The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish by Emily VoigtMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Emily Voigt writes in that part-historical examination, part-author's exploration narrative that The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 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.
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