The Devil and the Disappearing Sea, Or, How I Tried to Stop the World's Worst Ecological Catastrophe

Book excerpt: In 2000 Rob Ferguson went to Central Asia to work on an environmental project to save the Aral Sea. By the time he left a year later, he was under suspicion for murder. And the world's biggest ecological catastrophe was getting worse. This is his story."Eminently readable, held together by the author's careful research and attention to detail. As Ferguson travels through the region, he details its bold, colourful history of intense beauty and violent conquest." -National Post"Has the pacing of a detective novel and characters out of Evelyn Waugh. Who would have thought a first-time author could pull off something like that?" -Georgia Straight"Ferguson has crafted something unique, something that blends memoir and documentary with noirish satire, and manages its shifts in tone very smoothly." -Globe and Mail