Home › Asia › Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia
  • Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Tom Bissell book cover
  • Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Tom Bissell book cover
1 2

Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia

by Tom Bissell

Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, and imperial history

$19.86 USD
$31.04 USD $19.86 USD
Save 36%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, and imperial history

Tom Bissell’s account connects two journeys to Uzbekistan: his brief Peace Corps service in 1996 and a return five years later to investigate the shrinking Aral Sea. The journey brings the environmental damage linked in the description to Soviet irrigation policies into view alongside Uzbekistan’s cultural history and repeated subjugation under rulers from Jenghiz Khan to Joseph Stalin. Travel narrative and historical portrait share the page, giving the Aral Sea’s decline a broader regional context.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Travel readers interested in Central Asia and Uzbekistan.
  • Readers seeking narrative accounts of the Aral Sea and the consequences of Soviet irrigation policies.
  • Readers interested in Uzbekistan’s history and culture.

Themes

Travel and returnThe Aral Sea’s declineSoviet-era environmental impactUzbekistan’s culture and historyImperial subjugation

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

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.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all