Roadrunner: An Indian Quest In America (Hardcover)

What does the United States look like through the eyes of an Indian? How do Americans see their country, their place in the world? How does patriotism, the idea of a nation, resonate in the two countries?

This is a travelogue that offers a quiet yet thought-provoking reflection on nationhood. Through stories large and small, this book shows Americans their country, refracted through the eyes of an Indian who is critical but not intolerant, understanding but not starry-eyed. From gawking at wall murals by German World War II POWs in Texas to getting to know the bikers for Christ at the annual bike carnival in Sturgis, from charting the history of immigrant Icelanders to driving a fire truck in a quiet mountain town, D'Souza travels American roads, discovering old cultures and new concerns in one of the most revered and reviled nations in the world today.

But more important, it explores the lessons in that process, for India and for thoughtful readers everywhere. It searches for meaning and nuance in ideas like patriotism and being liberal, in a country's sense of self.

What do we learn when one great democracy looks at another? Alexis de Tocqueville's seminal Democracy in America answered that question in the 1800s. Today, India is the world's other great democracy, and maybe the answers are different now, and this was a book waiting to be written.

Passionate, perceptive and empathetic, this book is ultimately about what it means to belong. Wherever you are.

About The Author

Trained in computer science, with two decades of software under his belt, Dilip D'Souza eventually realized that writing was his passion. He has written two books Branded by Law: Looking at India s Denotified Tribes and The Narmada Dammed a monograph of essays on patriotism, and has contributed to several anthologies. He has won several awards for his writing, including India's best-known award for non-fiction writing, the Outlook/Picador prize.