{"product_id":"the-dragon-behind-the-glass-a-true-story-of-power-obsession-and-the-worlds-most-coveted-fish-9781451678949","title":"The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power  Obsession  and the World's Most Coveted Fish","description":"\u003cp\u003eWINNER OF THE 2017 NASW SCIENCE IN SOCIETY JOURNALISM AWARD A FINALIST FOR THE 2017 PEN\/E. O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE A LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR  A curiously edifying book. The New York Times Book Review  With the taut suspense of a spy novel  Voigt paints a vivid world of murder  black market deals  and habitat destruction surrounding a fish thats considered  ironically  to be a good-luck charm. Discover  An immensely satisfying story  full of surprises and suspense....Things get weird fast. The Wall Street Journal  A riveting journey into the bizarre world of the Asian arowana or dragon fishthe worlds most expensive aquarium fishreveals 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  its protected by the Endangered Species Act and illegal to bring into the countrythough 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 fishs rise to fameone that calls into question how we protect the worlds rarest species. An elegant exploration of the human conquest of nature  The Dragon Behind the Glass revels in the sheer wonder of lifes diversity and lays bare our deepest desireto hold onto what is wild.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648158425141,"sku":"ByrdShop_1451678940","price":20.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781451678949.jpg?v=1781711086","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-dragon-behind-the-glass-a-true-story-of-power-obsession-and-the-worlds-most-coveted-fish-9781451678949","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}