In 1996, Tom Bissell went to Uzbekistan as a na•ve Peace Corps volunteer. Though he lasted only a few months before illness and personal crisis forced him home, Bissell found himself entranced by this remote land. Five years later he returned to explore the shrinking Aral Sea, destroyed by Soviet irrigation policies. Joining up with an exuberant translator named Rustam, Bissell slips more than once through the clutches of the Uzbek police as he makes his often wild way to the devastated sea. In Chasing the Sea, Bissell combines the story of his travels with a beguiling chronicle of Uzbekistan’s striking culture and long history of violent subjugation by despots from Jenghiz Khan to Joseph Stalin. Alternately amusing and sobering, this is a gripping portrait of a fascinating place, and the debut of a singularly gifted young writer.
Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia
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Author: Bissell, Tom
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 9780375727542
Details:
Author: Bissell, Tom
Brand: Vintage
Color: White
Binding: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 416
Release Date: 12-10-2004
Part Number: 9780375727542
Package Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches Languages: English
EAN: 9780375727542
