3 Review(s)

A Strange Kind of Paradise: India through Foreign Eyes, by Sam Miller, is a scholarly, hilarious, thought provoking, and delightfully eccentric work that discusses how India has been perceived as a country by foreigners. Summary of the Book This title talks about a strange kind of exploration of India’s past and present, from the perspective of a foreigner who has lived in India for several years. Sam Miller delves into the ways in which the ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Arabs, Africans, Europeans and Americans have imagined India. Spanning the centuries from Alexander the Great to Slumdog Millionaire, the author account features, among others, Thomas the Apostle, The Chinese Monk Xuanzang, Marco Polo, Allen Ginsberg, Babur, Clive of India, the Beatles and Steve Jobs. The book is interspersed with the story of his own 25-year long love affair with India. About Sam Miller Sam Miller was born and brought up in London. He studied history at Cambridge university and politics at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies. He joined BBC in 1986 and has worked on and off for the network ever since. In the early 1990s, Miller was a BBC correspondent in Delhi and on his return to the UK in 1993, was the presenter of the radio programme South Asia report. He also became the head of the BBC Urdu service and eventually the managing editor, South Asia. He was posted back to Delhi in the year 2002 and has remained there since. He is mainly working for BBC Media Action, BBC’s International charity. He has also authored, Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity and Blue Guide India.