Uzbekistan is a strange and complicated place, writes
Bissell. On one hand, it has Islamic traditions dating
to the origins of the religion; on the other, it is extremely
secular. Onone hand, it is very Asian; on the other, it's
particularly Russian. This bilingual, bi-traditional reality
makes for one of the most interesting countries in the
world. And one that most Americans know nothing about.
In the mid-1990s, Tom Bissell was a Peace Corps volunteer
in Uzbekistan. After only a few months, the complications
of a relationship he'd left behind forced him to return
home. Haunted by his failure, Tom decided in 2001 to return
to Uzbekistan -- this time to investigate the ecological
disaster of the Aral Sea and to try to help in a way that
he hadn't before. Joined by his guide and translator -
a young, partially American-educated and unfailingly high-spirited
Uzbek named Rustam - Bissell makes his often wild way through
Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara. Slipping more than once
through the clutches of the Uzbek police, the two become
close friends as they share numerous misadventures en route
to the shores of the devastated Aral Sea.
Bissell's narrative unfolds in a high-octane, vividly
observant, self-deprecatingly humorous prose, but it is
shaped by his passionate interest in the Uzbeks -- their
region's long history of violence, their culture, and the
ever-increasing, ever-more-tragic hole at the heart of
their land.
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