Travel writer Christopher Robbins relates a story by turns hilarious and grim as he finds Eminem-worship by a shrinking Aral Sea, hears the Kazakh John Lennon play in a dusty desert town, joins nomads hunting eagles, eats boiled sheep's head (a delicacy), and explores some of the most beautiful, unspoiled places on earth. Meet the country that gave the world apples, trousers, and possibly King Arthur. --From amazon.com.