OH
I read that book! I was a member of some obscure book club that would periodically send out FREE books to read. I don't remember what book club that was and I lost touch with them for a while now, but that was one of the books I got for free.
I love the part about the guy who collects specimens with a swab and stores them in bottles. Didn't he carry them around in a briefcase? I can't remember all the details now, but it really was a great book.

Memoirs of a Geisha.