Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the World's Most Polluted Places

For most of us, traveling means visiting the most beautiful places on Earth — Paris, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon. Its rare to book a plane ticket to visit the lifeless moonscape of Canada's oil sand strip mines, or to seek out the Chinese city of Linfen, legendary as the most polluted in the world. But in Visit Sunny Chernobyl, Andrew Blackwell embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth.

From the hidden bars and convenience stores of a radioactive wilderness to the sacred but reeking waters of India, Visit Sunny Chernobyl fuses immersive first-person reporting with satire and analysis, making the case that its time to start appreciating our planet as it is — not as we wish it would be. Irreverent and reflective, the book is a love letter to our biospheres most tainted, most degraded ecosystems, and a measured consideration of what they mean for us.

Equal parts travelogue, expose, environmental memoir, and faux guidebook, Blackwell careens through a rogues gallery of environmental disaster areas in search of the worst the world has to offer — and approaches a deeper understanding of whats really happening to our planet in the process.

"Driving though the irradiated wastes around Chernobyl or traversing the deforested frontiers of the Amazon jungle rarely tops even the most seasoned travelers' must-see list, but this entertaining, appealing, and thoughtful travelogue covers some of the world's most befouled spots with lively, agile wit. Journalist and filmmaker Blackwell doesn't just present a list of environmental woes but undertakes provocative meditations on how to care about the planet while recognizing that plenty of people need to make a living, sometimes to the environment's detriment. Contemporary environmentalism is rife with contradictions, and as he ponders the impact of western Canada's oil sands, he notes: 'Whether we're talking about recycling, or voting, or consumer choices... these are all attempts to square the circle, to mitigate — or more often, to atone for — our individual role in the disquietingly unsustainable system that keeps us alive.' As his project to visit the wretched places of the Earth takes its toll on his personal relationship and well-being, he gives considerable thought to why he's doing it, realizing that he 'love the ruined places for all the ways they aren't ruined.' While he doesn't offer solutions or answers, the book does offer an astute critique of how visions of blighted spots create an either/or vision of how to care for the environment and live in the world. Agent: Michelle Tessler, Tessler Literary Agency. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

"Andrew Blackwell is a wonderful tour guide to the least wonderful places on earth. His book is a riveting toxic adventure. But more than just entertaining, the book will teach you a lot about the environment and the future of our increasingly polluted world." A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically

"With a touch of wry wit and a reporter's keen eye, Andrew Blackwell plays tourist in the centers of environmental destruction and finds sardonic entertainment alongside tragedy. His meticulous observations will make you laugh and weep, and you will get an important education along the way." David K. Shipler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of Rights at Risk: The Limits of Liberty in Modern America

Andrew Blackwell is a journalist and filmmaker living in New York City.