“Urban Bird Feeders Are Changing the Course of Evolution,” The Atlantic
January 26, 2018
While working on The Dragon Behind the Glass, I installed a bird feeder inside my 25th-floor Manhattan apartment, distressing my neighbors and freaking out my husband. The joy and horror of what showed up played out as a yearlong Darwinian drama in our den. I tell what happened in The Atlantic’s new series “Life Up Close.” (Thanks to The New York Times for recommending the story!)
“The best books the Vox staff read in 2017,” Vox
December 15, 2017
“The Dragon Behind the Glass is part sober-minded science journalism and part global safari… Between the fish facts I laterfound myself repeating at parties and the surprisingly harrowing narrative, this book is the most fun I’ve had reading in ages.”
The Dragon Behind the Glass has won the 2017 Science in Society Award from the National Association of Science Writers
September 7, 2017
“The judges described it as a ‘fascinating book about an endangered fish species’ that hooked them from the very beginning and kept them captivated with vivid writing and extensively researched stories… ‘In addition to being a great read, this book is a powerful commentary on the damage human beings are doing to our planet and its once plentiful cornucopia of wildlife.'”
“Here Be Dragons,” Kill Your Darlings (Australia)
August 28, 2017
“[A] triumph of investigative journalism and popular science writing…Voigt’s journey has such power because it is also a meditation on decline. The arowana comes to represent… the complexities and contradictions of human interaction with the ‘natural’ world, set against the subliminal catastrophes of mass extinction.”
“A Fish to Die For,” Omnivoracious, The Amazon Book Review
May 12, 2017
“One summer afternoon, before I’d heard of the ‘fish mafia’ or begun investigating fish-motivated homicides, I sought out a detective known as a real-life Ace Ventura patrolling the streets of New York…”
Daily Telegraph, Book Review (Australia)
February 4, 2017
“A book about ornamental fish may not sound exciting, but this one is absolutely captivating…Voigt gives a fascinating insight into the protection of endangered wildlife.”
The Dragon Behind the Glass is one of Forbes’s 10 Best Conservation and Environment Books of 2016
January 18, 2017
“This book starts with a ‘bang’ – a murder to be exact – and the momentum just keeps going from there. The Dragon Behind the Glass is a gripping blend of investigative journalism, science, international crime, travelogue and history… You don’t need to know anything about tropical fishes or fishkeeping to be totally riveted by this informative page-turner.”
The Fishing Paper & Hunting News November 30, 2016
“If ever there is a case for stepping out of your comfort zone and pushing the boundaries of what you normally read, this is it… Emily Voigt has masterfully married genres and writing styles to create a real life thriller that is actually a page turner, and it is about a fish!… Engaging, enlightening, inspiring, and captivating.”
The Coil, “On Emily Voigt’s The Dragon Behind the Glass“
November 30, 2016
“Voigt’s study on the popularity of the arowana fish is both autobiographical and historical, a lesson in the tenderness of art and science coexisting.”
The New Daily, “The fish people are willing to commit murder for”
November 11, 2016
“The human obsession with a red ‘dragon fish’ that can cost as much as a Ferrari has fuelled a shadowy black market and pushed the species to the brink of extinction, an adventurous new book reveals.”
Courier Mail, “Through Thick and Fin”
November 5, 2016
“It’s an epic in the Jane Goodall vein, one that leads Voigt to Borneo and Myanmar and the Brazilian Amazon, where she risks getting kidnapped by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People’s Army) rebels.”
Vox, “18 books to read this summer”
June 22, 2016
“You may never before have devoted much thought to the colorful world of illegal luxury fish trading. But just wait until Voigt gets her hooks in you.”
Talks at Google
June 16, 2016
Emily’s Google Talk is now online.
WQNA’s Larry Corley Show
June 16, 2016
Emily speaks with Larry Corley
The Well-Read Naturalist
June 10, 2016
“Compelling and illuminating… Containing enough science to satisfy the curiosity and hold the interest of the dedicated naturalist reader as well as sufficient excitement, adventure, and mystery to make it highly enjoyable by a much wider audience seeking a genuine ‘page-turner.’”
Publisher’s Weekly
May 23, 2016
The Dragon Behind the Glass is a PW Pick of the Week.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 22, 2016
The Dragon Behind the Glass named one of the summer’s most transporting books.
Library Journal, starred review
May 6, 2016
“Not since Candace Millard published The River of Doubt has the world of the Amazon, Borneo, Myanmar, and other exotic locations been so colorfully portrayed as it is here… A compelling must-read.”
Discover Magazine, “What to Read in June”
May 2, 2016
“With the taut suspense of a spy novel, Voigt paints a vivid world of murder, black market deals and habitat destruction surrounding a fish that’s considered, ironically, to be a good-luck charm.”
Booklist
May 1, 2016
“[An] absorbing, behind-the-scenes look… In reporting on this most coveted fish, Voigt finds that she, too, has fallen prey to the grip of the arowana.”
Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
April 11, 2016
“[An] engaging tale of obsession and perseverance… Voigt’s passion in pursuing her subject is infectious, as is the self-deprecating humor she injects into her enthralling look at the intersection of science, commercialism, and conservation.”
Kirkus
March 14, 2016
“[A] spirited debut… A fresh, lively look at an obsessive desire to own a piece of the wild.”
South China Morning Post
March 23, 2016
“[R]eads like a cross between a travelogue, a true-crime yarn and a work of popular science… [E]ngrossing.”
Outside Magazine December 2, 2015 The Dragon Behind the Glass is a book to watch for in 2016.
