The novelist Joseph Conrad lived at a time of rapid and unsettling change, which he reflected in his work. Blending history, biography and travelogue, this book explores his childhood and youth in Russian-occupied Poland, his experiences as a sea-captain, and his life as an emigrant. It argues that the forces that shaped his world – migration, nationalism, revolution and terrorism – are still shaping ours, which is why his books resonate so strongly today.