Tom Bissell is the author of Chasing the Sea (available in paperback from Vintage Books) and contributes to Harper's Magazine, The Believer, and other publications. He lives in New York.

Young Americans abroad in Central Asia find themselves pushed to their limits in these acclaimed, prize-winning stories by one of our most exciting and talented new authors. Combining bleak humor, ironic insight, deep compassion, and unflinching moral and ethical inquiry, Tom Bissell gives us a gripping collection that is both timeless and profoundly relevant to today's complex world.