Bissell's gritty, on the street account of adventures in Uzbekistan, where he returned in 2001 after an earlier stint in the Peace Corps. A lively writer (and a self-confessed adventure junkie), Bissell portrays the grim reality and disasters in the region through his unique, offhand prose. This was no lark. He devotes much of his book to his time cruising through Uzbekistan, concluding with an account of the fast-disappearing Aral Sea and the poor fisherman who depend upon it.  (CAS103, $14.95)

The 86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time