Author is British journalist James Cameron (the man who heard the famous words of a Gandhi staffer, to the effect that it costs a fortune to keep Gandhiji in his simple lifestyle).
This short but meaty book is a loving portrait of a marvelous country. Cameron uses the incident of a horrific car accident he suffered in Bangladesh to tie together his own sense of mortality and India's great endurance.
Pace can be a little rough at times, but that is the only detraction from this beautiful, appreciative look at India and its foibles, humanity, grace, sufferings. His treatment of conversations (with little hints of well-observed Indglish) are a joy to read. Many tender and thoughtful passages about mankind, but it's really a very personal memoir of Cameron's ongoing yet troubled love affair with a nation.
Indispensible part of any India-phile's library, great pre-departure (or take-along) reading for anyone going there.