When I had guppies and tetras as a kid, I never questioned where the pet store got them. Now I know. I also know that there is a fish beauty pageant called the Aquarama International Fish Competition. I learned that a man named Kenny the Fish is one of the biggest fish sellers in the world . . .

Emily Voigt @ Emily_Voigt - "Kenny the Fish posing nude with fish. Tried this for author photo but fish bags too slippery."

View image on Twitter

So while the fish facts were excellent, I did have problems with the memoir part of the story. The author went on a search for wild dragon fish. This took up the majority of the book and seemed rather bland. Part of the problem is that it felt mostly like a listing of the people she met and the places that she went. It seemed more about the lengths the author went to try and set up trips. I never really got a feel for the scenery of the countries or people she met. The descriptions were so vague at times that some of the people and places could have been swapped and it wouldn’t have mattered. I did think her brief insight into wildlife protection laws were very interesting.

The most tantalizing bits: the murder of the fish store owner, the illegal animals of New York City, and fish surgery were glossed over. The minutiae of the author’s personal travel struggles were not. I wanted more fish and less author story. This is never a good sign for a memoir. I am glad I learned about the fish but ye could read the National Geographic article that I found and basically get a very nice overview of the good parts of the book. Arrr!

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the two most discouraging - yet frequently used - words to describe the illegal trade in endangered species: "Chinese demand." Demand for shark fin, tiger bones, seahorses, etc., etc...and now (although surprisingly for neither the dining table nor medicine cabinet), the arowana, which has become a much sought-after lucky charm and status symbol in Chinese communities around the world. Even my wife's otherwise favorite uncle kept a huge silver arowana in a small, barren tank just inside the front door of his Taipei apartment (where the fung shui was strongest, obviously).

Yet despite the ultimately depressing subject matter, I just loved this book, as it hit so many of my personal sweet spots: Southeast Asia (Taiwan/Singapore/Borneo/Burma), wildlife, jungles, rivers, even Alfred Russel Wallace.

Aside from following the author's single-minded (if at times frankly hard to understand) global search for the wild arowana, Voigt also goes off on delightful and/or informative tangents on such subjects as the history of domesticated animals, biogeography, overlooked/"ripped off" scientists (not just Wallace as he was basically screwed by Darwin; but also Peter Artedi, who was not only plagiarized by Carl Linnaeus - he of "order, genus, species" fame - but [many suspect] may have even been murdered by him), Burmese politics, rain forest devastation and a host of other topics - all of which made for fascinating and informative reading. She also introduces a delightful cast of supporting characters, including the indestructible (and thoroughly unreliable) explorer/collector Heiko Bleher, “dragon whisperer” Alex Chang, Singapore's “Kenny the Fish” and Burma’s Tin Win, as well as historical oddball Ida Pfeiffer, who circled the globe twice in the mid-1800s, wrote two best-selling books - both of which are available from the Gutenberg Project (yay!) - and apparently hated everybody everywhere, (and I will definitely read more about her).

My only complaint - and it is a BIG one - is that while I appreciated the scattered maps which were essential in following her travels through such remote regions as Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Tenasserim (the "tail" of Burma), and the Putumayo (Colombian river which feeds into the Amazon); this is after all a book about tropical fish…so where the hell are the photographs? Voigt goes to great lengths describing the calligraphic-like patterning of the newly discovered "batik" arowana (in which she played a small role)…so SHOW US! But no; aside from the moody/artsy photo on the cover - cool as it is - there's just nothing other than a couple of B&W naturalists' sketches, (also from the mid-1800s). Frankly unforgiveable, and almost knocked a whole star off my rating.

But - just couldn't do it, as everything else was just that good. While lacking the humor of Redmond O'Hanlon (Into the Heart of Borneo), Voigt writes with the journalistic chops and "put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is" adventurous spirit of Carl Hoffman (The Last Wild Men of Borneo; Savage Harvest), which is no faint praise. Sadly, while this book came out back in 2016, the internet shows no indication that Voigt has been working on anything since then...which is a shame, as I would definitely love to see what she comes up with - and where she goes - next.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocked me! Much more than some numbers of true memoir non-fiction zingers I've read this year, 2016. Some of which were supposed to be more startling by their trailers. Having some idea about biological forms in fish, their biodiversity and the world's ichthyologists past and present, because in the 1970's and 1980's we had 6 or 7 aquarium and numerous books upon their possible occupants? Well, I still had absolutely no idea about how far these obsessions can go. Not upon any of 20 fish related subjects or within the history of their human questioners. I was shocked that even Linnaeus played others repeatedly. As if the system of classification is just an ever changing game. As it is in naming as well as in "credit" for the find. And now they are altering classification by using the DNA groupings instead of physical description classifications. With thousands of voices from the past and the present shouting "foul".

STILL, coming up with a new species, even if it only lives in a closet sized well hole is a heralded accomplishment? I guess. Even if you then raise it in ponds (SE Asia) that will wash into your own natural rivers when it floods. And it will. The obsession with these fish, the Discus, other bird species which have become status symbols or cherished over all else!

Regardless that is only one aspect and I could easily do a review that is a tenth as long as the book. That's how much incredible information Emily Voigt gathered in her 4 year quest to find the arowana in its natural habitat. ANY AROWANA! Not just the Red in Borneo, the Gold in Myramar or the Silver in Brazil- but the more common green. Oh, they are there, but the characters and the places in this one!

Seriously, I almost gave it 4 stars because I could definitely have used a chart of the movers and shakers and one for the organizations alone. CITES, WWF and all of their tributaries, for instance.

But then, she probably could not list and group or she would be on some hit list herself shortly. She might be now; despite their governmental elitist dictations and the levels of truth for actual numbers of these species which are presently alive, she might need to protect sources too.

It wasn't just the various Arowana Cartel that shocked. It was the information which is much more associative to the fish and the pet business sides. And the humans involved in the "pet" process. Like the Dayak, the Iban, or the Brazil Arrow People, just to name a few of those interesting human groups. Some of which are being literally roped off by steel rod and line barricades presently. No diversity of humans desired or possible as a good thing (Brazil has decided). For numbers of reasons these people must remain separate and in a non-mixing opportunity. One of the strongest being that they are not immune to first world "other" human bacteria.

But less about the people and more about the fish? Hard to do in reviewing this book. There is Kenny the Fish, Amanda Bleher (her life story has got to be more fully written by some brave, brave author/publisher), Heiko Bleher, Alfred Russel Wallace, and a cast of one hundred others. The owners of no name to the smallest level of smuggler with plastic bags of water under their skirts.

This book makes studying the drug cartels and the balance of trade factors in legal manufacture just easy peasy in comparison. Because you can't select and breed heroin or cocaine to become something it is not. (How about 10 albino arowana, each in their own separate tanks at $150,000 each- because you succeeded at breeding from one albino trapped in the wild!) And the disappearing mated pair that Emily saw once and then which were vanished and deemed non-existing "impossible" the next day?

No one is telling the truth at any searching level, and yet all the stories, especially when you exam the biologic leftover (dead or pet fish in opulence) or human corpse result? Surprise, surprise, they are true.

If you have no interest in fish at all, this book may still be a 4 or 5 star for you. There is a slack and slow spot to the histories of the 1800's and beyond Roosevelt's River of Doubt trip. BUT, even in those sections there is serendipity information that might chill or knock your socks off. How about that 1830's and 1840's when 16 or 20 scientists set off together in Borneo or Burma (now Myramar) and at the most 3 or 4 returned. Those why and hows.

Plus the phenomenal descriptions of our pouty devils of 2 or 6 feet length. Or of 150 different fish of tiny miniature gotten in a single scoop. And all the levels in between. Or of duplicity. Both in the fish and in the owners.

Emily Voigt took chances that were so outlier, that if I were her mother or her husband! Well, she seems not apt to continue in this thread, Pulitzer Grant or no.

But the most shocking reality of all, for me anyway, is that anytime CITES puts a fish or a bird on the endangered species list, that almost universally levels their existence IN THE WILD to a 10 or 20% level to what that measurement was before the citing for the list. Because by all counts and in animal species (plants too at times) a specimen in a tank or in captivity is NOT COUNTED AT ALL. It is considered dead to the species. So their work (CITES, WWF, other world groups for Conservation or category "facts" per species) actually does the exact opposite for which is supposedly trying to be accomplished. As soon as it is put on the list the buyers and suppliers pounce. So that some species, the birds parrots and macaws cited, but many multiples of fish fall to 10% of their former levels in the wild almost immediately. A certain small blue macaw might be gone.

And CHINA!! China is scooping species up. Helped and within multiple Japanese buyers. And having a market within the Mideast (Iran especially as dogs and cats are NOT considered Muslim appropriate pets).

Read this. Learn about the rivers of the Amazon, the real politico in Myramar and visas (you're almost sure to get in legally, but then you can't get out), travelogues to places that you might need to look up, and be gifted with an average of 2 or 3 details a page that you would never have believed if not told from witness eyes.

If you have an obsession with pets, animals, and PETA sensibilities this book will be a hard read. Other continents may and do hold completely different worldviews of animals and/or their place and purposes than Europe or North America. This also is about humans cognition for pets in general. How we see waving patterns as calming, for instance. Fish swimming, leaves waving, grain fields sweeping, flowers bending up and back, birds gliding in circles, all those cognitive motions that are opposite of a quick strike (snake, pouncing predator etc.). That was fascinating too.

Finally, this book seems to make much of the fact that NOT all human tribes or placements or histories or belief systems or definition of lie is anything alike. Nor is good will or intent for your safety, be you visitor or native, or stated purpose in any way a universal reciprocal trait to be considered. And that 1000's of other inputs may matter more. Even down to the way people name themselves or their animals at any one locale or in this particular political or cultural system.

Also a warning to the fainthearted. This holds some dire, dire outcomes for humans and their practices as well. Some who cook their guests or their enemies, but only if they have the time. Some will feast on the raw, especially the liver.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

Personally, I think the arowana is an ugly fish. Sorry. I also think that Voight would agree with me.

Thankfully, this book is highly enjoyable.

Voight’s interest in the fish starts with a trip to a housing project in NYC. Voight is accompanying Lt John Fitzpatrick of the State Environmental Police to talk to a man about an alligator. Her ride along is done as part of a story that she is doing for NPR, and it is though Fitzpatrick that she hears about the arowana because there is a huge market in the illegal fish trade (at least when it comes to fish pets). For whatever, Voight finds herself obsessing about the fish, so much so that she travels to far corners of the world to track it down.

And it is really an ugly fish. Voight herself wonders at her obsession, and in part, it is that self questioning, that makes the book enjoyable.

Voight’s travels take her to the Amazon, to Singapore, and to Burma (Myanmar) when the borders to that country were more tightly controlled. It is on that last trip that she really wonders why she is so committed to an ugly fish. It is Voight’s honesty and her acknowledgement that her “quest” might really be an unhealthy obsession that really does draw the reader in. You want her to really see a wild arowana even as both Voight and you are wondering about why it is so necessary to see one.

And in part, her wonderment about the fish comes across so strongly and so well that it is hard not to want to see the fish.

Part of this has to do with the colorful characters that she meets, such as Kenny the Fish, who deals in arowana and who is the playboy of the fish trading world. There is a stories of smuggling, a murder or two, and visits to fish farms that seem to be locked down tighter than Fort Knox. Eventually, she works alongside an ichthyologist or two.

What is interesting is how Voight seem to be the sole women in a largely male world. In fact, all of the fish producers, collectors, and scientists that she interacts with are male. There is detail about the mother of the one of the scientists, and she does sound like an interesting woman, but Voight seems to be the only woman. It makes one wonder why. Is it that the arowana appears most to men because of the status symbol aspect (Voight hints a bit at this) or is it that women want a prettier fish?

Or do women just want furry?

Additionally, the book is about more than just a fish. It is about humankind’s relationship to animals, in particular to those animals we decide to domestic or “own”. Voight looks at the difference between what was once wild and what is becoming pet. She also examines what lies behind the laws that protect endangered species. The arowana, for instance, is forbidden in the United States but is legal to own in several other countries. This look at the issues surrounding the fish also includes a look at the scientific community, showing the reader that a pet is simply more than pet.

Voight’s book not only conveys her love for the animal, but a respect, if not understanding, of the people who obsess over the fish.

And hey, it may be an ugly fish, but I want to see one jumping out of a lake.

[Nguyễn Thanh Hằng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Một quyển phóng sự vô cùng thú vị, hấp dẫn, ly kỳ và hữu ích với “nhân vật chính” là cá rồng. Đây là loài cá đắt giá và được tìm kiếm nhiều nhất trong những thập niên gần đây với khách hàng chủ yếu là giới nhà giàu châu Á. Từ nhu cầu lớn khủng khiếp đó của khách hàng, xuất phát từ niềm tin với biểu tượng rồng, mà một chuỗi biến động xã hội và sinh thái bị tác động ghê gớm. Giá cả tăng vùn vụt lên đến hàng trăm ngàn đô cho một con cá, thậm chí tương đương một chiếc Rolls Royce, nhiều đường dây từ đánh bắt-buôn bán-vận chuyển hình thành, những tội ác diễn ra, và những thay đổi sinh thái quan trọng trong tự nhiên.

Quyển phóng sự hay như một tác phẩm trinh thám, dẫn dắt độc giả theo chân tác giả đi tìm đáp án cho câu hỏi: Liệu có còn cá rồng trong tự nhiên? Và chúng ở đâu? Một câu hỏi tưởng như đơn giản mà đã đi đến nhiều quốc gia, vùng lãnh thổ đang tranh chấp trên thế giới, những vùng đất bí ẩn mà rất ít người có thể đặt chân đến vì mức độ nguy hiểm và thông tin được giấu kín,… Không những về địa lý, chính trị, địa sinh học, mà còn dẫn độc giả theo dòng lịch sử từ phương Tây sang phương Đông, từ thời những nhà khoa học thám hiểm đầu tiên đến những ngõ ngách nghiên cứu, thâm cung hậu trường, thậm chí trò xấu, hiện nay của giới khoa học sinh vật. Toàn bộ sự kiện, tư liệu, và con người đều có thật, đem lại một nguồn liên kết rộng lớn mà ta hẳn sẽ không nghĩ mọi điều ấy đều xoay quanh cá rồng.

Hiện tượng săn lùng cá rồng là 1 “nạn nhân” của sự nhầm lẫn của Liên Hiệp quốc vào những năm 1970-1980 khi duyệt bản thảo danh sách những động vật cần bảo tồn. Thay vì bỏ cá rồng ra, thì họ vẫn giữ nguyên mà không nói rõ tiêu chí. Thế là, việc đó đã vô tình đẩy cá rồng đến bờ gần như tuyệt chủng khi cơn sốt săn hàng hiếm bùng nổ. Khác với cá sấu được bảo tồn nhờ vào danh sách động vật cần được bảo vệ, cá rồng đã dần biến mất khỏi thiên nhiên, từ một dạng cá bình thường thuộc lương thực như bao cá khác bỗng trở thành món hàng đổi đời của người đánh bắt.

Quyển sách cũng đưa ra thông tin về một số loại cá khác, mà giờ mình mới biết, rằng cá koi không được các nhà sinh vật học coi trọng và đánh giá như 1 loại cá tự nhiên, bởi đây là loại cá được con người lai tạo, không thể sống trong tự nhiên.

Quyển này thật sự rất bổ ích, thú vị, đem lại một hệ sinh thái tưởng quen mà mới mẻ cho độc giả, và có thể giúp ta mở rộng/thay đổi góc nhìn ra thế giới.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting, almost absurd story, about humans clinging to the very wildness that we breed out of everything in our fervor.

[Bo Xin Zhao]

After much contemplating, I have decided to give up reading The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish. The main character, a female journalist searching for the traditional asian arowana, travels around talking to different people. It eventually gets extremely boring, having only a bit of climax and adventure, while more than 80 percent of the book is background information about the fish's history. Guess this book isn't suited for me much.
The book initially starts off with a BANG, and describes a tragic scene of a salesman getting brutally murdered and stabbed. This obviously hooks my attention, but as the book moves on, the action decelerates jurastically and from time to time just becomes a non-fiction book about the asian arowana and its history. I started interacting with too many names, and I felt overwhelmed by the information without much plot or story. This book was a small disappointment for me. I am going to finally stop reading it.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A combination of travelogue, quest, and scientific adventure, Emily Voigt’s book on the arowana-a highly prized fish found in the Amazon, China, and Asia, is excellent reading. She discusses shrinking arowana populations in the wild and the destruction of habitats in favor of land to farm, palm oil plantations, and mining.

Readers travel with Voigt on her quests to see a live arowana in the wild. Her travels take her to locations filled with all the natural dangers one would expect like disease carrying insects, snakes, and alligators. There are man made dangers too in the form of rebel insurgents, isolated tribes, and corrupt officials.

The arowana is a fish that is believed to bring good luck and prosperity. The Super Red is the most expensive. During her travels, a new type of arowana is discovered. The Batek. This fish looks like it has some form of inscription on its scales.

Voigt meets with many of the top researchers in the field of ichthyology. Several of these experts regret that researchers today no longer study just one species or related species but focus on the genetic aspects in the field of evolutionary biology.

Voigt meets some fascinating people in following her quest. A really enjoyable book. Have more pictures would have been a plus.

[Audrey Approved · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you like fish? Would you pay tens of thousands of dollars for a pet fish? Even if your answers are a double negative, you still might enjoy The Dragon Behind the Glass!

Also known as the dragon fish, arowanas are the most expensive aquarium fish you can buy. Their faces - apparently very similar to that of the lucky dragon - are said to bring its owners luck and wealth in some Asian cultures. Diving deep into the background and biology of this fish, reporter Emily Voigt follows the history, commodity and protection (or lack thereof) of the arowana, all while following her own personal journey of seeing an arowana in the wild. While I sometimes found the author a little frustrating (like how she used a hook in the first few pages that she never returned to or resolved), I was definitely entertained and learned some cool fish facts!

It's always fun the contents of different books you've read overlap. The author attended the annual gala in New York for the The Explorer's Club, which I first heard about in Susan Casey's The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean. Voigt also mentions the lost (and refound) coelacanth, a fish species that was once thought extinct for millions of years but happens to still be alive - I read about it in the very excellent A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth. And lastly, there is some talk of Alfred Russel Wallace and his parallel development of the theory of evolution, which was also covered in The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. Ironically, I'd recommend all three of those over The Dragon Behind the Glass, but you can't go wrong with any of them!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is non-fiction, science, biology, nature, environment, etc. This is one of those books that if it wasn't needed for a book challenge, it would probably never have made it into my TBR pile. And what a pleasant surprise this was. I really enjoyed this one. It was about aquarium fish, which TBH, doesn't sound particularly thrilling to me, but I loved the way the author presented this. It was highly readable and not once did I feel like she was talking over my head and not once was I bored.

The subtitle mentions power and obsession and this book shows how insanely obsessed people can get over aquarium fish. Some even murdered to get what they wanted. That was a nice and successful spin on fish.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time I had wanted to find out why a pet fish was so irresistible that people smuggled it into the United States, risking their very liberty. Three and a half years and fifteen countries later, I was now in Brazil (possibly illegally) pursuing the fish myself. At some point, things had gotten out of hand.

After being intrigued by stories of high stakes fish smuggling from a real life Pet Detective – Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick of New York's State Environmental Police – and in receipt of a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship in need of a research topic, investigative journalist Emily Voight decided to enter the shadowy world that surrounds the sale and collecting of the world's most expensive aquarium fish: the arowana or dragon fish. No more interested in guppies and goldfish than the average person, Voight eventually found herself becoming as obsessed with the arowana as any “Arofanatic” and The Dragon Behind the Glass is as much about her own obsessive quest to find a wild population as it is about the fish itself. With an organic blend of travelogue and science/history writing – all in a perfectly journalistic yet playful tone – I couldn't help but getting swept up in the quest myself. Plain fun and intriguing reading.

As Voight says in this National Geographic article, “The history of this one single fish encapsulates the history of modern conservation.” As she discovered, for no good reason (and in a move that was perhaps supposed to have been “deleted” before its implementation), an international conservation group in the '70s decided to put the arowana (which was a plentiful and not particularly tasty food fish, with sustainable habitats in several countries) on a restricted trade list. This had the effect of making it seem rare, and that sparked an explosion in collecting them from the wild for exotic specimen aficionados. This caused them to actually become rare, and as they are difficult (but not impossible) to breed in captivity, their scarcity has made millionaires of successful aquaculturists; and has also led to murder, burglary, and the poisoning of rival stocks. In her travels, Voight met those who sell the arowana and those who collect them, and also those naturalists who still scour the globe in search of new species. Falling deeper into the rabbit hole with every new contact, Voight followed every lead that might allow her to witness just one arowana in the wild, and as she pushed the legal limits in countries like Myanmar – travelling well beyond the areas designated for tourists, even as she knew she was being followed by government agents – I couldn't help but marvel at her nerves: a woman, travelling alone and off the map?

In that moment, as I recalled what I'd read about the Asiatic reticulated python (the longest snake in the world at more than twenty feet), as well as lightning strikes, crocodiles, and the well-documented case of an orangutan raping a woman, I began to have second thoughts about what I was doing back in Borneo. My doctor had warned me not to immerse myself in the water, where a snail-borne parasite could cause permanent paralysis. How much was I willing to risk to go after a fish I didn't even think was good looking?

In addition to the travel writing about the exotic locales Voight visited and the colourful people she met there, she also seamlessly adds information about the history of specimen collecting, the work of those who are still in the field, and the evolution of Biology from the study of whole organisms to that of genetics (she and the field workers she meet all agree that there's something of its magnificence lost when a live organism is reduced to bits of code). In the few negative reviews I've read for The Dragon Behind the Glass, readers complain that Voight put too much of herself in this book – that it's more “accidental memoir” than scientific treatise – but I would argue that it was Voight's own experience that makes the whole story about the arowana relatable: it's her own obsession to find a wild specimen and the way that that mirrors the larger story about obsessive collectors that gives the reader perspective. And without being a preachy environmentalist book, the fact that Voight kept failing in her visits to areas formerly teeming with arowanas is its own science lesson.

When I first set out to write about the arowana, I had been attracted to the humor and the high drama of the fish world, to the eccentricities and obsessions of the people who were part of it. But there was no way to think about the arowana – about any fish, really – without confronting loss on a scale too large for the human mind to comprehend. I had come so far to find one wild thing, to experience the wild itself, and all I had to show for my quest was a cult, a cockroach, and a starving dog. Despite myself, tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.

I liked everything about this book – it was intriguing, informative, and incredibly relatable – and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dragon Behind the Glass, by Emily Voigt in my opinion is a phenomenal non-fiction story. It is about the mysterious and ferocious fish, the Asian arowana that is so popular and coveted in the aquarium trade. In the book, Voigt travels across the world to gain knowledge about this fish and why it is so demanding. I think, first of all, the title does a great job of summarizing this story and giving insight about the Asian arowana. “Dragon” is a great representation of this fish, not only because the arowana is known as the “dragon fish” in Chinese, but also because of the fish’s resemblance to the Chinese dragon because of their similar metallic scales. I thought that the mention of China was also very nice because that the arowana is also a very large demand in China. The Super Red arowana is loved there because of its color. “Behind the glass”, I realized, was a phrase to express how the Asian arowana basically only exists inside the small and restrained aquariums around the world and that the wild arowana is very rare, which is exactly what the story talks about. The journey of how Voigt tried to find the rare fish in the wild and a dragon that was “outside the glass”. This meaning of the titles accurately portrays the reputation and state of the fish which is something great that the author did. Another thing that enhanced the book was the huge amount of background information that Voigt provided. It allows anyone reading the book, with no matter what level of knowledge with fish, to easily understand what the author is illuminating. She gives background information to all the countries she travels to which is an enricher to my understanding of the country and its fishes. This book is not just a journal by Voigt, but a historical, enlightening and enjoyable story about the economics of the fish trade and how much people are impacted by it.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first set out to write about the arowana, I had been attracted to the humor and high drama of the fish world, to the eccentricities and obsessions of the people who were part of it. But there was no way to think about this arowana -- about any fish, really -- without confronting loss on a scale that seemed to large for the human mind to comprehend.

Part travelogue, part natural history, part commodity history, part philosophical musing, and part quixotic quest, The Dragon Behind the Glass is, if you'll pardon the pun, neither fish nor fowl. But I found it beguiling perhaps for that very reason.

I've read a handful of other books involving the trade -- often illicit -- in rare creatures or plants, so I had certain expectations, but what emerged for me as most distinct was Voigt's likable voice. She tells the story of her all-consuming search, and initially it seems odd that she is investigating a fish she doesn't even particularly like. While the dragonfish and the colorful people she meets are interesting, she is as well. Her motivations are murky and elusive, but surprisingly, I didn't lose patience.

As Voigt travels the world, she knows her quest borders on the obsessive and is at times dangerous, yet in coming to grips with the why of it all she finds some unexpected answers and confronts some important issues. I quite enjoyed tagging along for the journey.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was exhausting in the way that The Levy caper was: the author galloped all over the world, again and again, chasing something just out of her grasp. The more frustrated she became, the more she wanted it. If you like crime this book has plenty of it, starting out with a grisly murder and moving from there into all areas of bad activity, from questionable research practices and smuggling to genocide and gang violence. But I found myself wondering what the author was even doing here.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now, THAT's a title which grab's one attention and there was no way I was leaving the library without this nonfiction book.. Why, legend has it that one of these dragon fish sold for $150,000: an albino one with red eyes. If you love fish, you're going to enjoy this book. But for me this book served better as a travel book than as a book about the Asian arowana, or "dragon fish" as the inner jacket cover tells us. It seems we visit every ocean, sea, river, stream, lake, etc., in search of this "dragon fish". Voigt covers the waters of the world, fresh and saltwater, and we meet (the best part) great people, everyday type people, telling their wonderful cultural legends. As I said, a very enjoyable travel read. And I kept feeling I was going to run into Clive Cussler and his NUMA team at any moment.

[Allisonlcarter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books about obsessive hobbies. The Map Thief, The Orchid Thief, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, even the crazy Japanese miniatures in Empty Mansions. This book takes it one step further by making the object of obsession an animal: A fish.

Google this fish. It is not an especially pretty fish! But because of its resemblance to Eastern-style dragons (snakier than Western ones, live in water instead of breathing fire) and an array of lucky colors like red and gold, it can go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. People steal the fish and have even killed for the fish. Nuts.

Voigt takes a thorough look through the world of the arowana, including some neat digressions into taxonomy, fish identification and 19th century naturalism (this sounds boring. It's not. It's very accessible and readable).

Just append the word "eccentric" to each of the cast of characters: The globetrotting fish catcher with stories bigger than any "it was thiiiis big" tale, the reclusive fish identifier, the somewhat shifty British fish identifier, the Singaporean fish king...yeah, it's nuts. It also bounces all over the globe, with the most time spent in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia (Borneo, specifically), Burma and the Amazon.

My only quibble with the book is the neverending search for a wild arowana. It takes her a while to find the fish (spoiler?) and after a few failed missions, I just wanted her to find the dang thing already or give up. I understand it's nonfiction and this is what happened, but perhaps the exploration bit would have been best done together as one section, rather than spaced throughout the book.

Well worth a read.

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Labai jau dviprasmiski jausmai apeme mane perskaicius sia knyga.

Autore pasakoja apie jos kelerius metus uztrukusias geidziamiausios pasaulyje zuvies, Asian arowana ar kitaip Dragon fish, paieskas. Siaip jau si zuvis beveik nebesutinkama laukineje gamtoje. Ir tai be abejo kolekcionieriu nuopelnas. Tokia zuvis gali kainuoti iki 15000 doleriu. Tad vietiniams cia, kaip kokios aukso kasyklos.

O priestaringi jausmai, va del ko. Pati autore uzsimine, kad didele gresme nykstancioms rusims kelia kovotoju uz ju nykimo sustabdyma garsus kalbejimas apie tai. Kaip tik tokios rusys pasidaro geidziamiausios kolekcionieriu.
Tai kokio velnio apie tai knyga rasyt ir girtis kur jai pasiseke ju uztikti...Eina sau...
Siaip tai, knyga parasyta neblogai. Nemazai idomiu faktu apie kolekcionierius, slaptas zuvu fermas, kontrobandinius pervezimus, paslaptingas mirtis...

[Jared Ure · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is good with words, but the story sometimes felt thin, like butter scraped over too much bread. The thing I enjoyed about the book most was being exposed to a facet of the world that I'd never seen before and probably will never seen again.

[Ben Goldfarb · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dragon" was an enthralling journey into a fascinating corner of the exotic pet underworld. Greatly admire Voight's seamless melding of adventure narrative with ichthyology and conservation policy. Highly rec'ed for fellow fish lovers in particular. (Am I doing Goodreads right?)

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Applaud this book for making a literal non-fiction book about a single fish sointeresting and Easy to read?? I was invested in the author's Successes and every time I wished she would Win. I liked all the people she met along the way and appreciated when they popped up again, also I can't believe everyone wanted to help her so bad likeverygood. The most Devastating story was Stephen the fish like how tRAGIC mygoodneSS. Anyways I'm glad I picked this up and read it,,, now I'm enlightened on illegal international fish trade, pet fish trends in Malaysia, various explorers, and various other information (also Crazy fish to Google)

[Sam Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

How interesting can a book chronicling the pursuit of a single fish be? Rather interesting, it turns out, though that could be because I am partial to fishkeeping and already know a little about the lore surrounding the formidable Scleropages formosus. The author's dogged quest for the dragon beyond the glass took me across the tropics by way of the Danau Sentarum and the Brazilian Amazon and many other mosquito-infested, leech-laced water bodies, and along the way I learnt a fair bit about the Arowana (and by extension aquarium fish) trade and the fishy, Machiavellian machinations underpinning it. At its heart, though, the book read like an elegy to the wild spaces found, then lost, and the animals that swam into, then out of our lives.

[Rebecca Noah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very active in the aquaculture and aquarium hobby this was a waste of time. I'm currently pursuing a masters in environmental conservation, have a double bachelors degree in marine science as well as ecology and worked in the aquarium industry for two years. The best part of the book was the epilogue. The book was entirely self-involved. I expected this book to be a scientific and cultural exploration and it ended up just becoming a story about the author's adventure with some simplistic science and history mixed in. Don't read if you have a similar background as mine, you will be disappointed.

[Sơn Lương · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giới lắm tiền có nhiều thú chơi - chơi xe, chơi tranh, du thuyền, biệt thự triệu đô, và có cả chơi cá cảnh. Loại cá nào mà người ta sẵn sàng chi hàng trăm ngàn USD? Câu trả lời là cá Arowana, hay cá rồng, long ngư, “loài cá nhiệt đới đắt đỏ nhất thế giới”.

Cá rồng là loài cá được đặc biệt tôn sùng vì nó là biểu tượng cho địa vị giàu sang và khá giả. Cứ nghĩ chỉ ở châu Á loài cá này mới có ý nghĩa mang màu sắc tâm linh như vậy, nhưng không phải thế. Một nhà tài phiệt ngân hàng ở Phố Wall đã bị bắt vì vi phạm luật cấm mang cá rồng từ châu Á không được mang vào Mỹ để làm vật nuôi hợp pháp , chỉ vì ông “không thể cưỡng lại sức hấp dẫn kiểu nguy hiểm của nó”.

Trong khi các loài có nguồn gốc châu Á bị cấm ở Mỹ, loại cá này lại là món phổ biến trong thị trường xa xỉ phẩm hợp pháp ở các nước khác. Những trang trại cá, những bể cá đắt tiền, những vụ trộm, mua bán, buôn lậu cá rồng ở Đông Nam Á, những vụ buôn lậu ở Mỹ và hơn hết là cội nguồn của ngân long, loại cá rồng hoang dã sống trong rừng thẳm ở Nam Mỹ, là một trong các yếu tố để nữ nhà báo Emily Voigt dấn thân vào hành trình đi tìm cá rồng hoang dã.

“Con rồng trong bể kính – Câu chuyện thật về quyền lực, nỗi ám ảnh và loài cá đáng thèm muốn nhất” là kết quả quá trình tìm dấu cá rồng của Voigt.

Người đọc sẽ theo chân nữ nhà báo và những người chơi cá cảnh kì lạ đi từ Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar đến Brazil - đích đến cuối cùng là nơi sinh sống tự nhiên của loài cá hoang dã này. Nếu bạn là người thích động vật hoang dã, hay cũng tò mò về cá rồng, hành trình của Voigt sẽ rất đáng theo dõi, bởi nó còn bao gồm việc tác giả gặp đủ loại người, từ các nhân vật trong giới mafia cá cảnh đến các chuyên gia, nhà khoa học.

Con rồng trong bể kính được đánh giá một quyển non-fiction nhưng “mang màu sắc căng thẳng của một tiểu thuyết trinh thám”. Với mình cái hay là tác giả cân bằng được việc cung cấp thông tin, tường thuật kiểu phóng sự và một chút văn chương ở lối kể chuyện và thể hiện cảm xúc.

Dù đầy thông tin khoa học, sinh học, lịch sử, địa lý và số liệu, câu chuyện vẫn không quá khô cứng nhờ tác giả đã đưa cảm xúc của mình trong hành trình đi tìm cá rồng vào trang viết.

"Đột nhiên tôi thấy buồn kinh khủng. Khi mới lần đầu tiên viết bài về cá rồng, tôi đã bị hút về phía những lời đồn thổi và kịch tính cao trong thế giới cá, tới những cá tính lập dị và nỗi ám ảnh của con người trong thế giới ấy (…)"

"Tôi đã tới đây là để tìm một con cá hoang dã, để trải nghiệm chính tự nhiên hoang dã ấy, và tất cả những gì tôi có trong chuyến đi của mình chỉ là một giáo phái, một con gián, và một con chó đang chết đói. Bất chấp bản thân, nước mắt dân lên trong mắt và chảy tràn xuống má tôi.”

“Ngày xửa ngày xưa tôi đã muốn biết tại sao một loại cá cảnh lại khó cưỡng đến nỗi người ta phải đem lậu nó vào nước Mỹ, mạo hiểm cả sự tự do của mình. Ba năm rưỡi cũng quãng đường qua 15 năm nước sau đó, giờ tôi đang ở Brazil để tự mình theo đuổi con cá ấy”.

1.200 ngày, 15 quốc gia, đọc và xử lý hàng núi tài liệu, gặp gỡ vô số người thuộc đủ thành phần, tự mình đi và chứng kiến. Một nỗ lực điều tra như thế, mà nữ nhà báo xem tìm được cá rồng hay không có khi không phải là vấn đề quan trọng nhất.

“Nếu tôi thất bại thì có sao? Ngay từ đầu, câu chuyện đã không còn là đi tìm một con cá hoang dã nữa (mà còn là) phiêu lưu, khám phá và thấu hiểu, cả ba điều trên tôi đã thu hoạch được rất nhiều”.

Có thể tác giả không cố tình làm thế, nhưng sau khi đọc quyển này mình cho rằng ngoài việc hiểu thêm về thế giới cá cảnh, động vật hoang dã, sự dấn thân điều tra, người đọc còn có thể học được cả một thái độ sống: có một khao khát trong đời, làm việc nghiêm túc vì nó và nên đón nhận kết thúc, dù thành công hay thất bại, như thế nào.

Triết lý đó được Emily Voigt kể ở cuối sách, bằng cách “mượn chuyện người nói chuyện mình”. Theo đó, có một nhà nghiên cứu thực vật bị ám ảnh với việc tìm được mội cái cây nắp ấm đặc biệt, được cho là đặc hữu của cánh rừng nhiệt đới nguyên sinh trên dãy Hose xa xôi của đảo Borneo.

Sau 8 năm, tốn 20.000 USD và 3 chuyến đi thất bại, cuối cùng anh cũng tìm được nó. Cảm xúc là “vỡ òa suýt khóc”, “hân hoan tự hào”, nhưng trên hết là anh thấy “nhẹ nhõm khôn tả”.

“Khi tìm được thứ mình tìm kiếm suốt bấy nhiêu năm, anh đã thoát khỏi vòng kiềm tỏa của nói với cuộc đời mình, được trả tự do khỏi câu thần chú đang trói buộc anh. Trong lúc chiêm ngưỡng loài cây khiêm tốn ấy, mà lúc này anh nhận ra nó cũng chỉ là một cái cây, ý nghĩ đầu tiên của anh là, ta không cần quay lại đây nữa”.

[Thuy Duyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuốn này ban đầu đọc tưởng trinh thám nhưng hoá ra không phải. Nó kể về hành trình tìm con cá rồng hoang dã của 1 phóng viên người Mỹ. Đọc xong thấy hơi sốc vì những gì tác giả kể đều có thật. Đó là sự tàn khốc giữa các nhà buôn cá cảnh, chỉ vì một con cá mà họ có thể giết một người rất tàn bạo.
Cuốn này cũng hơi giống kiểu Totem sói vì rằng dân số tăng trưởng quá nhanh đã dẫn đến sự tuyệt chủng của một số các giống loài. Có lẽ thế hệ sau này của chúng ta sẽ chỉ được thấy một số động thực vật và rừng qua hình ảnh mà thôi.
Một câu tôi thấy khá tâm đắc trong sách đó là: con người hãy lo bảo tồn rừng, động vật sẽ tự nó bảo tồn

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of natural history / true crime books like this now. The Map Thief, The Feather Thief, The Falcon Thief, The Orchid Thief. The Dragon Behind the Glass stood out to me because (a) it doesn't have Thief in the title 😅 and (b) Emily Voigt inserts herself into the story (in a good way) more than the other authors do. I really liked it.