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

Treasured as a good-luck talisman and status symbol, particularly in the Far East, the Asian red arowana has become critically endangered in the wild. As demand for this rare fish has spiked, prices have followed, fostering a thriving business in high-security farming as well as an underground industry of smuggling, theft, and violence. Journalist Voigt, intrigued by the extremes to which devotees of the arowana will go, succumbs to the obsession herself and, after visiting farms where arowana are bred in captivity, undertakes expeditions to New Guinea, Myanmar, and the Amazon, hoping to see the fish in the wild. Along the way listeners are introduced to some colorful characters in the world of aquaculture, including "Kenny the Fish," an aquarist middleman, and Heiko Bleher, Voigt's intrepid guide and tutor. Narrator Xe Sands does an extraordinary job enlivening the world of exotic fish and capturing the suspense of Voigt's travels.