This is a prime example of what I would consider a perfect microhistory – a book devoted to a particular animal (or food, etc.) that I have literally never given a second thought about before, which not only covers its subject in deep detail, but pulls back the curtain to reveal an entire fascinating world revolving around it that was so deeply unknown to me that it almost comes as a shock. Never could I have imagined that the mere eel had so much mystery surrounding its reproductive habits to this very day. And I most definitely never, ever could not have imagined the eel to be at the center of such a massively lucrative worldwide trade – and a trade that was so rotten with illegality of all sorts, at that. Between all the information that it had to share, plus the way that author Ellen Shell’s witty writing framed it, “Slippery Beast” quickly proved itself to be such a deliciously informative read within that I devoured it within just a few quick days.